Disappointment

I have made so much progress skating recently that when I have a bad day it seems Really Bad. I looked forward to skating tonight, and even fought traffic to get to the rink. I was rested and hydrated and fully recovered from Sunday's Big Fall, hoping to conquer brackets on one foot today.

But from the moment I got on the ice I felt shaky and unsteady. It was as if my balance had shifted and I couldn't find my center. I tried to do figures for 30 minutes but they were scary. Right, scary. Going that slow, a fall is actually bound to be worse since there is no momentum. I didn't really want to fall again at slow speed (fast would have been better), so I left after 30 minutes of trying to find my balance.

I am sure that this was just a bad day and not the harbinger of a bad forever, but on the way home I was disappointed enough to ask myself whether I wanted to continue. Rationally, I know that I was bound for a step backward since I have been striding forward lately. I felt like I was getting to about bronze level with consistency (the Paso is an anomaly folks - it's just an easy dance for me - although today I wouldn't have been able to do any of it) and now I am back at pre-preliminary. I am back to doing 3 turns and back edges on two feet. I am really hoping this setback will be followed by more progress, but I am going to take a couple of days off to get my bearings before trying again.