Always On An Edge
Adult African-American figure skater getting back onto the ice while facing the trials and tribulations of injury, illness, odd looks and being a lefty in a righty world.
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Pain
I hurt myself today...
Actually, it was yesterday.
The session was going well. I skated my Swing dance and didn't mess up the C step in the corner, so my coach and I were able to re-start the dance. My jumps were going well, although slowly, with a few failed attempts before they were landed. For the record, I have never liked the Salchow and I still don't. Several attempts later and it was landed to my coach's satisfaction.
Then, the toe loop.
The horn for the Zamboni had been sounded. The first attempt hadn't gone as planned. But I was determined. On the second attempt, left forward inside 3 turn, left arm back and then scoop down and up... the 3 turn wasn't completed, I rocked back on my heels and my feet flew up in the air. I landed squarely on my left butt cheek and my left arm, which hadn't gotten out of the way fast enough. The amount of pain was unbelievable. The fall must have been pretty decent because my coach raced over to help me up. The look in his eyes told me that the look in my eyes wasn't good. I said, "I think that's enough for today." And he replied "Yeah, yeah definitely" as he skated me off the ice, asking if I was okay. I told him I was okay and wished him a good weekend before it all hit.
Suddenly I was nauseous. And weak. I walked over to my friend, who saw the fall and asked if I was okay and I replied, "I think I'm going to faint." She offered me water, told me to sit down (I had been standing) and to take my time doing eveything. Eventually, I felt well enough to get my things and head out of the rink, but I was shaky amd my left wrist really hurt.
Once home, I told my sisters (one is out of town) and after some back and forth, it was decided that I should go into the Walk-In Clinic. My left arm was throbbing, I couldn't move my fingers and changing out of my skating clothes was difficult. On the pain scale, I was at a 12. At the clinic, I had x-rays, after explaining several times that I'm a figure skater and that I had not hit my head. Turns out, I had a severe sprain and was given OTC painkillers and a brace.
The next day, after very littlle sleep due to pain, the pain scale was down to 8.
No jumping for a few days. Once I can make a fist and tie my skates, I'll be back on the ice.
The moral of this story is: if you feel yourself falling, throw your arms in the air because your butt is tronger than your wrist.
This was typed with one hand. I am amazed at how many things I do with my left hand.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Ouch
Recently, I woke up in a great deal of discomfort. My knees have been giving me problems for days, playing a crazy round-robin game of which one was going to hurt. They've been taking turns, sometimes during one session, to decide which one was going to inflict pain and for how long. The rules of the game keep changing, with different skills causing a different part of my knees to reject the movement. Sometimes it's as simple as walking.
My back has decided to remind me that sometimes wearing a backpack when you already have back issues is not the smartest thing in the world. Skates are heavy. To those who are saying "use a wheelie bag", you have never lugged one of those things up and down NYC subway steps whether during rush hour or not. Increase the weight of the bag, with your skates and all of your essentials, then add an additional 15% and you have the result of carrying a wheeled skate bag through the NYC subway system. And please don't suggest using the elevator. That would be an entirely different post.
My neck and shoulder have been reminding me not to sit hunched over my work computer, looking slightly to the left to see the additional monitor, for hours at a time. Also, I believe a massage is in my immediate future.
A heel spur has opted to live in my right heel, causing shooting pains whenever it wants to. Putting weight on my right foot is a challenge, with or without skates, shoes or even air. I have been icing it, however, I have just read that heat works better, so shy of putting my foot on my radiator for hours at a time, I am using the hand warmers and ordering more, just in case.
My left foot aches from jump landings and life.
On a positive note, the sinus headaches I've been waking up with usually disappear after a few hours and I am no worse for wear. It is replaced by postnasal drip, which I will accept over a headache any day.
Meanwhile, I have capsaicin for my back, neck, and shoulder; ice for my left foot; heat for my right foot and ibuprofen, all of whom are becoming my best friends.
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Cheerleaders
Everyone needs a cheerleader now and then. Sometimes, that voice telling you that "you can do it" or "I'm proud of you" is all you need to continue, to get up when you're feeling down, to go forward when you think you have nothing.
Sometimes, there is no voice, other than the one in your head. The voice that tells you you're not good enough, smart enough, fast enough, young enough, thin enough or something enough. The voice that you can't always silence but wish you could.
Allow me to tell you that you ARE enough. Don't wait until you've lost weight, mastered the jump, feel worthy of the praise, or feel that you're "ready". Just go and TRY. Yes, you may fall on your face. Yes, you may fail, but you tried! Don't live off your old conquests. The past cannot return and allow you to relive the glory. Make a new glory. Conquer new battles. Make new memories.
You only fail if you stop trying.
That thing you always wanted to do, will you fail? Probably at first. Will you be embarrassed? Yes, but no one ever died of embarrassment. At first, it may not work out. You may be so bad at it that others roll their eyes when they see you trying. Imagine their faces when you finally get it. You may never be the best. Or land that multi-revolution jump. Or get that TV or Broadway show. Or sing at Carnegie Hall. Or winthe lottery. But you tried and you continued to take steps toward your goal.
Everyone has gifts in a closet. Don’t die with all those gifts in your closet unopened.
Also, check on people. Everyone is dealing with something; good, bad, or indifferent. But it's the person who always says "I'm fine" with an overly happy smile, who is probably in most need of your ear, a hug or even the acknowledgement that you know they're around.
Treat everyone with kindness. Try not to complain too much. Get enough sleep. Laugh whenever you can (and it’s appropriate). Reach out to those you love. Do something you want to do, even if you’re scared, even if you don’t think you’re ready. You’d be surprised how many people use the excuse that they’re “not ready” and watch time and opportunity slip through your fingers. Your family and friends will understand if this means missing a holiday or two; it’s important to you.
Never give up. Not on your dreams, your hopes, your desires. Don’t quit. Every step is a victory. Showing up is a victory.
And I’m proud of you.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Off-Ice Class
I signed up for an eight week, two classes per weekend, off-ice online program. Nothing tells you how out of shape you are than taking a 45 minute off-ice class. Nothing. Jumping around for 45 minutes takes a lot when you're overweight and out of shape.
Several weeks later and I discovered that my body usually hurts either when I sit for too long, or the next day. After the first two classes (they are on Saturays and Sundays), I found out that parts of my body I didn't know could hurt, did indeed hurt. My eyelashes hurt. My back hurt. My knees hurt. My side hurt. My shins hurt. Now, as I approach the last class of an eight week session, I'm not in as much pain in so many different areas. Now, only my quads, knees and back hurt. Happily, my eyelashes are fine.
As I mentioned, you don't realize how out of shape you are until you're the only adult in an online off-ice class and you have to stop several times during the 4-6 minute jump rope portion of the warmup. No part of my body enjoys that. And I sound like I'm 20,000 years old with a smoker's cough when jumping rope. And I don't even use a jump rope! I tried the first class, only to discover that I don't really have enough room to jump rope in my living room. You can still stumble through a jump rope warmup without an actual jump rope.
Being a clockwise or lefty skater is always a lesson in reversing instructions. Teacher says "left hand", you know it's your right hand. Teacher says "land on your right foot", you know it's land on your left foot. When instructed to do jumps in both directions, that's when I get confused. Right hand? Left hand? Whatever. Just try your best. At least I know my right from my left; there are two little ones in my class who aren't so sure. Before you say I'm being mean, they're at least 8 years old. By 8, you should know your right from your left.
Last week, I took a tumble during class, falling down hard in front of my camera, scraping my knees and shins and somehow breaking a toe nail. As if I were on the ice, got right back up, checked for blood and continued the class. Once class was over, it was time for ice packs, bandaids and antibotic ointment. Later that night, a nice cold glass of champagne soothed the pain.
As this session of off-ice classes with this particular company draws to a close, I have noticed that my jumps have a bit more spring in them. Even my coach noticed the spring in my jumps. I was surprised to learn that I should be doing off-ice four times a week, including the class. Oops. I will add that to my list of things to do.
After watching a fellow skater's YouTube video on a week in her life, it's obvious that I need to organize my life better. Granted, she doesn't work weekends and due to the amount of work I have, I do work weekends. She also lives in Manhattan, so she doesn't kill two hours a day just traveling to and from the rink. Her hours are also more flexible than mine; I absolutely have to be signed into the system no later than 9:30, although no one gives a hoot about what time I sign off.
Somehow I have to find time for a lunch break so I can do my new obsession: Medicine Ball workouts. Add that obsession to my spin class and kickboxing. Doing this and meal preps and I won't feel so out of shape. I also need to organize my work space so I don't constantly mutter swear words while thinking "where is my PEN?!?!"
I will be trying a new off-ice class in a few weeks. This one is for adult skaters, so we'll be muted on Zoom so you don't hear the sound of popping and cracking body parts. We'll all smell like mentholatum, but since we're home, no one will notice. I'll update you on that class once it starts.
Meanwhile, I'm off to run errands. Happy skating.
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Clockwise
I am still jetlagged, one week later. It's coming along, but I keep waking up at 3:30EST when it's 8:30AM in London.
Anyway...
Am I the only person who notices that 99% of all clockwise skaters now do loop jumps from a left forward inside three turn? I looked up Ashley Wagner, Johnny Weir and Carolina Kostner. All three do loop jumps from inside three turns. If you don't do loop jumps from inside three turns, allow me to tell you that if you don't turn the three correctly and hit a solid back outside edge, you aren't going anywhere. It's one of those jumps you just have to trust that you won't screw up the turn and go for it. Don't wait too long because the longer you wait, the easier it seems to fall out of the three turn.
Do counter-clockwise skaters do a loop from an inside three turn? Judging from my own skating experiences, you guys are riding that right back outside edge after a crossover, while we lefties are trying not to fall out of a three turn. And yes, I've tried back crossovers into the jump, as well as a C turn. It didn't work. However, when the turn is good and not too slow (a habit I have developed), the jump is fine.
Damn my lack of core strength!
It has come to my attention (again!) that the core is the core. It is the center of everything, from jumps and spins to turns. My weak core has prevented the "fix" of my Salchow and loop jump to remain consistent. And don't get me started on the strange problem that has popped up when stepping from backward to forward. It has created such a problem that I have reworked two jumps in my program so I don't have to step forward after being backward. You can step into a waltz jump from a left forward outside edge to a right forward outside edge.
As long as we're discussing clockwise skaters, quick question: what is the fascination with the lefty Lutz corner? There's a coach at one of the rinks who plants himself and his student in one of those corners and wouldn't leave if Ulrich Salchow came back to skate. It's not just me complaining (although there is only one other lefty on the session) but anyone who tries to do their program. There he is, in his jacket and baseball cap, telling you to "go around" when you have the right of way. I actually have a jump in the corner he has made a home in, and I've almost taken him and his student down at least twice.
Go figure.
My body thinks it's about 11:00pm, so it must be after 6:00pm. Either way, I'm out.
Keep skating!
Sunday, September 17, 2023
VACATION!!!!
For those of you who wondered where I was, I went on vacation. My first vacation since 2018. No one is counting 2020 as a vacation, plus I was still working.
Anyway, I was off to London and Paris with my two sisters, who are also my roommates. I am happy to report that we did NOT kill one another, although we did turn our backs and eyeroll one another, but that's a regular occurrence, so it doesn't count.
The trip started off rocky. Our UBER driver drove over an obvious curb and banked turns so severely, we thought we'd get tossed out of the car. But we arrived at the airport safely. The three of us had a row to ourselves, with my eldest sister sitting in the middle. She took both armrests, elbowed my other sister and I almost nonstop for seven hours and is so left-hand dominate that she does absolutely nothing with her right hand. And I mean nothing. I know this because on the way home, she had the window seat, with her right arm free and refused to use her right arm to scroll the tv screen. More elbowing for seven hours.
The first hotel was so horrible, it's almost laughable. The "suite" was a room the size of my bedroom at home, with a pullout bed. The door didn't lock so we didn't sleep. The next morning, we were out of there.
A new hotel, a little shopping and the vacation was on!
London was in the middle of a heatwave. 90 degrees at night.
Did I have a good time? Absolutely. Am I exhausted? Absolutely. Am I jetlagged? Three days later and ABSOLUTELY!!! My body still thinks it's 6 hours in the future, or whatever the time difference is.
What have I learned?
1. Hotels in London do not have air conditioning. Or at least the one we were in didn't. Eldest sister purchased two fans and gave them to the hotel as a gift. I wanted to take them home but couldn't figure out how.
2. London Fish and Chips are a little bland and disappointing. Again at least where we ate. Need spices, any spices. Salt and pepper would have helped. Keep in mind, I put hot sauce on almost everything.
3. Beans at breakfast? I don't get it.
4. Every morning, the same breakfast at London hotel. I'll discuss the Paris hotel later.
5. Look both ways before crossing the street. Seriously. In London, they drive on the other side of the road and you naturally look the way you're used to. Don't do that.
6. Beer, lots of it. Mixed drinks? Not so much.
7. London is huge. Saw a lot of things via the On and Off Bus. Buy your tickets when you get there; there is no discount buying ahead of time and the website is incredibly misleading.
8. If the rink says "Skate, Bowl and Bar", it will be a small, hot ice rink. And dark.
9. Apparently, airlines charge for wifi?
10. Cars are a luxury with many, many people on bicycles and motorcycles in London and Vespas in Paris
11. Speed limits and traffic rules are just a suggestion. So are traffic lights.
12. The air is filled with sirens: police, fire and ambulances. Sounded like NYC.
13. I was told that Paris would smell like urine. Nope. Smells like poop. They use real manure in the parks.
14. The Louvre Museum requires a separate vacation; it's huge.
15. The train from London to Paris is really cool; about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. It's also a very long train - 15 cars long. I highly recommend it.
16. Breakfast at the Paris hotel left a lot to be desired. No, it was horrible. Powdered eggs with powdered cheese that was grossly undercooked. Sausages that tasted like hotdogs and bad coffee. 100% do not recommend.
17. Was told women don't wear sneakers (or trainers). That's not true, but I now own a nice pair of walking shoes.
18. People in Paris smoke a lot. Near kids, with kids, while eating, while waiting to get into restaurants, right after leaving restaurants. And if you're eating at an outdoor cafe, right there at the table.
19. A lot of Italian food in Paris. I'm confused.
20. My sister's knowledge of Spanish saved the day when my eldest sister's French was not strong at all. Okay, she forgot all of her French and the class she was doing online did nothing for her memory.
21. You will walk a lot.
All in all, I had an awesome sauce time. We went to Harrods for afternoon tea, which was amazing!!! You don't expect to feel full eating small sandwiches, but you do. Liked the tea so much, I may cut down on my coffee consumption. I cannot leave out the tour of the Royal Opera House, a theatre so magnificent, it defies description. We were unable to take any pictures inside because they were working out the kinks in the set for the opera Das Rheingold, and that would be a copyright violation. However, it is gorgeous, breathtakingly so.
I am trying to plan a trip for next October. My hope is to see the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House. I don't care where I'm sitting, as long as it's in that theatre. And of course, another trip to Harrods for afternoon tea.
It's back to work for all three of us. I have over 300 photos to sort through, some of them just blurs thanks to the bus. But regardless of the bad pictures, the lack of knowledge of French, the smoking, the heat, the bad food, 8000+ steps per day, I had a wonderful time.
Can't wait to go back.
Sunday, July 9, 2023
Summer
I have decided not to do the Hershey competition after last year's... experience.
Just thinking about last year's competition makes me think of bad water and spinning rooms. Nope, not this year.
That being said, what have I been up to? Well, elements come and go. A good Swing Dance on Monday results in a bad Swing Dance on Tuesday. I have begun to ride my toepick on the left back outside edge before stepping into a jump, a habit I have not done since I first learned to jump. Not sure where or why that popped up again. Personally, I think it sucks. My waltz jump is tiny, super tiny, like an ant jumps higher. I'm not a big fan of loop jumps from an inside three turn, mostly because, as you know, if the three turn is bad, the jump is not forthcoming. I do loop jumps from an inside three turn, make your own decision on that.
And don't get me started on my Salchow, which will visit for several days, only to suddenly go away. My flip jump is so grounded that I usually wonder if I've left the ice. And it's not fully rotated. What? It was always fully rotated, just not always landed cleanly.
Every day small steps towards improvement.
If you recall my one time skating the 6:00am session, well I've decided to revisit that. I really need to get to bed much, much earlier.
Lately, I've been watching the Instagram stories of other adult skaters. Most are in their twenties, which... ummmm.... I am not. They seem to improve so quickly. Elements are learned today and successfully executed the next day. There appears to be no struggle at all; of course there probably is, it's just not posted online. However, it can be frustrating, especially when someone IS my age, began skating yesterday and is already popping off double jumps. Yes, that is an exaggeration, but that's how it feels.
And don't get me started on people who can't hold a back outside edge after landing a jump, but are working on double loops. All I see with that is an accident waiting to happen. As long as it doesn't happen on a session I'm on, go right ahead.
I sometimes feel as though I've held back. Some of this is my own fault. Let's not discuss weight and injuries right now. I was never actually taught a backspin until much, much later in the process, like I had already learned a camel-sit-scratch and suddenly someone said, "let's see your backspin". My reaction was "what's that?" Now I am struggling to catch up. I had a backspin, went to a summer adult week and returned without it. It hasn't returned. To be honest, I don't practice it as much as I should.
Can anyone tell me how to obtain more than one revolution on one of those spinner things? If I get around once, I consider that an accomplishment. Watching people spin like tops on those things always make me scratch my head.
Maybe it's core strength. I had a coach that told me everything was core strength and then she told me I didn't have any. Thanks. No need to point out the obvious.
With that being said, I am trying. I work hard on every session, usually end up sweaty and then have to go to work. I asked one of the male coaches how much would I have to weigh to be put into the harness for jumps. Bless his heart, he said he could lift me now. The heaviest person he ever lifted was 250 pounds and thank heavens, I am nowhere near that. I still plan on losing some weight before I ask again. I've always wanted to try the harness. First I was told I was too tall, then too fat, then too tall and fat. I can't do anything about my height, but my weight I can control.
Recently, one of my rinks closed for a week. No real reason; they do it every year. They're back up this week, only to cancel my sessions the week after for hockey. If I ever have enough money, I will purchase a rink and then cancel hockey for figure skating. And have all adult sessions, but with different levels. One rink had this wonderful summer adult camp-like program that was every Saturday. You had 45 minutes of ballet/stretch/yoga, followed by off-ice exercises for jumps and spins. On ice, we had a group session where we did ice theatre moves. Afterwards we were divided into two groups: axel and above, or no axel. We then had (sit down for this) 100 minutes of freestyle. It was wonderful. Then some of the lower level skaters joined the camp and complained that it was too hard. They didn't like the ice theatre moves. They didn't like working on different types of spins. They didn't like being divided into two levels. They complained, demanded their money back and destroyed the program for the rest of us. The program still exists, but it's become more of a Bridge program. No jumps higher than a loop. No change foot spins or combination spins. Ballet/stretching/yoga has been eliminated. No ice theatre. No division of levels. Also, the freestyle session is gone, but the cost has increased 35%.
I am a proud snob. If a program isn't for you, find one that is but don't ruin it for everyone else. The two years I participated in this program, there were approximately 30 skaters. The last time I inquired about it, there were approximately 12 signed up. It's too bad; it was really good, felt like camp and was a lot of fun.
There's a rink that I haven't skated since I moved almost five years ago. I discovered that they have an early morning session that I will skate on Fridays. I'll have to take a cab to get there, but that's okay. If it's a good session, not too crowded, one person not hogging the music and no parents screaming instructions at their kids from the stands, then it's worth it. I'll tell you all about it next time.
Meanwhile, off to do kickboxing. I have a harness to fit into.
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