Comfort

Sometimes, I don't understand other people's logic. I was watching a video on YouTube about an adult's progress in skating. Good for her. She had just about mastered the mechanics of forward crossovers when the pandemic shut down the world. So she decided to continue working on quad skates (or rollerblades). Great. So what does she post? Herself attempting axels off-ice on the ground. Honey, you can't do a backward crossover or ANY jumps. Why would you try to do an off-ice axel? What is the logic? "I can't drive a car, but I'm going to enter the INDY 500"? I suppose since she didn't try it on the ice (yet) it's okay. I see these types of skaters everywhere. It doesn't help when their coach is having them try things beyond their skill set. Can't hold a back outside edge? Here, try doing counters and rockers. Can't land a Salchow? No worries, this is how you do a double flip. Can't do a two-foot spin? That's fine; try a flying camel. Maybe I'm too logical. Recently while skating, I stopped to catch my breath. I was in the "peak" zone for my heart rate and was sweating quite nicely. A coach to whom I only say "good morning" to suggested that I get out of my comfort zone. My reply was "okay" with a mental shrug. "You need to get out of your comfort zone and get fit. You are not fit." He then suggested his off-ice program on Saturday mornings. I mentioned that the only day I really sleep in is Saturdays to which he told me that I "don't want it enough." He repeated that I was not fit and suggested that I toughen up. Well, damn. I wonder what he would have said if he actually KNEW me. "You're a slow-ass cow who needs to move her pork-butt faster on the ice and take more risks"?? I cannot imagine. This is a coach who pushes his students way beyond their skill level. This is good and bad. Good because they have very little fear. They fall on a regular basis, get up and try again. Bad because they also get hurt. I've seen some injuries I can't comprehend. Most of the skaters with those incomprehensible injuries are never seen again. What price glory? Yes, we all should step out of our comfort zone. Take that leap of faith and try. We'll fall. We'll fail. We'll curse. 70% of the time, we'll try again. 30% of the time, we'll try something else. Life is about taking a risk, a calculated risk. I cannot swim, so I won't try to do the Ironman Competition. I can ride a bike and although I hate it, I can run. Two out of three; not bad. But I still will not sign up for the Ironman Competition. I can skate; not like Ashley Wagner, but I can do some stuff. Every session, I try to push myself a little harder. Jump higher. Go into a jump faster. Stop looking down. Decrease the travel on a spin. Increase the revolutions on a spin. Remember the pattern of a dance (okay, still having a hard time with the Swing Dance and I haven't learned the other one... what is the name of that one... Not the ChaCha... Oh well...) But every session the comfort zone is pushed back, even if it's just a little.