| | Dear Diary,
Nationals didn't go well at all for me. It wasn't my best performance, but I performed on a sprained ankle that I had hurt about two weeks before the competition. I was struggling with taping it everyday and having it swollen every other day. Plus, I couldn't train as much. So, given all that I faced, I felt that I did the best I could at that moment.
| |  | | | Angela Nikodinov won her first career victory at Four Continents. |
I only had a week to train between Nationals and Four Continents, which made things a little difficult. Four Continents is a new competition in its second year. I believe that they are trying to make it equivalent to Europeans, and it is good to have that extra competition for all the countries that don't participate in Europeans.
Going from Cleveland back to Michigan (where I train) to Japan was a lot to do in a short period of time. After you come back from such a pressure-filled competition as the Nationals, it is kind of a down feeling from all of the excitement. It is difficult to get back to the rink and motivated to start training again. Last year, it was the same situation; you get back and have that week or so to get ready for the next competition. I knew that I had to use those couple of days to do the best that I could do.
Before this year, I had been to Japan only once -- and I got sick, so I wasn't able to enjoy it. This year, I had an awesome time in Japan. It is a different culture from the U.S. There are lots of different foods to eat and the people are really great.
The Japanese fans are very different from the fans in the U.S. The crowds at the rink are smaller, and the main event is the men's competition. We finished before the men even started. That was very hard after coming from Nationals, where thousands of people are cheering you on.
Four Continents was still not my personal best, but I was second after the short program because of a mistake. I knew that I had a chance to win as long as I didn't hold back in the long program and kept my focus. At first, heading into the long program, I felt like I did all that I could do. But in the end, when I had earned my first career victory, it felt great being on top of the podium.
While I wait to see if I am going to Worlds, I am preparing for next season and all of the new demands on a figure skater's performance. I need to become more of an all-around skater by improving on every little detail: stroking, spins and spirals. Figure skating is not just about jumps, but about the whole program.
Until next time,
Angela
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