Ok, manned up....now man up some more....

I probably posted about me trying to be a new, braver me and feeling like it was working. I still do think it's working to some extent...I'm certainly doing more on the ice now than I would have dared even just a few months ago. It may sound like nothing to a lot of people, but for a nervous ninny like me, mohawking at any speed faster than standstill is a great achievement.

So now my coach has started putting together a program for me, I feel like these things are really starting to come along because (most of the time) I just do it. My new principle is to embrace the fear, if you like. I feel the fear, ignore it, and do it anyway, then panic afterwards (while overheating through the fear sweats). A few months ago I would have felt the fear and stopped dead in my tracks, the end.

Ok - it didn't quite work out in one of my lessons last week. In a rather amusing moment, I panicked and chickened out of a move - three times in a row. What it meant was, instead of doing the mohawk-thing I was supposed to do, I two-foot turned. A big no-no. I recall an earlier conversation with Coach A where he said "what was THAT?". My reply of "a two-foot turn" was greeted with "Excuuuuse me? What level is that on? (4) and what level are you on? (Gold).....ahem." *Cue face of disappointment*.

This time, that two-foot turn just happened to be at a point EXACTLY in front where he was standing, watching from the barrier. Bad times. "Oh come ON. Really?? I'm standing right here." Fair point, Coach A, fair point. To be fair, I fixed it. What choice was there?

Anyway, so in my most recent lesson, Coach A very kindly, I must say, called my backward crossovers "absolutely brilliant". Those words will stick in my head for all eternity I think, since I never in a million years would have expected such an accolade. He then politely pointed out, however, that I don't do them in my 'brilliant' way if ANYTHING comes after them. On their own, yeah, great. But they slow down to a snail's pace in anticipation of what's to come next if I'm expecting a jump, spin - well, anything really. And he's totally right.

So guess what I'm going to try working on this week....cue many splats. Anyone got a spare ambulance ready?