Monday, February 1, 2021

Breaking in the new, new boots - part 2

Read about the first three times on ice here.

On the fourth day on ice, I could actually bend and do most things I'm technically able to do! And, the hurting from both the ankles and the insoles feel fine! 

I still have a problem... I cannot get an outside edge on the left foot, and that is the foot that doesn't pronate. The right foot, while not perfect, feels better. After the boots will be truly broken in, I can eventually ask for wedges to be put in, but for now, for the left foot something is not right. I'm gonna go back to the shop to stretch near the little toe, last time when I was there I think they forgot to do it. I feel very cramped there, and hopefully that will allow the foot to go more towards the outside of the boot, and create a little weight shift. The blade is mounted towards the inside of the edge of the boot already... So if the boot punching will not help, the sole of the boot may not be straight, or I don't know...

Before the fifth skating session on this new boots, I stopped by the skate shop again to do something about the left blade alignment. They did the punching near the little toe and also moved the blade to the maximum possible on the inside, they actually moved the screws on the from frame. I also mentioned again the tongue problem, and I showed the technician a picture I took of my feet, where you can see where the tongue digs on my skin. He said I can send them to the factory and they will be repaired, no problem... No problem? I would have to stop skating again... for what he said few weeks. Problem!
 
On the other hand the alignment was a progress! I was able to do without struggle both forward and backward, edges, edge presses, chasses, 3-turns forward and backward, forward and back circle eight. The things still questionable are the forward spin and the back 3 turns. The spin, I center it and then I feel my ankle falls inside. I want to try it again on another skating session, otherwise, the shop will have to move the screws on the heels too. The backward 3 turns are slow, of course the boot is not broken in but I also have extra space over the toe (all new Riedell models have a higher toe box now). Now, my left foot alignment feels better then the right. I haven't have the screwdriver with me, but before the next skating session I plan to move the right blade towards inside too. On the next session I also plan to watch for the new toes pain. The punching resolved the little toe pain, but now the next one is hurting. As I felt inside the boot, there is a reinforcement material right there, maybe that cannot be stretched. Worth mentioning is the fact that in this fifth skating session I think I tightened the skates more then the last time, and I felt I needed to put more effort in the ankles than last time. So I'll try to leave them a little looser next time.

The sixth session on ice was kind of the same. Still working to softening the ankle and still unsure about the blades placement. And still adjusting and readjusting the tightness of the laces. 

The tongue repair problem weights on my mind a lot. It has to be done for sure... the right foot tongue is shorter than the left one. I feel the boots hitting at different height on my shin, the metal on the tongue that holds the laces hits lower then where it needs to hit, I feel less support on my right boot, and I think that's gonna become a problem, as I press harder into the right foot,  that would feel softer and softer then the left boot, in time...  Riedell would fix the tongues for free, including shipping back and forth. It's just that I would be without boots again, so not skating again :((( 
 
As I was complaining to a friend about this, he asked why do I bother still breaking them, as I will have to break them in  again after the tongues are gonna be replaced!

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