January 2009
Friday January 2, 2009
The Health Club
I have really missed working out in a gym. Although I take walks and jog, do resistance exercises in my living room, and workout on a trampoline in my backyard; none of this takes the place of the atmosphere of a gym where the presence of other people exercising motivates me. I also love aerobics classes. They push me to improve and work harder. Although we really cannot afford the luxury of a health club membership, I found a very good one that I happen to drive by most every day that is offering an “economic stimulus” package. They have a pool, racquetball courts, extensive resistance and cardio equipment, and three fitness studios. The deal was just too good to pass by. And get this: the manager and owner said I can roller skate in the fitness studio, which is huge with a wood floor, whenever it is not in use! I could not believe it.
This reeks of a new year’s resolution; joining on the second day of the year and all. However, that is mere coincidence. Since the injury to my ankle in July 2006, I never regained the level of fitness I had attained before the accident. There are multiple reasons for this, one of which was dropping our membership to the YMCA. We quit mainly because my husband did not use it, and it was too far away for me to use regularly especially with the soaring cost of gasoline at the time. Despite my humble efforts for independent exercise, my body has started to take on a middle-aged dumpiness that I am eager to shed. I can see the direction this is going, and I need to stop it (and reverse it) now.
My husband went out to visit some friends that night, so I hit the health club. A kickboxing class was in session when I arrived, but I was too late to politely join in. So I rode an exercise bike in the women’s fitness room and worked on a few machines until the “target training” class started. If I had known this class was all on those miserable oversized exercise balls, I would have passed. Once committed, I stuck it out. Fortunately, the class was only a half-hour. Exercise balls provide support for the back and assist in achieving proper body position for crunches, squats, and other skills. However, I do not like push-up type exercises on them because too much pressure is focused on my wrists. My medical history includes a very serious hand injury which makes excessive stress to my wrist problematic.
Latin dance aerobics was offered next. I am a terrible dancer and have virtually no dance training. Ice dance does not count, at least not for me. The instructor was very considerate. Many new people have joined the health club and she made a special effort to make the new people feel welcome and teach us the moves. I got lost a couple of times, but caught back up and enjoyed the class. After the class, I chatted with the instructor and another student about skating. Too bad I didn’t have any business cards on my person. Both were impressed with my flexibility during stretching exercises. I showed the instructor how to do a waltz jump on the floor. She had recently gone ice skating for the first time. Her dance expertise would definitely put her at an advantage over other adult beginners.
I worked out some more on the fitness machines. It was getting late. The gym was nearly empty. Who in their right mind works out alone on a Friday night? Actually, it is a great time to exercise. I felt very relaxed. I went to the locker room for a luxuriant soak in the hot tub and a long shower. I blow dried my hair and headed out. It was nearly ten o’clock by the time I left.
Mid January 2009
My Father’s Illness
My father found a lump in his neck in September. The biopsy revealed cancer. After a lot of foot-dragging, he was scheduled for surgery in November, just before Thanksgiving. I went to be with him for the surgery. What might have been ordinary mouth cancer, had progressed to his jawbone, which was removed and replaced with a prosthesis. His prognosis was very good. My father maintained a positive attitude throughout the process though he was very uncomfortable and disheartened. In his mid-seventies, my dad had never been sick, except for some back problems he suffered a couple of years prior.
We have always been close, my father and I. He was always a big part of my life. I called him almost every day, sometimes twice, often just to tell him nothing new was happening and I really didn’t have anything to say. He always appreciated the phone calls. I told him everything that was going on in my life. Sometimes he approved, sometimes he did not, but he was always supportive. We loved each other very much; although it was difficult for us to express our emotions. He was never thrilled with my desire to become a skating coach, but wanted me to succeed. He was probably as disappointed as I was when the economy took a dive and directly affected my ability to earn a living in coaching.
I was preparing to leave for the rink to teach my classes when my sister called to tell me the cancer had returned with a vengeance. He had been a in a sub-acute facility healing from the surgery before radiation treatment could begin. The cancer had spread to his lungs and was terminal. He had a month to live. I cried for a few minutes in my husband’s arms. My husband took me to the rink that day so I would not have to be alone in the car. My passion for skating and teaching skating put the horror of the news out of my mind temporarily. I did not tell anyone at the rink what had happened; I did not truly believe it myself. A couple of days later, I called my supervisor and told her I had to go out of town indefinitely to care for my father until his time came. Leslie is a wonderful woman. She assured me she would work out the schedule while I was away and would have classes waiting for me whenever I returned. She is the best boss I have ever had, and Ice Castle is the best place I have ever worked.
My sister and I met at the home of one of our father’s friends and took our dad home the next day. He wanted to die at home and we honored all of his wishes to the end. For the first couple of weeks, our father was fine, as fine as a terminal patient could be. He got around the house with his cane, cared for himself and visited with a plethora of loving, caring friends and family members. His best friend from childhood stayed the entire time to give my sister and I breaks every day so we could go out to the gym and/or have lunch together. Our father could not be left alone.
We both brought our ice skates, and the town had frozen two outdoor rinks in a park within walking distance of our father’s house. We both took walks with the dog past the rinks but we never skated on them. The weather was bitter cold and sometimes terribly windy. I could not summon the joy to skate, but I did like to look at the ice and the kids skating or ghetto skating in their shoes. The dog went out on the ice and slipped around a little in complete surprise.
While my father was still lucid, I told him how much he meant to me and how I have loved his friendship and support over the many years of our lives together. I told him I would miss it when it is gone. I’m glad I did that. My father passed peacefully in his sleep on a sunny Saturday morning, the 7th of February, in his house. The snow had melted from a patch of grass in the front yard; the lawn his had so carefully tended since he retired to his hometown. I cried on his chest and told him I would miss him. But he already knew that.
Mid to Late January 2009
Spirals at the Gym
Amazing that I could have personal goals during the time of my father’s illness, but while I stayed at his house, my sister and I went to the gym a few times. It was probably the best thing I could do for myself. My sister had been curious about the trend toward extreme flexibility that is so prominent now in ladies’ figure skating. I told her that flexibility could be trained and I showed her some valuable exercises. She is an athletic woman who jogs and works out regularly. However, she does not practice flexibility training. It made me realize how limber I am for a woman my age. In my opinion, the best exercises to develop a full split are presented in Ann-Margreth Frei’s “Magic of Style II” video and consist largely of hurdler stretches taken to an advanced level. These are the skills I taught my sister.
My individual goal is to do a full split on each leg with the torso held erect and the arms raised above the head. This demonstrates full flexibility and extension and would translate into an outstanding split jump. I am very close to mastering this skill. I am also working toward a spiral with the free leg held aloft in a perfect split position. To achieve this, I practice spirals and kicks wearing ankle weights. At home I only have two-pound weights, but the gym has four pounders and higher. Quality spirals consist of half flexibility and half strength. After removing the weights, my spirals are noticeably higher. As though this were not enough, I am also training a supported side split, in which I hold my free foot with my hand and stretch it upward. Shizuka Arikawa owns the most sophisticated version of this move. She captures the hand-held pose then releases the leg, which remains at full height and beautifully extended. I do not care for spirals that snap as soon as the support is removed. I’m also exploring a standing split with the leg held to the front which makes a lovely backward gliding variation in a spiral sequence.
I have my work cut out for me, but it is not impossible. I practice almost everyday and see continuous progress. To compliment these exercises, I do strength and resistance training. The gym at home has a balance beam, which I incorporate into my workout. The most basic pose is infinitely more difficult on a balance beam. But not impossible. None of these personal goals are impossible for as long as I stay focused and keep trying.
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