Competition Time

For probably about a year now, my skating teacher and other classmates have been saying that I should learn a program. Learning a program is no fun by itself, so this means having a place to perform said program. And on Saturday my teacher told me about a competition the second weekend in March. So I said ok, I'll do it. When do you want me for a private lesson? How about tomorrow at 11? Ok. So yesterday I had my first private lesson. And today I hurt. It wasn't really anything new, but it was the intensity. By the end I couldn't do it anymore. My legs weren't supporting me. Only six weeks to get ready. Hope I can do this!

And I'm very quickly realizing why I put this off so long. It's expensive! $40 registration fee for the competition. Not too bad. But then there's the costume. No clue how much that will end up being, but they're not cheap. $15 for ice time for practice, plus another $30 for each private lesson. And I don't know if I'll need those weekly or if I can spread them out a bit. I also should probably try to find some mid-week time to practice, as it doesn't really make much sense to just skate on Saturdays and Sundays.

What's amazing to me about all of this is how much I've learned and improved in the two years that I've been skating. I remember in my second class I started crying because I was so stressed and frustrated and feeling as if I couldn't do anything. I just hope I don't suck too horribly come competition day.

(The photo is from January 2008, about a month or two after I started lessons.)