Intermediate Class

 I realize I haven't posted since writing about my big fall, but don't worry, I'm still skating!  I didn't get to do most of my usual things all October long because, here in Florida, we had Hurricane Milton.  Then I got Covid, followed by Hurricane Helene, and finally, I stubbed my pinky toe pretty hard on furniture while, ironically, getting ready to skate in the backyard.  All of my family and friends and their properties survived the storms, thank goodness!  We were very lucky, as many people are still recovering.

When I returned to the rink, I took part in the "intermediate" class, which happens on the other side of the rink from the beginner class, simultaneously.  Though it feels WAY more advanced and beyond my abilities, there isn't anything new for me to learn in the beginner class.  I'm proud of myself for all the progress I've made since my start--I can skate forwards with MUCH more confidence, like it's the easiest thing in the world!  I still can't brake smoothly, but it's not like they take the walls away once you switch classes! 😉 

I've been to 2 and a half (was still gearing up when the first intermediate class began) intermediate classes, and we learn different things each time.  The first time, they taught us how to spin, but I could only stomp myself around.  It was not smooth.  The second time, we learned about edges and edging (leaning on a different part of your skate--there are 8 edges 😅), and practiced skating on the large circles painted on the rink.  If you've ever seen those in your rink, that's what they're for.  When I watched our instructor glide over the circle easy peasy, I thought of cartoon ice skaters, hands behind their backs, making skating look like the most relaxing, enjoyable thing one could do.  

From Disney's "Once Upon a Wintertime"

But for me, still a beginner, it's pretty terrifying!  You're expected to lift one leg, like Jenny and Joe in the picture above, and LEAN.  Listen.  I can barely balance on one foot WITHOUT wheels strapped to my shoes.  So really, THIS is what I picture happening when I try to use my edges:

As you know from my last post, I've been here before.

Our instructor could see pretty quickly that my friends' and my skates needed to be loosened even more (I often read about skaters saying their trucks were loosened and it changed everything), in order to use our edges properly.  She loosened them for us after the class:

Our coach loosening my trucks

She held up a skate and showed us how the side wheels should squeeze in towards each other when you lean your weight onto that side, and appear to push away from each other when leaning on the opposite.  Our skates weren't doing that before.  Now, we could manipulate our skates better.  I have to say, it really WAS a game-changer.  I felt so much more comfortable and in control of my skating.  As my friend pointed out, you could just lean on your skates when the turn came up on the rink, and the wheels moved for you, so you didn't even have to lift a foot!

Now that I feel more caught up, I'll write about last night's lesson in my next post.  See you then!