Today was a good day

Today was a good day. Today, even though my feet hurt for the first 1/2 hour and a quarter of the ice was coned off cos it had melted, today was a good skating day.

I was at the rink for over an hour, doing my usual thing of skating for 15 minutes, stopping for a little while to let my feet breathe and then skating again. And as the session went on, things started to click. My stroking rhythm became more and more even, my feet started feeling comfortable, my balance starting hitting the spot and everything just felt . . . . good. Obviously I am no Jayne Torville, but considering everything, it was a successful practice.

Forward sculling is coming along - I can now start from standing (rather than needing a big run into it) and just about keep going, albeit slowly. My stroking is getting longer and longer glides, and my one leg glides went on for aaaaages! I think I am beginning to "feel" the ice more - noticing more where my weight is, what going onto my edges does, etc.

I am wondering if one of the things making my arches uncomfortable is because I tense my feet in my skates (clench my toes up etc). It would certainly explain why, as I became more confident and relaxed on the ice today, my feet became more comfortable. I know this can be a cause of sore arches. I am going to continue without the supports for a while and pay more attention to what my feet and toes are doing, to see if it helps.

I am really looking forward to the class on Wednesday now - hopefully we will be starting to do forward crossovers.