I hit the local Play It Again Sports, figuring if they had anything at all in my size, it was a win. They had two things in my size. A pair of very nice gloves for $50. That's a good deal for the quality of glove, but I can spend ~$40 for a new pair at the low end, and low end is fine with me and I'm trying to keep this down to a minimum. (I had read that you could fill out your non-skates equipment for ~$250-300 if you shop cheap and/or used. From what I've been seeing out there, that's pretty optimistic).
The other thing they had in my size was a pair of shin pads for $25. That's not a fantastic bargain for something that goes for $35 new, but they looked to be in decent enough shape so I went with it. Plenty of scuff marks, but the only part that I could ever see breaking down would be the straps, which could easily be fixed if needed.
Then tonight, I was looking for good Cyber Monday deals and was intrigued with Ice Warehouse. They stocked the lowest-end of most models, which isn't always true of other web sites. And they offered free overnight shipping on orders of $50 or more to California residents. Their Cyber Monday deal was 25% off.
I snapped up a pair of elbow pads and gloves. (Bauer Vapor X60, black for the gloves and Easton Synergy 20 for the elbow pads, if anyone cares) to get me over the $50 minimum.
So all told, I spent $85.02 and picked up three pieces. Let's keep a running total to see how well I do. For protective equipment, I still need a helmet, mouth guard, shoulder/chest pads, jock and hockey pants. I'll also need practice jerseys (one dark and one light), hockey socks, an equipment bag and the various tapes. Oh, and duh, a stick. You really can't buy the helmet used, and I plan on getting a full cage because I just have no intention of dealing with the dental calamities.
OK, what else did I do today. Oh yeah, I actually skated. That's kind of important too.
I bought a pair of ultra-thin socks and that solved my skate problems. There had been a nasty pinching right behind the toes in my right skate that was causing all kinds of problems, but the thinner sock made it all go away. I skated for 95 minutes and the only pain I felt was ordinary "feet are not used to balancing on a thin piece of metal for 95 minutes" aching.
The skate went extremely well and left me feeling buoyant and excited for my second class in two days. Some things I worked on:
1) My main goal was to work on the one-foot snowplow stop, which was the primary focus of the first class. I spent the entire skating around the rink and stopping 4-6 times on every circuit. At first, I alternated feet, and then I started to do the left a bit more just because it's my off foot and doesn't come quite as naturally.
The move involves gliding forward, then placing one foot slightly in front of the other and turning the point of your tow inward, and using the resistance this creates to scrape to a stop.
I would say that I definitely became adequate at this move. I could do it almost every time and stop with success, even at what for me is a higher speed. By the end, maybe one time out of 10 I'd start to catch an edge wrong and have to abort, but even then I felt it right away and recovered. Watching the videos on it over and over again really helped, as did just raw repetition.
It really hinges on putting your weight in the right place. Well, first, you have to become comfortable enough that you can glide straight. The very first time I stepped on the ice, those many weeks ago, I was too wobbly ankled to do much of anything.
Then, during class when I struggled with it, I was leaving too much weight on my back (straight) foot and not the stopping foot. You need to push down with your stopping foot. I was trying to do this on the edge as well, and you actually do this on the flat of your blade (the middle, not on either the inside or outside edge).
And finally, you need to be pushing down with the toe and distribute your weight there. This is the final key. I'm sure the instructor mentioned it in class, but watching the YouTube videos really reminded me. And you can tell the difference immediately if you don't. If your weight is on your heel, you start to turn in the direction your stopping skate is facing.
Instructor said at the end of class "I'll know who has been practicing it and who hasn't in two weeks." I'm pretty excited to be on the good side of that ledger.
2) I worked on general technique while skating forward. This meant getting low into a hockey stance (meh, I'm trying, but new skaters always need to get and stay lower than they are. It's rough on the back), taking smooth strides that start with the heel and then push through to the toe (50/50. Sometimes I would do it right and I could feel how well it worked, and a lot of times I wouldn't and would get a lot less push for my effort. Right foot is better and more consistent than left foot), and gliding with my weight properly balanced. Like most new skaters, I was tensing my feet, curling my toes and putting too much weight forward. This was definitely contributing to the foot pain. I focused on keeping my feet relaxed and the weight more centralized, and I could definitely tell when I was doing it right and how much better it felt and smoother I moved.
The term "benders" is a somewhat derogatory term for new skaters who can't keep their ankles straight. When you let your ankle bend to one side or the other, your skate is no longer pointing straight down and you scrape on your edge instead of gliding on the flat. I'm up to the point where I'd say 90% of my skating is with my ankles locked. Once in a while I'll let it slip and can immediately hear the scrape and feel the lost momentum.
3) I practiced shifting my weight back and forth between my feet, letting myself glide on one foot with the other off the ice. At first, I couldn't do it for more than a split-second. By the end of the session, I could do 2-3 seconds with my right foot and 1-2 with my left. A lot of more advanced maneuvers involve being comfortable with your weight entirely on one skate, so this is just scratching the surface of getting used to that.
4) At least once or twice for each circuit, I made an attempt at a crossover start. The instructor very briefly showed it to us in class and implied it would become more important in later classes. After watching a bunch of videos and practicing the footwork at home, I'm not particularly close to getting it right. Today's attempts mostly involved me slowly crossing my foot over, managing to not fall, then twisting around and facing forward with no momentum. Will keep trying.
Another thing that made a difference today is that I wasn't afraid to stop and take a 2-3 minute break when I needed it. This let my feet rest and gave me the chance to skate almost the entire open session, something I hadn't been able to do before. It's definitely a workout. I'm still hoping to lose 20 pounds by next spring, which would probably help my skating and such considerably.
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