(no subject)

[unicornduke]

 Skating in the new skates wasn't bad. It was incredibly different than the rental skates which are either not sharpened or sharpened differently than the way the store guy did it because I was sliding all over. 

It was slipping sideways when I would push off so I'm guessing he put more of an edge on it, which is helpful only if you are already good at skating. I did get used to it and it actually helped after a little bit, I was much more stable and consistent with things

I also can now pretty consistently do left turning crossovers although some can be a little choppy and weird. I waited towards the end so most people cleared out to loop to the right in the middle of the rink to try right crossovers. Meh. I can do them but not gracefully or consistently. 

Increased my skating backward distance to the length of the rink!

I still cannot stop. 

I did leave ten minutes early because either my sock or the constant left turns were causing issues because my left arch started pinching a little and I was afraid it was a blister. It wasn't and I hopped back on the ice for a bit but it came back.

I also didn't really stretch after, mainly because I end up cold and I'm not sure how much help the stretching will be. I stretched a little while the zamboni was going halfway through. But my thighs and hips are cold the whole time I'm skating although I am sweating a little bit. 

I'm going to try and make it to the other rink on wednesday for skating. We shall see 

Comments

[dragonlady7]

maybe you just need a pair of cutoff sweatpants as an extra layer just where you're cold, and then less clothing everywhere else. *shrug*

you're making me want to go skating but ice skating is nothing but frustration for me. i should go to a rollerskate open skate somewhere but i dunno what that scene is like anymore.

[unicornduke]

Yeah, I just got some new ones specifically for workouts/skating so I might pair them with long johns for more warmth. I mean, I don't really notice it until afterward when it takes forever for them to warm up.

I've found that I just want something physical to do and to get out of the apartment. Honestly I could have picked just about anything but I love hockey and this is something I've always enjoyed so that's what I went with.

You should think about getting back into rollerskating! It might be fun!

I also picked it because I want to go ice skating on a lake someday. Or a river. It sounds like it would be so fucking cool

[graydon]

Skate blades get a radius ground into the bottom (usually; some people will do hockey skates dead flat.)

https://wissota.com/support/skate-sharpening-101/choose-your-radius/

It sounds a bit like the new skates are less radiused; more glide, less bite.

Left arch can be a desire to pronate the foot and the skate boot -- which usually assume you've got high arches and perfect ankle alignment -- will fight that. Sticking in different inserts (usually in both skates!) with more arch lift can help with that.

Thighs and hips cold could mean you're doing it right; skating is more of a calf thing because it's changing foot angle. (I mean, full out speed skating isn't, but you're gliding around a rink, and presumptively not going all that fast, so it's mostly a foot angle thing.)

[unicornduke]

They are cold although I can definitely feel some soreness in my hip flexors and groin muscles. They're working when I'm pushing off harder and I think I'm also stretching them when trying the crossovers.

I'm doing less calf work and more upper leg work since I'm trying to learn to skate better. Lower center of gravity since I'm bending my knees and hips a little bit for more balance. Sometimes I do straighten out and it is more calf then but primarily hip/thighs/groin muscles.

Interesting on the grinding, my guess is that because I didn't ask for a specific edge, he just went with the largest, which is good for beginners. My guess is that they just don't sharpen rental blades :P

I'm going to wait and see on the arches. I suspect it was the pushoff pressure especially with the crossover practice being repeated for two hours in new skates that did it. The skates need to break in and all that jazz. If it gets worse, then I'll look into it.

[graydon]

Crossovers will do that. (and then there's back crosscuts, but maybe not until next year! :)

If you try to visualize your feet when you're skating (that is, what happens to your feet when you're skating, visualized when you're NOT skating, lest you centipedes-dilemma yourself into the boards), what does the path of each foot look like, relative to the line you're travelling down?

They may indeed just not sharpen rental blades. Even after someone walks on gravel in them....

[unicornduke]

back crosscuts oh no that sounds alarming. oh boy they look alarming!

those are a-ways away

I can't really visualize it, I'll have to take a picture or video next time I skate.

[graydon]

Back cross cuts are easier to do than they look, in keeping with the skating principle of opposite difficulty. (if it looks easy, it's likely hard, and vice-versa.)

You might find video useful; there are several functional ways to skate, and it's difficult to tell which one you're using from the inside. (This keeps skating coaches in business.)

[unicornduke]

Well, I am signed up for skating lessons starting in two weeks. I definitely need to learn how to stop from someone who knows more than the internet can tell me. Plus it's just extra skate time. I think it will be helpful just to have someone keeping an eye on me. It's eight weeks, 1 hour sessions so I'm pretty pleased with the cost to ice time, it's a little over $100.

I'm going to keep skating before then because I think I mostly just need to keep doing it and I'll get better.

[graydon]

Yay, lessons!

You're nigh-certainly correct about getting better, too.