Figure Skating Journal, Reflections of an Adult Figure Skater

February 2007

Week of February 4, 2006
On Ice, but Not Training

My doctor said I could go skating, but he obviously does not want me to fall on my new injury. However, I am healing very well, and getting out of the house for some physical exercise and interaction with other people would be psychologically beneficial. This is an upper body injury and does not affect my ability to skate, except I have to be careful. I promised the doctor I would take it easy and just skate for exercise. I would not do anything “fancy”. To me that means “no training”. I will not work on challenging skills that have a realistic possibility of ending in a fall.

Since my leg and ankle are still weak from the break last July, I have plenty of work to do just to build back muscle, strength, balance, coordination, and all of those fundamentals I took for granted as a healthy experienced skater. When I finally got back on the ice, I had been away for at least six weeks. Even under the best circumstances, a six-week hiatus would require a little back-tracking. I stepped on the ice and felt stiff and awkward until my muscles automatically kicked in and began to two-foot slalom across the rink to the players’ box where I left my water and tissues. I spent the first fifteen minutes of the session just slaloming before graduating to basic forward strokes. The strokes had little power and amounted to simply pushing and balancing on each foot individually.

I practiced edges, dance steps, various stroking movements, forward crossovers, glides, and other drills. Everything I did was aimed at building back my strength. I even did a few two-foot spins, the most courageous attempts ending with an attractive back outside exit edge. Later in the week, I moved on to backward stroking and played with one-foot spins. I skimmed the ice in upright arabesques assuming flats, outside or inside forward edges and changes of edge. These movements target the buttocks and tighten the outside abductors. Combined with pretty arm positions, they look rather elegant.

I skated three times during the week, each day building more confidence and spending less time catching up to where I left off previously. My speed improved, my knees softened, and I skated with more rhythm and control. I felt very confident. One woman, who brought her child in to skate, asked if I was an instructor. After struggling for years with the most difficult spins, axels, and double salchows; looking professional by just skating around with presence and skill is a great accomplishment. Her compliment meant a lot to me. Even when I am injured and skating for the sake of being on the ice, I look good. Another friend told me how relaxed and composed I appear. I was doing inside edges around the rink at the time and concentrating on pointing my free toe and improving my extension. I have never been so happy to be on the ice. I have never been so happy to do so little.

Week of February 11, 2006
The Happy List

Unbelievably, this is one of the happiest periods of my life. Other than physical therapy, doctors’ appointments, and my psychologist; my time is my own. My medical “team” thinks I should skate for exercise and to keep my spirits up after a traumatic accident. And it is definitely working. I feel great! My injury does not affect my physical ability to skate. Actually, skating is great physical therapy for the residual effects of the ankle injury I suffered last summer. I am very pleased with the progress I am making toward recovery from both problems. Still, I have a lot of work ahead of me.

When I am on the ice, I smile continuously. I am thrilled to be skating. My husband, doctors, family, and friends provide a solid caring support system. I am healing beautifully; better than expected. Joy just radiates from my face when I skate.

So what am I doing on the ice? Less than you might expect if you have followed my adult skating “career” through this journal. I am a fairly advanced skater. However, I am not doing any advanced moves now, but what I do looks polished and professional. Other people comment on my skating ability. Of course, this adds to my overall state of euphoria. I feel graceful and appreciated. What a lovely combination.

I decided to compile a list of the elements I currently practice.

1. Warm-Up Exercises

2. Edge Work
3. Dance Skills
4. Stroking Drills
5. Forward Crossovers
6. Backward Skating
7. Spins
8. Footwork
9. Glides and Extensions

That’s about it. The whole list takes about two hours to complete to my satisfaction. Next week, I hope to increase time spent on backward dance skills and beginning dances. I would also like to perform more basic spins such as attitude spin, upright backspin, back camel and layback. I will explore these cautiously to determine if they feel safe at this point. I promised my doctor I would avoid falling, and I plan to keep my word.

*Scooter pump: Quad roller skating term for one-foot swizzles. With both feet on the ice, one foot remains stationary while the other swizzles. When done aggressively, this move can generate considerable speed.

**Double push forward stroking: A stroking drill performed on alternating lobes around the rink. Two strokes are performed with the same foot on a lobe. The other foot remains on the ice.

Thursday February 15, 2007
Fifth Floor Walk-Up

My husband and I went to visit a friend who lives on the top floor of a five-story walk-up. For those who are not city folk, walk-up buildings are just that; you must walk up the stairs. There is no elevator. If you have limited mobility, you are basically screwed. We went to this friend’s place in the evening, after I had skated for two hours in a frigid rink and did another two hours of physical therapy. I was exhausted, but decided to accompany my husband. I did not want to sit home while he went out and socialized.

Getting up the steps was not too bad. I limp a little, but I can manage. After not walking at all for over two months, I keep my complaints to a minimum. My limp is intermittent. I do not limp all of the time, and usually the limp is slight. According to my orthopedist, the limp is most likely temporary and will fade gradually and should disappear completely this summer. So I got up the steps, and we hung out with our friend.

When it was time to go home, I stood at the top of the steps. My ankle had stiffened from sitting around. Since the building is over a hundred years old, the steps are grossly out of code, meaning they are very steep. Far too much rise and too little run. I placed one foot gingerly on the first step down and brought the other foot to meet it. My husband offered to walk directly in front of me, but that made me feel more uncomfortable. I did not want to fall and take him with me. I continued cautiously, one step at a time, as the old cliché goes. Eventually I got to the bottom. It took between five and ten minutes.

What reality check! Eight months after breaking my ankle, I still deal with physical challenges from that injury. For a moment, it depressed me. I quickly reminded myself that I have come a long way and ultimately negotiated those stairs, something I could not have done at all a few months ago. It just means I have to work harder and stay focused. I have to keep skating. I have to exercise my ankle and build muscle. Skating is great ankle therapy. How convenient.

Presidents’ Weekend 2007
Poor Man’s Treadmill

My husband and I went out to look at treadmills a couple of weeks ago. We want the gym-quality type, not the kind that comes from a discount store and deteriorates quickly. We have found with exercise equipment, you definitely get what you pay for. “Good” treadmills cost about two thousand dollars; some less depending on which features you sacrifice. We did not want to forfeit a high power motor or a long running belt. We preferred a good warrantee, and so on. Ultimately, we decided we could not afford what we wanted right now and decided to look for other options for at-home exercise.

nordic trackBoth of us had been intrigued by the Nordic Track ski machines that were popular in previous decades, a craze that has faded, but the equipment still exists both in brand new and used form. In fact, used Nordic Tracks are ridiculously abundant. Who has not bought a trendy exercise gizmo only to abandon it in the basement or use it as a laundry rack? The advent of ebay has created an outlet for all of this forgotten workout crap. We bought a basic Nordic Track for a hundred bucks. It came while both of us were out and my husband dragged it into the house and set it up in the living room.

I have heard horror stories of people falling off Nordic Tracks and/or being unable to use them. These people have apparently never cross-country skied before or are terribly clumsy. My husband found the model a bit flimsy, but he is a big guy and an expert skier. I stepped on the thing, slopped around a bit, then got the hang of the “kick and glide” motion of cross-country skiing; an activity I have unfortunately not done for a few years. I hope to get back into cross-country skiing next winter when my injuries have all healed.

We bought the Nordic Track as a cheap substitute for a treadmill, providing a cardio workout when it is too cold or nasty to take a walk outside. I also hope to get back into condition for running this spring, something I dearly miss. My husband has decided he likes the motion of the skier better than walking on a treadmill. He actually might want to invest in a higher quality model in the future. I am also delighted with the Nordic Track. The “kick and glide” motion provides excellent therapy for my ankle. I get a great flex and can build strength and balance; all three important factors for skating.

ankle flexMy residual limp is due to lack of ankle flexibility, primarily the ability to pull my foot back toward the shin. I have good toe point like a ballerina (or skater), but still come up short in the opposite movement. Five minutes on that Nordic Track loosens my ankle and erases my limp. Regrettably, the limp returns once the ankle stiffens again, but a few more minutes on the wondrous Nordic Track gets rid of it once more. Plus it provides an excellent cardiovascular workout and exercises the quads to delicious skater-approved soreness. For me, the benefits are multi-fold. Not only am I getting a healthy workout that will get me back in shape for spring jogging, I am rebuilding my leg muscles and regaining precious ankle flexibility.

I wish I could take credit for coining the phrase “poor man’s treadmill”, but that was my husband’s stroke of genius.

Week of February 25, 2007
Going for a Spin

I decided to experiment with some safe spins. Since I got back on the ice this year, I have done a few basic two-foot and one-foot spins. It was not long before I tried a forward scratch spin, which felt wonderful as always. My body really knows how to spin. Even after the beating it has taken in the past eight months or so, my muscles have not forgotten how to drill a spin into the ice. I feel very confident spinning, much more so than attempting iffy turns in my bad direction. Tricky turns would more likely result in a forbidden fall than a familiar spin. So I carefully sorted through some sensible possibilities and decided which spins I can practice.

Of course, the basic scratch spin tops the list as long as I don’t pull in hard enough for a blur. That would create more force than I need to control right now with a fairly recent injury. I tried a back camel, which is one of my better positions. A back camel is a do-or-die proposition. Entered as a single element from a forward inside three-turn (rather than as part of a spin combination), the skater must attack the spin with a strong hook entrance. Caution can result in a fall and, at best, a spin that never spins but just looks like a huge sloppy three-turn. In many cases, the skater would drop toward the open side and save herself by putting a hand down. In my case, the hand that would touch the ice sustained a serious injury in late December. I absolutely cannot fall on that hand. Mark the back camel off the list.

I tried a simple upright backspin. Fine. Tried it again and faltered. I do not need another accident. Cross that one off. Forward attitudes and laybacks present no problem. They are comfortable as an old ratty pair of slippers. Forward camels can stay on the menu. I even hit one that rotated fast enough to make my nose run and turned on a very tiny circle. Now I just have to be able to repeat that about a hundred times. Camels are very difficult to maintain. In my experience, they are the most highly technical spins and require the most precise technique. I have not tried a sit spin since my return from the broken ankle. After spending over two months on crutches, my right leg muscles suffered significantly from atrophy. I prefer not to work on a sit spin until I rebuild muscle mass. Although my leg has redeveloped nicely, I am still not prepared for this challenge.

For now, that’s about it. I’m going for a spin, as long as it is one of the options on the following list: basic one-foot spin, scratch, attitude, layback, and camel. No backspins, no combos, and no flying entrances. Combined with all of the other skating skills on my “happy list”, I stay pretty busy. Spinning offers the psychological benefit of doing something I love. Conveniently, the deep knee bend and ankle flexion required for strong spins are excellent physical therapy. Spinning motivates me to push my body beyond its comfort zone, to work my ankle harder and regain lost range of motion. When I am spinning, I feel completely unfettered, as though no disability restricts my progress (within the boundaries of the aforementioned list). My injured ankle and weakened leg no longer create a barrier. I am free to spin with the abundant enthusiasm I carry in my heart for this sport.

Since I have been skating for fun rather than achievement, more people have offered me gracious and genuine compliments. Joy must radiate from my face when I am on the ice. Moving effortlessly just for the pure love of it has transformed my skating from a labor to a delight that pleases on-lookers as much as it does me, the skater herself.

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