Friday, May 3, 2013

All good things sometimes have to come to an (temporary) end

My rink has closed for the summer, which means I may very likely be skating a lot less frequently.  Looking back on this year, I have to admit that I'm very happy with what I've been able to accomplish.  I do have hopes to skate at least a few times this summer, but it would be at a rink that's about a hour away.  My ability to skate will depend on my work schedule, and carpooling issues.  In the meantime, my hope is to continue with off-ice work by running, stretching, swimming (soon---yay!), and maybe take some other type of recreational class, such as a dance classes, pilates, or even yoga. I have yet to decide on all of this.  In addition, chances are that I will be working for a summer camp for youth with disabilities, so there will be physical activities involved with that as well. 

Since my last posting, I have passed FS 2 with good marks, and I'm looking forward to FS 3 in the fall.  In addition, I've decided to join USFS, and will be starting to work on the Adult Pre-Bronze level.  I also want to seriously learn ice dancing/MITF, and take as many other skating-related classes as possible.  I've come to realize that I actually don't like the idea of rushing through things, so my plan is to take things at my own speed and get things really consistent. Once that consistency is achieved, then my coach and I can discuss what to do next.  I know that I tend to be very ambitious (maybe a bit too much), so I have remind myself that there's nothing wrong with taking things slower if one wants to.  Even re-visiting previously worked on ideas isn't a bad idea because it helps refresh one's mind, yet allows for those ideas to move forward, as you're building upon those basic ideas.

For instance, as a musician, I've been trained/drilled scales and arpeggios, which are the basic compositional ideas for western classical music (Bb concert scale anyone?).   Even though I've been playing for many years, I STILL go back to those on a regular basis, using them as warm-ups in various ways,  and may even just practice those "basic" elements on a day when things are just out of whack.  It's the same thing, I think, with skating.  We all have elements to work on, and sometimes, it's just best for us to slow things down, so that we can get everything together. From there, a skater can build upon those ideas, which creates progress.  Sometimes, that progress seems slow, and sometimes, it seems to be fast. It's a totally individual thing.

Keep skating and have fun!