The only thing constant is change
You ever heard the saying that “the only thing constant is change”? Well, it certainly holds true in skating. Just when you think you’ve perfected something, you are asked to tweak it a bit. Like when I thought my sit spin was good, Coach B asked me to make a minor change to it so I get more efficient at using my energy. That’s not that big of a deal, of course, but just an example.
I am planning on retesting my Adult Gold Freestyle later this month, and we’ve made some big changes to my program. Instead of having intricate connecting steps (that slow me down), we are sticking with good old crossovers and mohawks. Simple, but efficient. Since speed and power are my theme for 2014, we are simplifying my entire program to maximize the flow. We switched around the order of some of the elements and re-mapped the whole thing. I added another length of the ice to the program so I have maximum ice coverage and utilize every corner of the surface.
One additional change we are making is to my footwork sequence. The old one was fine, but it slowed me down. We are in the midst of altering it so I can appear to be quick, nimble and effortless.
The good news is that Coach B has noticed an improvement in my speed and power, so we are definitely on the right track. The bad news is that since I am skating so fast (at least in my mind), I am getting winded pretty quickly. I am severely out of breath about 1 minute into my 2:40 program. I need to keep running my program to build up my endurance.
Until next week…
