motivation
Last week I skated T and Th, largely because I know the rink is more deserted then. One of the (legitimate) reasons I've been off the ice so long is that I took 2 bad falls (due to collisions) and really wrenched the *&#$ out of my R shoulder. (Did I do any rehab to help it along? No. I pouted and blamed my coach for not being a better lookout during lessons - a post for another time.) So first times back on the ice I wanted as few people around to run into as possible.
This week my plan is to skate MWF. The few adult regulars tend to show up to public skate on MWF and at one point, these skates and skaters were the highlight of my week. It was with some trepidation that I came to M skate. The adult skaters seemed pleased to see me but the old warmth and camaraderie was definitely missing. BUT. DavidBowie (aka the insane evil Russian ice dancer, and my old coach) was there, giving a lesson to D. We spoke briefly and I could feel him watching me to see how much skill I've lost. Just having him there made me push myself harder than I usually do. I only skated 45 minutes, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I was done and knew I'd gotten a good workout - all b/c I didn't want to look like even more of a slacker than I obviously am in front of DavidBowie.
Honestly DavidBowie is the reason I skated as hard as I did and improved as much as I did in 2006-2008. As my lessons with him waned and then stopped, so did my enthusiasm and motivation for skating. I don't know if he'd be willing to take me on again. I don't know how Coach L would feel about that (I imagine not happy). But dancing with him was thrilling. I want to do it again.
I can't afford lessons right now (I'm on summer salary, i.e. no salary) and I'm not up to lessons just yet anyway. But in another month or two, I think I'll see if he can fit me in once or twice a month. If I'm going to skate, it needs to be for me, and I need to let rink politics pass over me. And skating for me means skating with DavidBowie again - if he'll have me.
This week my plan is to skate MWF. The few adult regulars tend to show up to public skate on MWF and at one point, these skates and skaters were the highlight of my week. It was with some trepidation that I came to M skate. The adult skaters seemed pleased to see me but the old warmth and camaraderie was definitely missing. BUT. DavidBowie (aka the insane evil Russian ice dancer, and my old coach) was there, giving a lesson to D. We spoke briefly and I could feel him watching me to see how much skill I've lost. Just having him there made me push myself harder than I usually do. I only skated 45 minutes, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I was done and knew I'd gotten a good workout - all b/c I didn't want to look like even more of a slacker than I obviously am in front of DavidBowie.
Honestly DavidBowie is the reason I skated as hard as I did and improved as much as I did in 2006-2008. As my lessons with him waned and then stopped, so did my enthusiasm and motivation for skating. I don't know if he'd be willing to take me on again. I don't know how Coach L would feel about that (I imagine not happy). But dancing with him was thrilling. I want to do it again.
I can't afford lessons right now (I'm on summer salary, i.e. no salary) and I'm not up to lessons just yet anyway. But in another month or two, I think I'll see if he can fit me in once or twice a month. If I'm going to skate, it needs to be for me, and I need to let rink politics pass over me. And skating for me means skating with DavidBowie again - if he'll have me.