We Don't Just Excel, We Axel

Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See  my first HP post  for the full notes on these. Background: I was a lesson or two into my time with the Tammasaurus when she ambushed me during my warm up exercises... ------------------------- "What boot and blade have you got on?" I winced slightly knowing that my Graf 500 boots were just beginner level, which, while technically passable for the level I was at, would really need an upgrade to continue. I'd only got them about six months ago and had fully expected I'd have to upgrade in about a year or so, but I hadn't expected to progress this fast. I didn't know how much further I had left in them, but I knew I'd have to do some damage management with my response here as the Tammasaurus trains all the young, elite skaters and I didn't want to get a disapproving look. "Urr, they're Graf 500s. The blade just came with the boot, I think it's just a standard Gr...

Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See  my first HP post  for the full notes on these. Background:  I'd just set up my first one-on-one lesson with the Tammasaurus . Some called me insane, the others were taking bets on how long I'd survive... This is a rather long post, I apologise for that, but if you want a taste of what my first private lesson was like then I recommend consuming the whole thing in one sitting - that's right, the food metaphor has already begun - as my first lesson proved to be a similar feat of endurance. ------------------------- Sweat poured off my face, my hair was already soaked and I was beet red as I puffed for breath in the middle of the rink. I hoped, in that instance, that I could've been described as a "hot mess", but I've long suspected that my hair drenched in sweat doesn't look in any way as sexy as it can do on some people. Side note - At this point, I was going to illustrate ...

I meant to post this earlier in my post schedule, but it didn't quite fit into my HP format so here it is, late, my "origins" story behind getting into ice skating. ------------------------- I first encountered an ice rink the way most people do. You're 12, your parents take you, a little girl half your age cuts you up and promptly falls over right in front of you. Your blades are heading for her head; you have no idea how blunt rental skates are, but 12 year old you assumes you're going to give her a lot more than just a close shave. In a panic, you're forced to half-jump, half-fall over her and, incredibly, no one's injured in the end. Girl skates off like nothing happened and you start a blog 15 years later to commemorate the occasion (absolutely not why I started). I don't actually remember the experience of skating that time though, just the seemingly dramatic incident, so I'm going to pretend my first time was two years after that event...

Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See my first HP post for the full notes on these. Background: I'd been skating for about three weeks by this point, which is roughly six hours total on the ice. I'd mostly just done forward stroking, forward lemons and two-foot turns by now. I'd done a little bit on backward lemons as well, partly self taught, because I wanted to get to grips with going backwards after the two foot turns. ------------------------- Ashley was at a conference this week so we had a stand in for the group lesson today. Jane introduced herself as the head coach for the rink. THE HEAD COACH!? She confessed that she was mostly locked up in the office making sure all the admin was in order. In the face of our quietly awed expressions, she skipped checking what we'd been doing for the last few weeks and ran us through everything we'd done so far from the beginning. In every exercise she would give pointers and we blitz...

Please note, this is a historical perspective (HP) post. I will be relaying my memory of the moment as I remember it and recounting it partly in the past tense but partly in the manner of a story. I found reading posts about people's early lessons really helpful for me to relate to back when I started learning so I hope this is as useful for others in turn. If you follow the numbers on these then you can get the highlights of my skating history up until I catch up with the present day and the blog transitions into those. ------------------------- I'd made it. Two hours on the coach and one trip to Costa for a pre-skating hot chocolate and toastie later and I was arriving at the rink for my first ever group lesson. I'd brought gloves and a jacket with me, expecting it to be cold, but I was surprised how fast I warmed up on the ice. The public session started at 10:00am and the lesson was at 10:30 so I picked up some hire skates and got on the ice (with surprising ease) i...