| Skating Journal 2004-2005 Part 1 |
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| New Home, New Rink, New Coach - October 2004 The end of September Jon and I moved to Breckenridge, Colorado. It was something we had been looking forward to for almost a year. I did not jump into skating. There was so much going on. Buying a house and getting work settled took over. Finally, after a couple of weeks I finally made my way to a public session. It was relatively empty, so I was really enjoying it. After a couple of days I met some beginning adult skaters. After a nice introduction to them I skated away and did a split jump that ended up with me splatting on the ice. I had been struggling with the ice because it was so hard. The fall resulted in a sprained wrist and a very bruised ego. After a couple of days I went back out there. I was skating backwards crossovers and again the ice was very hard. I lost my edge a went sailing into the boards whacking my back. I was concerned that I was not going to be able to skate at this rink because of the ice quality. It turns out there was a broken pipe and the rink was repaired and returned to a softer surface. I was so happy! Of course everyone by then thought I was going to kill myself. A coach who worked at the front desk stopped me to talk to me about a group of adults who skated on Sunday nights. I thought that sounded fantastic and I joined the group. Though mostly beginners, they all practiced with diligence and hope to improve enough to test anc compete. I was so happy to meet all of them. Finally it was time to practice my program since I had commited to skate in the Intermountain Adult Open in Salt Lake on November 5. I had a couple of new things to adjust to at this rink. 1. It was at 9,600 feet!! 2. It was regulation size, versus the Olympic size I was used to in Salt Lake. It turns out the two problems cancelled each other out. Since I could no longer skate as fast at this altitude, I could not cover as much ice. There, problem solved. However, because of the altitude I could not get all the way through my program!! I joined the gym and worked as hard as I could until I got through. One benefit of skating at the "Worlds HIghest Indoor Arena", is that no matter where I compete I will ALWAYS loose elevation. It was time for a new coach. This was very difficult for me because Stephanee was the best coach I have ever had and I felt like I would never be able to replace her. At my new rink there were two options. Of course if I went to Colorado Springs, Vail or Denver I would have more options. But, I was not willing to make the drive at that time. My first impression of Tom was not very positive for some reason. He seemed "busy" - high-strung, not unlike Stephanee (who I also had a bad first impression of). So, I gave him a try. On the ice he was all business and after some time I thought he was fantastic - even if he was expensive. But, this is an expensive place to live. Things were looking up. Good ice time, good coach, good people - Good new home. The Return of the Axel - Late October 2004 Now that I can practice more consistently than in Utah I was so excited to make a committment to the Axel. It had been coming and going for about a year and a half. It was not all to difficult to coaxing it back now. But the big decision was whether or not to include it during the competition. I figured what the heck! Why not put it in there. If I fall, it will be a good lesson to learn. So, with the help of Tom we got everything in order and I headed out to my old rink. Intermountain Adult Open November 4-5, 2004 I was so happy to see my friends in Park City. Unfortunately almost everyone had to be out of town on the Saturday I competed so only one friend came. Probably a good thing for my nerves. Also, I got to see Lori - I miss skating with her so much and I could not imagine a competition without her. I had decided for this competition to skate up to the Silver Level and include the pesky axel. Practice sessions were not going so well. I was not doing well with my axel and did not have a great run through of my program. I was also not feeling well. The night before we left for Utah I was so sick. I have never been so nauseas in my life. Competition day started and I was actually very nervous. I was competing in Silver Jumps and in the Silver Freeskate. I changed a bunch of things just before my Jumps competition which I think made me feel very nervous. I ended up in Second, which was fine for me, but my judge friend thought I should have been first. It's always nice to hear, but I don't usually get upset about results. Now was the moment of truth with the axel. This was the first time I was competing with an axel since I was a little kid. It was my first jump and it was right in front off all of the other skaters waiting to get on the ice. I nailed it!! I was so happy - I could hear Lori scream with delight. It actually kind of messed me up for awhile. I had a hard time calming down after it. I ended up in 2nd and was happy with that. Because what really mattered was landing the axel. One very interesting thing about the weekend was a documentary film maker wandering around. She caught Lori and I hugging after my program and got some very interesting footage in the locker room and the competitors party. Look for the film: Secret Skaters: The World of Adult Figure Skating. |