Actually, she's lost count and has no idea how many practice sessions she has had since she started ice skating at age 3. But she can tell you, with bubbly excitement, that she gets on the ice two, sometimes three times a day, and that she loves every minute of it.
"To me, it's fun," he said, adjusting her ponytail as she prepared for her practice. "My first competition was when I was 6, and it was in Wasilla. I don't really remember anything about it but smiling. It wasn't nerve-wracking. For me, it's fun."
Herz is one of eight girls that Team Alaska is sending to the games, which begin March 7 in Grand Prairie, Alberta. Of those eight, a remarkable six are from Eagle River. And like Miriam, they all have a commitment to their sport that belies their young age.
Ashlynn York, also 11, is home-schooled, in part to accommodate her rigorous training schedule. She skated a final few laps around the ice at the McDonald Center last week with a gentle grace that resembled a deer in the wild. This is her first trip to Arctic Winter Games, a spot she had to work hard to earn.
"There were four from my level (at the tryouts, held last November), so I wasn't sure if I'd make it," said York, who will be skating Ladies 2 at the competition. But the same grace she shows on the ice is evident in her attitude to skating.
"I just kind of have fun in my competitions," she said. "I'll do my best and hopefully that will be enough."
The Arctic Winter Games provide some of the best competition for these Alaska girls. The international event is held for athletes who live in Arctic regions of the world, and can include competitors from Canada, Russia, Greenland and occasionally some European countries. The Games are held just like the Olympics, with opening and closing ceremonies, and the girls will get to meet people from different countries, and immerse themselves in the competitive ice-skating culture.
"Arctic Winter Games is a great launching spot for our athletes," said Cindy Solberg, who coaches the girls and as an Eagle River resident is arguably the reason why so many local girls are here in the first place. Solberg began coaching in Alaska in 1976 and has been involved with the Arctic Winter Games since 1978. This year, two of her former students will serve as Team Alaska coaches, Crystal Williams and Jennifer Pierce. As a former competitor, she knows what the girls are going through as the Games approach.
"It's a great opportunity for these kids to compete at a national level," she said. "They have great ability and motivation and they will have some good competition. The Russians are typically really good."
Figure skating, at this level, is a time-intensive sport that requires several practices a day, year-round and often with dryland training as well as ice time. Getting in practice time is a commitment not only on the parts of the athletes, but their family members as well.
"We try to keep a balance, and she doesn't skate on the weekends," said Heidi York, Ashlynn's mother. "But it is a lot of skating, more than we anticipated when we said (in 2006), 'Mom I want to learn how to skate.' "
Esther Julian, 11, is one of seven children in her family, five of whom are figure skaters. She made the team in Ladies 1, which is the beginning level in a Ladies 1-4 staging competition. It will be her first trip to the Arctic Winter Games. Her mother, Mila Julian, spends most of her day getting the kids where they need to be to get their practice time in.
Esther said figure skating came naturally to her after family friends bought she and her siblings skating years ago. She took to the sport and soon wanted to spend all of her time on the ice.
"I just thought it would be fun," Esther said, "and it is."
Likewise for sisters Jiale and Xinghua Turner, who rushed in with just minutes to spare for their scheduled practice session on the ice. Their mom, Lisa, spends a lot of time in the bleachers, waiting, with a book in hand.
"At this level, you can't do it if you don't love it," Turner said, as her daughters glided over the ice under the watchful eyes of Solberg, and their choreographer, Jill Shipstad Thomas, who flew in from Reno, to help them prepare. "But both the girls just thrive on this. It takes time, but they are happy."
Xinghua, 12, said she is absolutely happiest on the ice. As the top-ranked skater on the team she will compete in Ladies 4 and, like Miriam, brought home two gold medals and one silver medal in the 2008 Arctic Winter Games she has high expectations of herself.
"I like the cold and I like the speed," she said, with a crafty smile slipping across her face.
"And I wanted to do what my big sister did," chimed in Jiale, who at 10 is the youngest skater on the team.
At the Games, Solberg said the girls will compete in both long and short programs, which vary in length depending upon the level of competition. All of the girls agreed that the long program, which allows more creativity and latitude for choreography, is their favorite. The short program, which requires a set number of elements, is less forgiving, Solberg said, so if you don't nail each jump, twist or turn required of the program, the point deductions are harsh.
Still, the girls are up to the challenge, Solberg said. After all these years, she has not tired of watching them excel, working hard to reach their goals and creating strong bonds in the process. It's not a cheap sport, and the time it takes to practice can be grueling, but it is so worth it, she said. Alaska athletes have a reputation as being some of the toughest competitors at the Games.
"What keeps me at it is the ability to pass on my passion for the sport," she said. "We have very talented athletes here in Alaska, and I always have been a huge supporter of the Arctic Winter Games."
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