Break-in Progress and Testing Soon!

by Mary on May 11, 2014

Three weeks into breaking in my new skates and I think I’m over the hump, thank goodness. Harlick finally gave me the room around the toes and forefoot that I wanted on this pair of skates so there’s no pain there. I’m still using gel sleeves to protect my ankles from the stiff edges of the new boots. After six hours with two sets of hooks unlaced I graduated to this:

Harlicks with one set of hooks unlaced

And six more hours of practice later to this:

fully laced Harlicks

I was so glad to get the skates all the way laced up and feel like I could really skate again. With no time to spare, since I went ahead and signed up for both my adult gold moves test and my Ten Fox ice dance test. Yup, I’m testing my gold moves on Wednesday and my Ten Fox at a different test session Thursday.

I haven’t been able to go crazy with getting ready since, well, new skates, but I’ve done as much as I can. My friend helped me record this video of my bracket pattern.

There’s a lot more I could improve: bring my free leg through more cleanly, control my core so I don’t wobble on the way out of the turns,  arms more relaxed and lower, better knee action…. but they are a little better than they were. I’ve put a lot of lesson and practice time into these. This is only one of the six patterns that I will have to skate for the judges on Wednesday.

I worked hard this week and by Friday my legs were toast, developing shin splints and a stiff right foot and ankle, and I was just overall tired and sore. I fell out of my fast forward crossovers Thursday and bruised my knee (just above the knee pad) though it’s the elbow I landed on that I felt at first. And now that those have settled down there’s this sore spot on my forearm that had better not be some kind of minor break. Skating!

I’m resting and relaxing this weekend, feeling much recovered by today, enjoying Mother’s Day with a nice walk through the Seattle Classical Chinese Garden. I hope your Mother’s Day is a happy one whether you are being honored yourself or just thinking of your own mother.

I’ll let you know how I do on those skating tests, talk to you then!

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Joanne May 12, 2014 at 2:26 pm

Good luck with the test. You look good.
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mary May 13, 2014 at 5:15 am

Thanks Joanne!

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Alejeather May 12, 2014 at 2:47 pm

That’s an ambitious test plan with new boots! Your FI brackets look particularly good. Best of luck on all your upcoming tests!
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Mary May 12, 2014 at 3:05 pm

Yeah, that’s just how it works out with the tests, my ice dance coach is going away for the summer soon and they’re changing the gold moves test soon, too. Thanks, the FI brackets have always been the easiest ones for me, and the FO ones the hardest.

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Alejeather May 12, 2014 at 3:13 pm

Ooh, for me the BO are the hardest. I still can’t do them with any regularity. I bail or put a foot down all the time. Or just skip the FI-BO pattern altogether (bad skater!)

Don’t know if you’re aware that the moves test changes did not pass at governing council. All the proposed changes are going back to committee, so now the earliest they might change is next year at governing council. So you’ve got a while with this rendition of the test, but hopefully you won’t need it, and pass it this week!
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mary May 13, 2014 at 5:24 am

That’s good to know about the tests staying the same. On the brackets, I think the BO brackets are the hardest for most people. All of the brackets have been a long learning curve for me. It has helped me to practice them in a line and also on a circle. On a circle I do FO/BI, change feet, BO/FI, and the opposite for the inside brackets. On a line I stay on the same foot all down the line.

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Eva May 12, 2014 at 3:43 pm

Good luck, Mary! I know you’ll do great this Wednesday. I agree with alejeather – your FI brackets look so smooth, and so fast! Watch your edges before you do the actual brackets… they look like they are on flats, so make sure you sustain your edges throughout. Will be thinking good thoughts for you this week!
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mary May 13, 2014 at 5:30 am

Thanks, Eva. I have been working on that edge change, particularly on the FO brackets, for a long time, it’s smaller than it used to be anyway. It seems easier for me to keep my lean through those FI brackets, I’m glad you like them.

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Kiran May 12, 2014 at 8:16 pm

Good luck, Mary! And I love the skates. So pretty 🙂
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mary May 13, 2014 at 5:31 am

Thanks Kiran! I am enjoying the skates being so nice and clean before I get them all scuffed up 🙂

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Marcia May 13, 2014 at 1:55 pm

Good luck on the tests! Brackets are tough and yours are coming along nicely!
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mary May 14, 2014 at 3:39 am

Thanks Marcia!

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