Semester in Review

Wow. I've been horrible about posting things this semester!  Hopefully, I will post a bit more once the new year starts.  So, for those of you who may have missed it, here's my semester in review. You final will be at the end of this post. *wink wink* :)

As usual, my rink closed for the summer in early May.  I literally spent the entire summer working at summer day camps in town, and doing TONS of off ice training.  I took off ice private lessons all summer with my current coach, and took an off ice class.  One of the coaches teaching the class also happens to be a clockwise skater, so naturally, I was often paired up with her when working on jumps.  I even worked on some off ice axels, and had some VERY good goes with it.  However, I started having issues with my left hip.  I kept landing too hard in general, so I was having some muscle pain, even with landing on waltz jumps.  It wasn't anything serious, but it was something that my coach and I definitely took a look at, and worked on fixing.  So far, knock on wood, things have seemed to have healed, and I haven't had problems since.

In addition to my off ice private lessons and classes, I was still running and took up weight lifting at my gym.  The later was due to my off ice lessons since we were using weights at my coach's gym where he was living at the time.  Weight lifting has kicked my butt, plain and simple.  However, I made progress, and was able to start increasing the weights for my squats and bench press.  In addition, I was also in a pool a few days a week since I was with summer camp kids, and would work on in-water jumping when I was able to do so, which proved to be a lot of fun since I have no fear of going under if I messed up.  I also worked on jumps from off a diving board, and even tried my hand at an in-water climbing wall.  I didn't do so well with that since the knobs were really hard on my feet, and it takes a ton of upper body strength, but I can't say that I didn't try. :)

Throughout the summer, I was able to skate a few times at different rinks, which was really good for me, as I could totally feel how much stronger I was getting as a result of my off ice work.  Plus, I felt like I didn't totally lose my skills from this past year since I was able to skate more often.  My rink FINALLY re-opened in mid-September, and I was soon able to start weekly lessons with my current coach.

Skate America!!!

In October, I got the chance of a life time to see Skate America in Hoffman Estates (one of Chicago area suburbs), and I served as an ice monitor for the practice sessions.  Basically, I would let the skaters off and on the ice.  This was such an amazing experience to see the skaters and their coaches up close, and was just amazed at watching these skaters fly around the rink with seemingly no fear of falling.  I also learned a few things, as well as gaining a few words of wisdom from being arms length away from some of these skaters and their coaches:

1. The competitors are normal human beings, and many of them are SUPER nice! They are also human beings knowing that many of them get super nervous before going onto the ice.
2. Even top notch competitors utilize basic skating skill drills in their practices. This includes bunny hops, basic stroking, and waltz jumps.
3. The top notch coaches will STILL correct their skaters on basic positions...head up, bent knees, pull-in, etc.
4. To see a major skating event for free...VOLUNTEER! It's a great way to see the events, be an active part of the skating community, and to see/hear top notch skaters up close!
5. Pairs skaters use a spray on adhesive on their hands to prevent slippage during lifts. I had never thought about that!
6. Skaters do need positive reinforcement from their coaches.  I heard Jason Brown say something about his triple axel that he was uncertain about.  His coach was literally right by me, and what was her response? "Trust it." I totally needed to hear that.
7.  What I need to remind myself now because of #6 with my own skating: Go for it. Risk it. Trust it. 8. Jason Brown really is SUPER nice! He is totally this happy go lucky guy that just makes makes me smile when I watch him skate.
9.  Arena food is super crappy and majorly expensive.  Another perk to being a volunteer is having MUCH better food choices back stage.
10. Watching these types of competitions live will make you work that much harder when you get back to the rink.  You know that you will never be at the level that these skaters are at as an adult skater, but you will work your butt off that much harder to work on the skills that you have your current skating level.

Basically, this event was the skating "pick me up" that I desperately needed, so I was able to return to the rink a few days later with the renewed energy.  I started attacking my program more for my rink's fall exhibition skate, and was even attacking my Pre-Bronze MITF more.  Since I was able to attack my program more, I did a successful first performance skate of the season with my program that I'm planning on using for skating competitions this winter/spring.  My coach and I re-choreographed my jazz number ("In the Mood" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra), which is my ISI Bronze program.  My program wasn't perfect, but I was happy with how I skated during the actual exhibition, and my coach was also extremely proud of me.

At this point, I'm working on really cleaning up that program for the Homewood-Flossmoor Polar Ice competition in January.  I'm also working really hard onto finally getting that "devil" change foot spin as it's still not happening.  THAT has been frustrating to the point of tears for me, however I have gotten it a few times, so I think a lot of it is mental at this point.  I just hope that I will have two clean change foots for Homewood-Flossmoor....one in my program and one in my compulsories.  I'm not really worried about any of the other elements, but I have to get that change foot to happen. I'm trying hard to be patient with it, and have done a fully rotated change foot spin here and there, so I know that they're hiding in the ice, so I just have to keep working on finding them.

This fall, I also continued with off ice training with my coach, and ran a local 5k at the end of September called the "Woman's Fitness Run," which the local running club hosted.  There were approximately 80 runners, and I came in 32nd overall with a time of 30:30, and place 11th in my age group.  At first, I was not happy with how I did since I started off way too fast, almost got too hot, and just about ended up walking from tiring out.  However, looking back, I actually did really well, and I have hopes to place in the top 10 for my age group next year.

In addition, I also ran a 5k back in August.  It was the "pie run" which was my first ever 5k from the year before.  Although this race is not timed, I finished the race in 23 minutes and change, which averaged to about an 8:25 mile, and I finished third overall.  I was actually the lead female runner for 3/4 of the race.  Since it was a "pie run" pie was served at the water stops along with water.  Knowing that there's no way that I can run and eat pie without getting sick, I skipped the water stops (I had my own with me), which saved me on time, and probably helped me keep my lead.

Unfortunately, I have not been running much as of recently, but am hoping to get back into it as I'm planning on running in the half marathon again here in April, which will take time to train for.  However, I am taking an adult beginning gymnastics class at a local gym, and it is SO.MUCH.FUN!!  It's expensive about ($130 for 8 weeks), but is totally worth it, and it is GREAT for off ice training.  This is because gymnastics is all focused on flexibility, balance, and strength, which is all done by your own body.  I am planning on keeping up with the gymnastics, and actually even have hopes to compete in my first adult meet in march. I might be doing "low level" skills, but someone's gotta show people that you can start gymnastics in adulthood, so it might as well be me. Like ISI FS levels, there are 10 levels to gymnastics, with level 10 being the hardest.  Most of my skills are around a level 3 at this point, although I do not have a strong bridge, due to lack of shoulder and back flexibility, plus the needed arm strength.  It is something that I'm working on, because I have hopes to make progress to harder maneuvers from there.  So far, I think my favorite events are vault, beam, floor, and bars (although that may change), and it's been extremely good for me as I've got very little fear with working on my elements, so I'm able to attack them more.  This is because if I screw up, I land on much softer surfaces.  I have even been finding myself pounding out stress with landing on those mats, so it's been very great for me mentally as well.  I actually wish I had more of that "let me at it" attitude on the ice.  However, there's a big difference with my fear of falling because ice doesn't have any give if you crash...unfortunately.

So yeah...that's what I have for this semester.  Since I"m officially on Christmas break from work, my plan is to skate a lot, do some skating for the sheer fun of it, and focus on off ice training again.  I may have to see about setting up some type of schedule for myself, as it is extremely easy for me to overdo things and wear myself out in the process.  However, I'm determined to continue to improve with my skating, and am also so grateful that I've also found gymnastics to love as well.  :)

That's it for now.  I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season, and happy skating!

Springing forward

Well, the time has come. My rink closed for the summer, and so my skating is very limited to when and if I can get onto the ice someplace else.  I finished my season with running my first ever 1/2 marathon in 2:13:15 at a 11:30 pace. I had been training for the race since January, with the goal of running the entire race, minus the water stops.  I met that goal, and was SUPER proud of myself for doing it. I had never expected myself to run a 1/2 marathon just a year after starting to run, and even initially balking at the idea of doing a 5k.  

About a week after the race, I skated in my rink's annual ice show in the principal number, adult number, and in a mini-solo as Cruella de Vil from "101 Dalmations." The theme of the show was "When I grow up," so the different groups were portraying different jobs, such as a postman, fashion designers, world travelers, fire fighters, etc.  As a whole, I really enjoyed taking part in the show, and especially loved the adult number and skating as Cruella de Vil.  The adult number skated to "Roam" by the B-52s, and we dressed as people who were traveling the world as pilots, beach goers, socialites, etc.  It was choreographed by a new coach at our rink Max Liu, who also happened to have coached Gracie Gold when she was a young skater.  I was excited to be working with him, as I have hopes to have him as a coach once my current coach graduates next year.  

For my Cruella de Vil number, I REALLY enjoyed skating to that one.  The music was sung by Selena Gomez, and although she's a much younger pop artist, my coach and I were able to make the routine much more age appropriate. My routine wasn't particularly complicated as it was only about a minute long, but I really enjoyed skating as someone that's my total other persona. I also absolutely LOVED the costume, which was mostly borrowed from another skater.  Since I enjoyed the routine so much, I've already asked my coach about using this routine as a character solo for competitions next year, which he has totally agreed to do.  I think that I can really pull the character off once I work a bit more on expression...gotta get a good creepy smile thing to make the audience shiver a bit.  However, my coach was SUPER impressed with my ending pose. He told me that it was totally creepy and totally matched her character. :)  

On May 7, I took my FS 3 test. This test was very stressful for me as the change foot spin has been challenging for me. I had all of my other elements, except for that change foot being consistent.  Plus, I had the situation of either taking the test and not passing, or waiting until sometime in the fall of taking my test, not knowing how much ice time I will be getting this summer, and be very wobbly on skates again this fall when I would be back on the ice.  I decided to go ahead and test. I passed by the skin of my teeth on the change foot, but I was not happy with the test because of that change foot. I did give the examiner one decent change foot on the compulsory part, but had to re-skate it for the FS part, and did not do it well.  My examiner "passed" me on a 5, but only on the agreement that I "continue to work on it." However, the test is now behind me, I'll keep building on that skill, as well as moving onto FS 4.  This is bringing me the one step closer to being able to do an axel, or at least axel prep work before my coach graduates and leaves next spring. :)  

Now....onto some tough stuff that I've been facing lately.  

Not all of my skating experience is fun and games. A chunk of it is downright hard, and sometimes a very frustrating process.  Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I have discussed this issue with my coach, and we are still on VERY good terms as I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for him, and have greatly enjoyed having him as a coach.  However, a few days ago, during an off-ice lesson, he asked me something at one point that made me stop and think, and it brought back a memory from last year from an off-ice lesson I had with him (may have been my first one).....a comment about my body fat...and how uncomfortable that made me feel.

So yeah...body fat/weight/body image...what a very sensitive area to discuss, especially with being bombarded by the media on what's considered healthy, attractive, sexy, etc. We've all seen those advertisements: firming up all sorts of body parts, dropping 30 pounds in 30 days, advertisements for the various new workouts, etc.  They're sickening, right?  Yet, I've recently found myself battling my body image fairly recently, and it's been bothering me, because I've been questioning why I started making changes so that I'm eating healthier and exercising a lot more.  A lot of people would probably say that I should be happy with those changes, and yes, in a lot of ways I am, as I'm feeling the healthier benefits (running a 1/2 marathon is no small feat).  However, my question is WHY did I start making the changes that I've been doing, and what I realized the other day, partially based on a comment that my coach said about a year ago that I perceived as being hurtful at the time.....my body fat.

I will admit that there had been a few times in the past where I would have slight moments of body image issues as I would try on clothes ("Ugh. I look like I'm pregnant with this stomach..") and the like, despite me always being on the thin side and tall at between 5'8-5'9.  I've also always enjoyed being fairly physically active, although my eating habits/food choices often counteracted that...sodas, cookies, chips, french fries, candy, nachos from the rink....you know the drill.  However, in this past year, I made a huge attempt in a change to be healthier after an off-ice lesson with my coach.

So, the story behind this is that during my off-ice lesson with him (which was FANTASTIC as a whole) at a an indoor track on campus, my coach and I ran into a former classmate of mine that he happened to meet a few weeks ago.  This classmate was very happy to see me (and vice versa) as we hadn't seen each other in a long time, and she had mentioned that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight. I told her that I had.  Later on, towards the end of my lesson, my coach had asked me something along the lines of why I lost weight.  I don't remember what I told him at that time, but the thought came to me a bit later on what sparked it.

The memory of one of my off-ice lessons with him a year ago last spring popped into my mind, as it was around then when I decided to get a lot more serious with my skating.  We were working on some abdominal exercises, and he made a comment a long the lines of "This will get the fat off of you and more toned."  I may have partially stemmed that comment as I believe I said something about my abs being flabby.  Although I know that he meant it to be helpful at the time, it served as a hard to swallow pill for me in terms of body image and overall fitness level. I don't want to say that he was the sole reason that I made changes, but that comment was something that pushed me over that edge...and it kinda scares me that I did that.  I have a ton of respect for my coach, and I know that he wants the absolute best for me for my skating. I do know that our relationship is a two way street, and I realized that I do have to pull my own load to some extent, but I wasn't expecting myself to make changes based upon a comment.  I know that we have all heard stories about people developing eating disorders at least partially based upon comments others would make (such as a coach or a judge at a competition).  Although, at this point, I do NOT think that I am heading down a path of an eating disorder, but it was a very scary question that crossed my mind if I don't keep things in check.  

So with this rather sensitive issue in mind, I do have a lot of questions about helping a student fight through any possible body issues.  This could go for skaters of any age, but it may be of most beneficial to teens and adults.  Please feel free to share your answers if you're comfortable in doing so, and/or sharing these questions with your coach or other skaters to generate a healthy discussion.  These are numbered, but not in any particular order of importance.

1. Should a coach question about a skater's body if the coach is concerned about it?  If so, how should it be approached?

2. Can one's weight, especially of that of an adult skater, affect the technical aspects of skating such as jumping or spinning?  What about other skating essentials such as finding boots that fit? Are there any good skating companies that specialize in adult sized dresses/outfits for a reasonable price?

3. What do you think of the training regimes that many skaters put themselves through (even top level skaters) to meet the physical demands of the sport?  Is it really too much of a physical demand on the body, especially at a young age where so many kids are doing doubles or even triples by the time their early teens? Are they really eating well (with the chance to splurge once in a while), getting enough rest, have some honest-to-goodness downtime, etc? How do skaters handle their body image thoughts during their training?  What these top name coaches doing to ensure that their skater is NOT heading down a harmful path?

4. For those of you who are adult skaters who made the decision to get healthier during your skating career, what was your reason for those changes? Have those changes become a part of you in a positive way, or do you find yourself just struggling to push through?

5.  What can coaches and skaters do if they know another skater at their rink is really struggling with their body image/weight issues?  

6.  What does it really mean to be healthy and fit?  

7.  What are some other danger signs that skaters should take notice about themselves of potential harmful eating and exercise habits?  

8. Years ago, I remember a skater's height and weight sometimes being mentioned during their program (same goes for women's gymnastics).  Why did they do this, and why was it stopped? 

9. Are coaches ever under the pressure to have a skater look a certain way? If so, why?

10. If you're a coach, do you have any health goals/plans that you want your skaters to achieve? If you want them to achieve for the particular goal, why is that?

To end this on a positive note, I did talk to my coach about this other day, and he felt terrible about his (unintentional) criticism about my eating and weight, and that I perceived it that way.  Although he is a nutrition major, he told me that me that he never wants me to feel guilty about nutrition as harmful habits can result.  Plus, yes, it's totally fine to treat myself to some junk food every once in a while, as it is deserved, and he's not strict about nutrition, despite it being his major.  He also stated that he has been super proud of me, that I'm incredibly hard working, has enjoyed seeing my skating mature over the past two years, and have been a joy to teach.  So, hearing that made me feel a lot better, and let's just hope that this feeling of inadequacy with my body image is just a really short thing.  

March Madness

For the few of you that may be reading my postings, I'm sorry about not keeping up with this lately.  Skating has been keeping me busy, and now that we're on Spring Break, I have a bit more free time this week. Unfortunately, that also means less time to skate as our rink has been closed for a few days.

Last weekend, I competed in my home rink's competition  For this competition, I did FS 2 compulsories, FS 2 Artistic (using my old FS 2 program), a Bronze level solo (which was completely brand new for me), and decided to give interpretive skating a try.  I did compete "against the book" in all events, as I was the only adult skater in the whole competition, but I skated well enough for a first place finish in all events.  I had posted a picture of me and my coach with my medals, although I was the most proud of just going out there, facing myself--no matter what recent frustrations I've had skating wise, and skating well as a result.  My coach even later told me that the girls from our rink were also super proud of me for competing.  Afterwards, a friend of mine and I went to local restaurant for much deserved "Irish Nachos" (waffle fries with nacho toppings), and I had a drink or two of choice. :)

Since I was proud of how I did at the competition (as well as for our other skaters), I decided to post a picture of my coach and I with my medals on Facebook.  This caused some nasty backlash from another adult skater (who skates at about my level), who basically told me that my medals were not deserved as I didn't compete against anyone else, that people are so into the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality, all I care about are jumps and spins and not "real" skating, and that I'm basically not the "whole package."  THEN, this skater had the nerve to insult my coach by telling him that he doesn't have nearly the experience that her current coach has, that all he cares about is having students win medals, and that he's basically not a good coach, just because he's young and doesn't have 30+ (or whatever) years of teaching experience behind him.

To be all out honest, I did try to step back and see a lot of her comments as way for me to keep improving my skating, as yes, there are elements of my skating that are needing work.  However, I'm doing my best to improve them, and that process takes time.  At the same time, seeing those comments REALLY hurt because I felt like I was just getting shot down, and she had no clue on how much work I've put in this past year to improve my skating.  Even my coach and another skating friend, who saw those postings, jumped in and defended me, which I was appreciative of.  However, when the skater insulted my coach (it wasn't the first time, either), that's where I drew the line.  It's one thing for a skater to tell me something rude, but to insult my coach was WAY below the belt.  I don't care so much if someone insults me personally, but insulting my coach takes things to a whole different level, as this skater has NO CLUE on how hard we have worked together, both on and off-ice, to get me where I am today.  Sure, my coach is young and ambitious, but that's because we both have goals that we want to achieve. I may not be a 10-13 year old skater, but I am willing and working towards ours goals to the best of my ability, and I'm glad that he is a part of this process.

So I guess the moral of this posting is that sometimes, I think adults create more drama than kids do.  In this situation, my advice to those adult skaters to who want to insult adult skaters is to keep their mouths closed, take a good hard look at themselves in the mirror, and make sure that they're aware of Karma, because "she" can be a real witch with a "B" when she comes around.  Plus, bottom line, it's just poor sportsmanship.  We're all on different skating levels, skating at different rinks, and frankly, none of us are going to the Olympics, so there really shouldn't be this type of drama among the adult skating community.  I got into skating because I found it fun (still do) and challenging.  I know that I don't have access to the top notch coaches, and, in reality, top notch coaches probably wouldn't want to work with me anyways since I won't be winning major skating championships.  However, I'm am very happy to be working with MY coach, as he is the best coach that I could possibly have at this time.

January flashback

Looking back at last month, things are mostly going okay.  I still don't have my change foot spin and my salchow jump is a hit-or-miss, but I'm gradually getting stronger, skating with better form, developing better edges, etc.  I've had one lesson so far for the new year, my coach was very happy with how much better my one foot spin got since my last lesson six weeks prior. I've actually had a break through with that spin, thanks to the word "table top" at my last lesson.  My coach is having me think "table top" with my arms to keep them strong and steady as I push and rotate into the spin. With using that, my spin has more power into it, better rotation, better centering, and not on my toe pick nearly as much. So, I've pretty much been taking that idea and running (spinning?) with it.  :)  As for my salchow and change foot...those will get better over time.  Maybe I just need a magic word with the change foot, and it's just a matter of finding it.

My BIG plus for last month was that I skated in the Polar Ice Classic at the Homewood-Flossmoor Ice Arena near Chicago.  This was the second time I've ever competed, and I competed in two events (FS 2 solo and compulsories).  Although I was competing "against the book" in both events, I'm VERY happy to say that I scored a first place finish in both events!  I even did my solo with only a 30 second warm up on the ice.  What happened was that the competition got behind schedule, so my coach thought that we had a lot of time before getting onto the ice.  So, we were in the dressing room area, doing warm up stuff, and suddenly, someone comes looking for me, as I was suppose to have been on the ice right then. I was in my dress and make up, but didn't have my skates on!  I rush into my skates, but by the time I got onto the ice, I had 30 seconds left.  I had never been on their ice before, which, of course, feels really different than my home rink.  I was also suppose to be the first to go in my group.  Needless to say, this rattled my nerves quite a bit.  Thankfully, my coach was able to have me be switched to being last, so that I could have a chance to get myself together.

I was nervous when I stepped onto the ice. I was more nervous about skating in front of an unfamiliar audience, and skating well than being judged itself.  I had one mistake in my step sequence in the beginning of my program, but knowing that I had a second shot with it (due to the choreography), I took a moment to glide on an outside edge, tell myself that I KNOW that sequence, let the last one go, and give it another shot. I did the sequence right the second time around, and continued to skate a clean program after that.  I even got cheers for my spiral, which felt really good. Before I knew it, my solo was over.  I always find it hard to believe on fast something flies by when you're out there on the ice.  In regular FS sessions, I will do my solo, but it feels like it takes much longer than when I'm performing in front of an audience.  It simply just flies by.  With getting through that, I wasn't at all worried about my compulsories.

For my compulsories, I almost missed part of my warm up again, but I was able to get there in time for my five minute warm-up.  Next time, I'm going to make sure that I'm ready to go at least 10-15 minutes beforehand, so that I'm not rushing onto the ice.  I had to do a ballet jump, 1/2 lutz jump, and a one foot spin.  Knowing that I could do my solo well under pressure, I wasn't nearly as nervous doing my compulsories, so I was able to keep my focus really well.  I was the only one on the ice at that time, but I took my time through my elements.  I came off of that ice feeling like I did well, but it was still really nice to see that first place score posted later on.  The first place rankings got me a high five from my coach, so I was very happy with how I skated, despite my nerves, and I'm looking forward to competing again in March for our Illini Ice Competition.

As for a more recent event, I will be trying out for a "specialty number" for our rink's spring exhibition skate in May. The try outs are next Saturday, and all of the skaters are trying out with using "You've Never Had a Friend Like Me" from Aladdin.  For this number, each of us designed our own routine, and we'll be skating it in front of the exhibition coordinators for a chance at either a solo, duet, or trio.  With this, we have absolutely NOTHING to lose, as we will all get something, so it's a win-win situation.

As for other goals, I have started working on the Pre-Bronze MITF (just started working on the stroking sequence), and I have hopes to put together a bronze level program for the March competition.  I'm also skating to a new practice routine, which is majorly helping me stay focused, and I'm sure it will help me with making some much needed progress.  The scary part is doing my jump sequences, as I have to approach them with more speed, I build up the speed, set up for the jump, and things MAJORLY slow down...argh!  It WILL get better!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of my fellow skaters of all skating levels and ages out there.  I have high hopes for this year to be a good one in everyone's lives.  Looking back, I think I've had a pretty awesome year.  In case you missed them, here are some of the highlights:

1. Got a new skating coach who has been nothing but fantastic.
2. Passed BOTH FS 1 and 2
3. Learned, and landed, a salchow and toe-loop.
4. Got into MUCH better physical shape, ran a 5k, and got a HUGE hug and an "Oh my god!" comment from my coach the first time that he saw me back on the ice back in August.  It sucked to not skate for basically the whole summer, but, all of that off-ice work paid off!
5. Learned a new routine for FS 3, and performed it at our fall exhibition in front of a large crowd, nerves and all!
6. Got compliments from other adult skaters on how much my skating has improved over the year.
7. FINALLY sorting out that freaking 1/2 toe walley jump, and have finally made my peace with it.
8 Decided to try out for a specialty number (solo, duet, or trio) for my rink's spring exhibition.  The tryouts are in February.
9. Registered to skate at the Polar Ice Classic at Homewood-Flossmoor on January 11. This will be my second time ever competing.

So, all and all...not a bad year skating wise! Yes, some skating days were harder than others, but the main thing is that I stuck it out.  To keep me motivated, I've come up with a list of things that I would like to work on for this coming year.  It's not a "must do" list per se, but something for me to work towards.

-Pass FS 3 (planning on testing that in a month or so)
-Learn, take, and pass USFS Adult Pre-Bronze MITF and FS
-Get a legit spread eagle and Ina Bauer, and maybe use them in a program
-Land a clean loop and flip jump, both off and on ice...MAYBE take FS 4 late next fall
-Continue to work on overall fitness and flexibility, including the possibility of running a 1/2 marathon in April. :). I also want to get a true center split, and get my right leg split consistent.  However, my right leg split is MUCH better than what it use to be!
-Learn the beginning ice dances
-Skate at different rinks if I get the chance, and maybe take a lesson or two in a specialty area from a different coach at said rink.
-Don't be intimidated by the young skaters. A lot of times, we're working on similar, overall ideas, just at different levels. Plus, someone's got to show them that one can skate as a grown up, and be good at it. It might as well be me (and you!).
-Skate more often for the sheer fun of it. Go ahead...laugh with a friend at attempts to do shoot the ducks and landing on your butt.
-Continue to have a positive attitude with my coach, and be willing to try new things
-Continue to conquer the fear of falling by allowing myself to fall. Yes, there is a chance of falling on my front superman style or hitting the back of my head, but I can't let that fear stop me.
-Be proud of what I'm able to do, what I'm working towards, and seeing how far I have come.  Come to think of it, I've come A LONG WAY since I started skating classes on January 16, 2011. :)
- DON'T.GIVE.UP!  Off-days and bad days are gonna happen, but quitting is NOT an option.

What are YOUR goals?