When it was all over, I got on the scale and was thrilled to discover I’d lost almost fifteen pounds. When I finally got back on the ice, I was horrified to discover I’d lost my jumps. I could do the double loops, flips, and Lutzes I’d been doing for years, but the bigger jumps I’d worked so hard for had vanished, replaced by failed attempts that came up a quarter-turn short every time. After a few panicked days of despair, the double Axel came back and eventually—months later—the triple Salchow. But the rest never did. In retrospect I guess that was the first thing I’d ever lost to an
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