Recap from Adult Nationals – Part 3 of 3
After my Freestyle event, I had a dramatic event the following day. I signed up to practice the day of so I would have a chance to properly warm up before the event. The practice ice that I signed up for said it was available for Gold, Championship Gold and above. Or so I thought.
When I arrived at the practice rink, I noticed that I was the only one who wasn’t skating in a championship event. I probably read the description wrong and accidentally signed up for a practice time that I wasn’t supposed to. Oops.
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| At morning practice with a beautiful mountain backdrop |
I am actually glad that I made that mistake because I met some wonderful skaters there. One of the men was skating in the Championship Gold Men event, and three ladies were competing in the Championship Gold Ladies event. I had already met one of the 3 ladies, so it was very cool to meet the other two (both of them medaled by the way, and one of them ending up becoming the Ladies’ Champion!).
I ended practice feeling really motivated and inspired. My event wasn’t until later that evening, so I had a full day to prepare.
I didn’t really know anybody from my event, so I introduced myself to the other skaters. Four men were skating against me. I was 8th to skate out of 12.
As I did in previous competitions, I looked up towards the heavens and talked to my recently departed family and friends. When I took the ice, it felt like an out of body experience. I focused on connecting to the music and just letting my legs and body go on autopilot.
I didn’t land the axel at the end, but the rest of the program felt good. After watching the rest of the competitors, I had no idea how I would place. I mean, there were 12 of us, so I could end up last like I did the previous year.
To my surprise, I tied for 4th! And because of the tiebreak, I dropped down to 5th. Medals are awarded to the top 4, so I was *thisclose* to earning my first national medal. Rather than be bummed about this, I was ecstatic because I made so many improvements from 2014 in this event. I moved up from last to tied for 4th!
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| Skating to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” |
I wish I could share the video with you, but YouTube doesn’t like me. I purchased a legit copy of the music and didn’t claim copyright to the music, but YouTube has blocked it. The music is to Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and is the first minute and 40 seconds of the song (minus the introductory chords).
I’m not sure how long I’ll keep this program. While it seems to resonate well with the audience and somewhat with the judges, I may retire it and try something completely new. Who knows?
