March 2006
Sunday March 5, 2006
Kickboxing & More
Sundays have become my most intense workout day of the week. This is because kickboxing classes are offered on Sunday morning. I have been attending this class for close to two months and really enjoy it. I do not actually spar with a partner or opponent. What we do is more accurately called “cardio kickboxing” and resembles a very high-impact aerobics class. It can be exhausting, but in a good way. I love a rigorous workout, and I love to sweat. It helps to fill the gap left by skating. When I skated, I always skated hard and for long periods of time. I poured with perspiration and pushed myself like a kid half my age. Other people often commented that I trained as though I were going to the Olympics. Too bad I don't skate as though I were going to the Olympics. In any case, I was always very serious about my exercise and still am.
I like to get to the gym about an hour before kickboxing class. This gives me some locker room time before heading into the fitness center to run on the treadmill. I try to do a mile or more which leaves my muscles warm and pliable, perfect for a good stretch and improving my splits. Following this, I pump light weights to jump-start my upper body. After this ritual, which could be considered a session in itself, the class starts, and I throw myself wholeheartedly into kickboxing. I love kickboxing. Kickboxing is supposedly the most intense form of floor aerobics, and I am absolutely thrilled to be able to do it tirelessly. Well, not exactly tirelessly, but I have a large capacity to keep going. Once the class ends, I hang around to stretch again. Today a woman who is in very good shape herself commented on my flexibility and thought I was dancer. She said, “Most people walking around are not as limber as you.” I had to laugh. Brilliant understatement and certainly true.
And my Sunday workout is not over yet. After the class and my second stretch, I swim laps. Swimming sooths my muscles after hard work. I usually enjoy twenty to twenty-five minutes in the pool then soak in the hot tub for a few more minutes. Finally, I return to the locker room, my exercises completed. I always feel like I could conquer the world after a Sunday workout.
Week of March 5, 2006
Foiled Again
I called my new home rink last week to find out if the afternoon freestyle had been reinstated yet. It should be close to the end of hockey season. Yes, the session would be available. I was so excited! As a side note, to consider this place my home rink is a bit of a joke. Before hockey season insured the temporary demise of the only reasonable hour I could attend, I had skated at this facility for only about a couple of months, at the most. However, the prices are reasonable, and the rink is close to work. I planned to get at least an hour there every week. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be. The hockey gods had other plans for the frozen surfaces.
The morning of the session, I loaded my skate case into the backseat and daydreamed about flying camels. I love the sensation of launching a flying camel. It is probably the most advanced skill I perform regularly, and I miss them. That afternoon, I hurried out of work to get to the rink with plenty of time to change and stretch. In the office, I pulled out my checkbook and told the attendant I wanted the skate the freestyle. Much to my horror, he told me the session had been cancelled because of hockey practice. To make this even more disappointing, I had telephoned the previous afternoon to confirm that the session was still on the roster. Indeed it was. Apparently, after I hung up, a hockey team bought the ice. The man suggested I call immediately before. From now on, I will call right before I leave work so I don’t waste my time with extra commuting for naught.
I will not be able to skate the following week either. The session has been cancelled for testing. When am I going to get back on the ice? Hopefully, the week after the testing. I think I need another sick day…
Week of March 19, 2006
I Actually Skated!
I actually skated this week. I can hardly believe it. And not just once, but twice! This is certainly miraculous. Apparently hockey season has finally concluded its death throws and stopped ripping the ice out from under the afternoon freestylers. The rink offered three hours of freestyle that fit my schedule, and I took advantage of two of them. I have only been skating for an hour at a time, because the sessions are after work, and I drive home in some pretty rough traffic. One session was available for two hours, but the extra hour would have put me in ungodly traffic, so I made a sensible decision. All I ask these days is for an opportunity to skate two or three times weekly. Maybe I will be able to get that now.
While I used to turn up my nose and single hour sessions, now they suit me perfectly. After work I might feel tired, frustrated, disgusted, lazy, burned out, annoyed, or an number of other adjectives that wear on a person after a day on the job. In spite of the urge to just head home and relax, I can always spare an hour. It is a small commitment. I drive to the rink thinking, “I can handle an hour.” Two hours or more can be intimidating after a long day.
Considering the last time I skated (a month ago), I had to call in sick to work, and the time before that I was almost ejected from the world’s worst public session; I had limited performance expectations. I was very rusty, even though I stepped onto the ice and dug in like a senior lady. My legs are strong from workouts and readily stroked around the arena. It felt good to control my power while feeling a self-imposed cold wind on my face. My blades could probably use a sharpening as evidenced by a tendency to slip off the initiating hook of my spins, particularly the forward camel. The only skills not adversely affected by the long hiatus were my basic skating techniques. These had been a priority during the fall/early winter season of limited ice. My dedication kept them fresh even over an extended period of inactivity. If the basics remain in place, the other tricks will return with regular practice.
It did not take very long for me to regain my polish. During my next visit, my spin center returned, though my combinations still need time and patience. I drilled a good scratch spin and hit a few nice camels both forward and back. Sharing the ice with only one other person, each of us contentedly practiced jumps on opposite ends of the rink. Jumping was never my strength, and reviving the height and distance of my jumps will take some effort. Most were decent attempts, but nothing spectacular. I also played with flying camels. The first try took me by surprise. My rhythm temporarily forgotten, I lifted off strangely and collapsed, still rotating on the ice. Actually, I was butt-spinning pretty fast. The goofball in me rolled on her back, pulled the knees to the chest, and break-dance twirled laughing with private delight. I have never tried that before. My companion, a girl I estimate to be about fifteen, smiled at the silly adult. “Dangerous but fun,” she quipped. Probably every kid has done that at least once.
The following flying camels improved. They were more dignified.
Week of March 26, 2006
I Skated Again!
This might actually become a habit. I skated another two sessions and had the option for a third after work, but was too burned out by the end of the week. Unfortunately, I opted to just go home. However, that was not a bad choice since the weather has been warm and sunny, and I could jog outdoors. I also had contracted a sore throat by Saturday morning undoubtedly from the abrupt change in temperature and a rash of colds making its way through my workplace. Hopefully, the sore throat will not become a full-blown illness keeping me away from the ice next week.
During the last two weeks of regular skating, if two weeks can be considered regular under any but the most optimistic conditions, I have noticed a change in the focus of my practices. I spend a larger fraction of time on basic stroking skills and moves in the field. Covering the ice and creating a presence in the rink has become more important to me. In my opinion, these are the factors that make a person look like a “good skater”. Strong edges coupled with speed and control give the illusion of a far greater repertoire of skills than may actually exist. I do not have the intricate footwork of the young competitors, but I am certainly fast and possibly intimidating. If I can continue to skate on a predictable basis, I would like to resume lessons and learn more complex step patterns and return to ice dance. Having maxed-out on rotational jumps years ago, I believe my skating future lies in this direction.
I am also interested in regaining the large, clean single jumps I managed when I could skate a few times per week. I have spent some of my time on this as well. As an exercise aimed at increasing pull in vaulting jumps, I have worked on alternating forward outside three-turns with skipping toe taps in between. Interspersed with other stroking and turning movements, these make an interesting piece of footwork, especially since they are easily performed in both directions. For example, following a left forward outside three-turn (counterclockwise, for those who have trouble picturing this), the skater holds a left back inside edge, opens the hip and looks in the direction of travel. She taps her right toe in, pulls and skips to the left toe, now facing forward. From here, she can readily step directly into a right forward outside three or other element. Done in alternating succession, these are a fun exercise that build ambidexterity, edge control, vaulting distance, and quickness. I would like to combine the turning and skipping with crossovers and backward skating to create a strong pattern of lobes around the arena.
For now, it seems I will enjoy available uninterrupted practice for the rest of the season and hopefully into the summer.
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