A little better . . .

Maybe my new skates aren't the Instruments of the Devil after all :)

On recommendation from another skater, I bought some of those Scholl Party Feet (gel cushions designed for cushioning the balls of your feet in high heels) and shoved 'em down the sides of my skates. They didn't remove the pain, rather they dissipated it so it was a little more bearable. I managed 30 minutes solid before resting my poor battered feet today, which doesn't sound much, but is compared to 10 minutes on Wednesday! I also learnt today, that to keep the pain down, I have to keep moving. No standing on the ice chatting, as when I start moving again . . . OW! But towards the end, I could feel them beginning to "give" just a tad. Either that or my feet were going numb . . .

The boots definitely felt more secure today - my forward stroking is getting up to speed, forward crossovers are not such a struggle and I can hold pretty good forward edges on them. I think my edges will be much better on these blades. Level 1 Field Move forward edges are a little off centre, but I think that is a mixture of finding my weight balance on new blades as I bring the free leg through, and wearing slightly heavier boots. Did some forward Russian Stroking, and lots of slaloming (on two feet - haven't tried it one foot in these blades yet!) and swizzles. I also did a few gentle 3-turns, just to try and feel the rocker. They happen very easily, and as a result, feel rather strange!

I tried a few strokes of backward crossovers, and this feels rather odd. However, tomorrow I need to start doing backwards stuff on them, so I will just have to bite the bullet. I think it felt peculiar, cos I am not sure where on my blade I should be yet, and the comparitively massive toepick at the front becomes more apparent :)

So, although it was painful, I am pleased with progress. I was really a little dismayed after Wednesday's session, so this has perked me up a bit!

I didn't wear them to synchro last night - and I couldn't believe that even after just one session in my new boots on Wednesday, my old boots felt sooooo wobbly!!! Still not in hold cos of my bl**dy arm, but learnt the steps for the long line bit, and then we did some circuits for Moves in Isolation. I am getting more confident with spins (only 2-3 revs but still more confident) in my old boots - I hope this doesn't take too long with new ones. One circuit was salchows - well as an ice dancer, that ain't goin' to happen, so did some very feeble attempts at 3-jumps. I don't even think I am leaving the ice, lol. Spirals felt good - I have discovered that I really like doing these on an outside edge which I thought would be hard, but actually, no! And last circuit was drags. I was praised for a nice drag and nice spiral position - at least there is something I can do nicely in synchro!!!

My Transpack has just about fallen to bits after a year and a half of heavy use, so today I treated myself to a little baby pink suitcase from Primark for the bargain of £15. I don't think the backpack has been helping my bad shoulder, so maybe a set of wheels will help!!! And of course, it should keep my new babies (yes, I am just about liking them again now) cushtie inside :)