Sharpen, Wax, Tape...

So...we leave in a week. Now it's time to get everything organized and ready to go which means doing SOMETHING with these....

They are a mess. I haven't sharpened them in almost 6 months (I know. I know. I'm terrible at taking care of my equippment)! The leather is torn and scratched (because Jordan and I constantly knick each other)and my laces are ripped in some spots. Plus, the heels and soles need to be waxed so water doesn't invade and hurt my boots. The tongues are broken down...basically, they're a mess. But I LIKE THEM THAT WAY!
Unfortunately, judges do not. They may be more comfortable to me, but they're yucky looking. Sooo in comes this lady....



Camera shy Vicki Zander! BTW, I took these with my phone, so forgive how crappy the photos are. Vicki is skate expert extraordinaire and saves my butt every time. She is now in the process of frantically sharpening my skates so that they will cut your finger like a razor blade if your run your skin across them. It's important for her to do it now because I have to skate on them a few days before we actually compete. They are REALLY sharp when you first use them and it makes you catch weird edges like crazy. Not what we want when we have to go out there and give it our best!

So, Vicki is sharpening away, waxing my soles, replacing the fleece on my tongues and making them look somewhat white again! Vicki....just about ROCKS the world! I couldn't do what I do without her. Thanks V!

Unitl Next Time,
-J

Steppin' It Up!

We did TWO back-to-back run throughs of our OD today! Wooohoo! And get this....the second one was better than the first! My on-going gallactic battles with lactic acid and asthma are gradually coming to an end! We're still struggling with speed issues, but overall...HUGE improvement from last week. We finished our introductory steps to the Quickstep and the Argentine Tango which are the compulsory dances we have to do (it's the first round of competition), so that's another hurdle we have overcome. Yeah! For those you who are not linearly challenged ...here's what the steps look like on the ice. Yeah, I know....it's certainly not the English language!

Just for reference: LFO means "Left, Forward, Outside" (it refers to: the foot your on, the direction your going, and the edge your skating on.)

Argentine Lady's Steps:



Quickstep Both Partners:

Until Next Time,

--J

Two Weeks to Go....

We leave in two weeks for Chicago and the countdown is really ON!
We are now on the ice at least 10 hours a week...and it's coming down to the wire.

We are doing complete run-throughs of the program, but it's not consisitent yet. I get really tired by the time two minutes rolls around and the last 30 seconds of the program is sooo challenging! Not to mention our coach is demamding more SPEED!
SPEED! FLOW! COVER THE ICE! All he does during our run-throughs is yell, "BREATHE!!!"

And yes, we have crashed a lot this week. I now, officially, have a bruised butt. Probably a little too much 411 there, but hey. It is bruised and it hurts! Both Jordan and I have lacerations on our calves. The Tango OD requires us to do a lot of leg locking and we keep knicking each other with our blades. OUCH! Oh and I whacked Jordan in the head the other day when I twizzled...oops!

The last lift is getting better. I can now get Jordan off of the ice pretty easily. Yeah! Strong woman! Yes, I DO lift HIM in this program (see pic below). The hard part is.....that lift is at the END of the program....during that critical last 30 seconds when I'm so winded and so much lactic acid is running through my body it feels like the incredible hulk has his hands compressed around my chest. The picture directly below here? That's the first lift in the program ...and no the camera is not fooling you. I AM upside DOWN!





Until Next Time...
--J

We Did it!

Well, we finally put our Original Dance on the ice in front of an audience. It was rough, but we did it! I'm pleased that we actually got through the thing without eating it! LOL
It's a fairly hard program and we got good comments, but it does need some mileage. That's what we plan on doing for the next three weeks before heading off to Chicago!


The exhibition was all part of SCORE's (Skating Club of Oregon) Nationals send off party. The club hosted a full blown shindig for us! It was so great! Jordan and I just love our club. SCORE's support is undeniably generous and inspiring. Thanks Everyone! Pictured here are Lauren Zell, Jordan, myself and Bob Raemer. We along with six other skaters form Portland will be heading to US Adult National Championships in three weeks! It's so close!
(Thanks to Diane Adkin for all these great pictures!)

Preparing Practice. Huh?

Jordan and I are frantically preparing for Nationals. We are very behind and were a little concerned, but this week was great! For those of you who don't know...injuries have plagued us this year. We have only been on the ice since mid February after 3 months off! We did our first program run through Friday and even managed to put in a few elements with it too! We are exhibiting the program next weekend at Lloyd Center. It probably won't be that great, but it's pushing us to get ready. That's for sure. The feed back has been good as well. Lots of: "It's so dramatic!" ....and "Oh the expression you have!" Hopefully , they aren't just saying that to be nice. You know how it is....
I ordered the Rhinestones for my costume last week. They cost twice as much as the dress!! Agh! I'll be frantically be-jeweling away this week before the exhibition. It's going to be gorgeous, though. A little re-vealing, but hey? What's dance for anyway, other than the great costumes, right? LOL!
Thanks to our seamstress Kathy Duvall for her fabulous work. She truly is amazing. I'll try to post some pics next week. Here's one from last year...just for peeps and grins!

Kicking off 2007

Yeah, I know. It's March, but so what! Welcome to our new blog!
We also have a new web site design thanks to Daphne Backman and www.ice-dance.com.
Thank You Daphne! Check it out at http://radlick-johnson.ice-dance.com

Jordan and I have been through a lot the last few months and are really trying hard to get to US Nationals this year. We have been through injuries (I tore a ligament in my lower back. Jordan broke his foot), work problems and house issues (Jordan's house has flooded several times this winter), but we will prevail! We love our Tango OD this year and we are really excited to perform it. There is nothing like the power of positive thinking.
We're doing an exhibition trial run for the OD at Lloyd Center Ice rink here in Portland. It may not be pretty, but we'll get through it! All in all this year, we have FIVE ice dance teams heading to Adult Nationals this year. Wow! That's a record. All of us will be exhibiting Saturday March 17th and we hope you can make it.

Thanks to the Skating Club of Oregon for their continued and undying support of adult skating and we hope we can represent the Northwest in a way that makes everyone proud!