Skating Pains

 Every time I go skating, there really is such an adjustment period for me, and I wonder if other people experience this, too.  Each time I get on the rink for the first time that day, I feel out of my depth, as if I've never skated before.  My feet cramp up along my arches and ache so much.  My shins fatigue almost immediately, and my thighs shake from effort.  It doesn't last beyond the group lessons--once I'm skating laps, it feels totally normal again.  I think it's because I have to stand still for so long while hearing the instructions, and it's harder to balance when I'm not moving, so I'm using my muscles in a way they're not used to.

I don't know how to fix the foot and leg pain--I now have Dr. Scholl's insoles in my skates, IN ADDITION to my podiatrist-recommended insoles that I wear in my sneakers.  I tried a different arch support from Amazon, but that was so ridiculously uncomfortable, I had to take my skates off before I could even practice.  I try my best to make sure my skates are laced nice and tight.  As for my tired, shaky muscles, I've been doing exercises at the gym that target the muscles I use skating: quads, hamstrings, hip ab- and adductors.  Nothing helps!!

It feels like the only solution is to skate more, to get my muscles trained.  I'm always worried and hesitant out in the backyard on the cement slab, the only other place I can practice until I go searching for a tennis court in our neighborhood.  I wear all my padding and my helmet, but it's still a little bumpy and it's a few inches above the surrounding lawn, so I could fall off (I did once, very slowly, and I was totally fine).  

The concrete backyard

My other problem is my feet.  I have inner and outer bunions (below the big toe, and below the pinky toe, on both feet).  I've tried lacing my skates in a way to take pressure off those areas, but I need to tweak it.  Apparently, I haven't broken-in my skates yet, which actually made me happy to hear because I was afraid I'd bought the wrong size and I'd be compensating that until giving in and buying another size.  I'm really terrible at finding the right shoes, because my feet are so "special" (honestly, the bunions aren't even THAT bad yet).

Usually, by the end of my skating sessions, my right knee hurts (I attribute this to the counter-clockwise direction the rink always follows), but for the last 2 sessions, it's been my feet that make me cut it short.  I gingerly take my boots off like I have open wounds--that's how much it hurts sometimes.

All of this to say, it's hard, but it doesn't make me want to stop.  I watched a video on ways to make your skates fit better (lacing in different ways, heating them up and using the handle of a hammer to press parts out from the inside, using insoles), and the bottom line was "skates aren't meant to be comfortable".  I'm just hoping a hair dryer and some finagling will help!