To test or not to test?

Should I test the Pre-juvenile MITF? I felt I was ready, in fact I registered to take this test 2 years ago, and there was a problem with the registration and I changed clubs. Then, just as I put myself together to test, I've hurt my hip, ah.. the joy of adult skating... Then Covid hit, rinks closed, then open with restrictions like reduced schedule and coaches not being allowed on ice...Then, as I was starting to feel in shape to test again, I couldn't find a test session in the next two months and so I decided to change my boots (that was December), and as you know, that's not going well. I've got a pair of defective boots, I returned them, started to look for another pair, and while I did put the blade back on my old boot, it didn't feel right so I stopped skating for a month. That put me both in bad skating shape and in bad mood in general. The second pair of new boots I bought was defective too. I put the blade back on my old boot and adjusted the blade myself so I wouldn't take another month break. Actually it would have been more than a month as I wasn't sure what boot model to buy next. 

While back on my old boots... I knew the right booth was collapsed towards inside as I pronate on that foot. I already had wedges to correct that, I added more. I was surprised that I need wedge on the left boot too. I think I collapsed that boot too when my hip was hurt. So I had some kind of alignment, not ideal. I felt I could do most of my old exercises but I didn't trust the boots to go fast, to push for new staff and progress... I started to get unmotivated, I've stopped the lessons. I was mostly skating around while talking to friends.

Then I found new boots. I was cautiously optimistic... But what if these are gonna have some problems? How will I motivate myself to continue? I decided to delay changing the blade on the new boots for two weeks and take advantage of the new possibility to record tests and submit it virtually. I talked about virtual testing here. 

I recorded the test! Unfortunately my friend that recorded it didn't know the exercises and missed me from the viewfinder a little. That, combined with the fact that the new boots felt reasonably good, made me postpone the decision of sending the test to be judged. There is a period of 30 days from when a test is recorded to be sent in.

And then, the boots didn't go so well. It is the insole mostly... at least that is what I hope. I cannot lace my boots tight enough without proper arch support, if I try, I collapse my arch and my feet start to hurt, cramp and freeze. I started to get frustrated and unmotivated. So I went back to the thought of sending the test to be judged to hopefully pass and motivate me, or at least keep my mind occupied and distracted from still adjusting to the new boots for two week, while I'll get the results. 

I've asked my coach (that I haven't seen from December) to watch it, and he agreed that it's a good effort and the video taping is not terrible. So I've sent the video to be judged!  I should have the result in around two weeks... I'll share the video soon, I just want to edit it and take out the personal info that I needed to put in for the virtual test.

Fingers crossed!

My 3rd pair of new boots

I'm trying to change my boots from December. It's 5 months now.... My old boots were Riedell, I tried to buy Riedell again, and I've got 2 defective boots one after the other... But I also found out that from when I had my old boots, Riedell changed the design, they raised the toe box of the boots, and that makes all boots from Riedell feel too high for my foot.

I've found a local bootfitter specialized in SP Teri. This is a small company that specializes in custom boots. It has stock models but there are not always in stock. I scheduled a fitting hoping for the best. I was measured at 6.5 and I was offered a model called Zero Gravity, a newer, lighter model as the older ones are heavy, and also low cut in the back fitting with my preference in doing Ice Dancing and MITF, while still offering support for jumping. Size 6.5 felt short, I felt my toe hitting the end of the boots while standing straight, not when I was bending the knees, but after like 20 minutes in them I started cramping. I went into size 7, they felt almost too good, like too big. But being that the 6.5 was too small, the bootfiter said with an insole (Sp Teri has a thick one) the 7 would be just right. So I crossed my fingers and bought them.

On ice, the first feeling was that they are too big... They weren't heat molded so they weren't yet tight around my foot, but also they felt long. I measured the insole and it is exactly same length as my old boots. I hoped that what I was feeling as too big was just the contrast between the very tight heels (locked in by a special SP Terry padding)and the still loose front. The nice thing about these boots is that it didn't feel like I needed to break them in at the ankle. I did hurt and I had a blister at the back edge of the boot, from a wrinkle in the fabric, so I made a trip to the bootfitter to soften that.

The next few days on ice it went relatively well. The blade is definitely not aligned, and again the boot was not tight yet, so the edges are not exact. But crossovers, chasses, stroking, forward and backward, no problem... I've realized I wasn't finding my sweet spot on the blade going backwards mostly on Mohawks and 3-turns. That could be my not perfect technique. But I've red about the boots and realized their heel is low, also the new insole is flat. I know my previous boots had also low heel, but I had a high heel insole. 

The next week I "worked" at the insole. SP Teri was advertised as a custom insole that it is gonna conform to my feet, I thought it is a memory form type of material that is gonna mold as the gel molded in my ski boots. It didn't feel it's happening. Besides the low heel situation, I was also hurting under the right heel, from what I've realized was adjustment for pronation (so a customization). I also I had no arch support. As I tighten and tighten the boots I put my feet to sleep that means that I was collapsing my arch. I need to feel the space from underneath, instead of from above. I took another trip to the bootfiter to pick up another insole and different sizes cork arches, and different kind of wedges and heel lifters that I was supposed to play with to see what I liked best. It was a very unpleasant skating week. I was mostly off ice, taping extra bits to the insole and... hurting. The good thing that came out of it is that I finally felt the boots tight and a little more controllable, and then again, still not as secure as I would want them. After all that hurting I ended up putting in my old superfeet insoles. They have high arch support and raised heel, but they hurt a little under the right arch as they were ground by another bootfitter.

So my boots started to feel tighter but still not secure. At this point, I started to think again that the boots may be a little big (long) as SP Teri has a rounder heel to accommodate that special padding to lock in the Achilles's tendon, this could add few millimeters in length. Then I was thinking that I'm not used yet with the low back cut. I would like to try a regular cut boot to check this feeling, in both 6.5 and 7... I'm not seriously thinking that I need another boots, but more as a hopefully confirmation that I'm in the right boot. 

I plan to skate a little more, hopefully I get more used with the boots low back, hopefully they conform to the foot even more. I will now start to pay attention to what the blades feel like so I can eventually have them aligned.

Virtual testing

Testing used to be done in live test sessions offered by clubs more or less once a month. Test sessions are quite a big production, bringing lots of people together. During the pandemic the test sessions in my area were kept very small, and I know tests sessions weren't offered at all in other parts of the country... for a whole year. So, USFSA temporarily allows virtual testing. 

Virtual testing, shortly, means that the skater skates the test on a regular session, in presence of a proctor, the test is filmed and the video is sent to the clubs that organizes the judging. The test can be recorder multiple times, but the video should be one take, without interruptions, and the video must not be edited. Reskating an eventual mistake is not allowed. It is not ideal...

I decided to record my test because I'm changing the boots and from my previous two experiences in trying to change the boots I know it is not sure they will work out. Even if they do, I don't know how long it will take me to be back in testing shape again. I'm afraid during this time, I may lose motivation to train for progress.

I know my skating skills for this test level are there. I also know the video may enhance some mistakes, and also, everything looks slower on video. I recorded myself by placing my phone on the boards and I was able see some things to adjust to be confident the test will look good on video. I haven't seen my coach from December, he teaches at a different rink and it would have been expensive and probably stressful for me to ask him to overview the video making. I just asked the rink director to be my proctor and film me. We decide to try it on Wednesday. The session is from 12 to 1.30. she comes in at work at 1. Well guess what, I couldn't make it in on Wednesday, car trouble. I kept hoping I can make it there at least by 12.45... nope, I called and cancelled. Friday she wasn't available so we postponed it for Monday. As she hasn't come by ice at 1, I went to look out for her. She said she's sent me an e-mail apologizing that she has too much on her plate and cannot film it and let's postpone for Wednesday. At this point I already had the appointment for the new boots postponed once, I just thought maybe it is not meant to be... I'm trying to test this level for two years now... and it is always something... 

But, the rink director said a friend can film me and she'll watch the video when she has time, so she'll still be able to proctor. So we did that... Only nobody on ice was familiar with this test, or with the camera, so we lost a bit of time playing with that, and we only had the time to film it once. My friend that filmed said she lost the focus on me once, but unfortunately it was three times... And I couldn't record it again the appointment to change the boots was next day and I had already postponed it once.

After I filmed it I have 30 days to send it to be judged. For now, I'll put it out of my mind to concentrate on the new boots. If they'll work well I can test in few months in the new boots. If they don't... well that would be a way bigger issue than not testing this test.

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

Last month I was back on my old boots, and as they didn't feel very secure I wasn't able to skate for progress. I'm grateful that I was still able to enjoy skating in the form of social skating, you know... skating around while talking to people, with some skating exercises forced in. Meanwhile, I kept researching how boots from different manufacturer fit. I closed in into Harlick and SP Teri. Harlick boots would have to be ordered and would take two months, while I found a bootfiter that has many SP Teri boots in stock, so I went to check them out, and we have a winner! Hopefully...

Plans for this month? I'm really really happy I'm able to enjoy skating without getting frustrated that I don't progress, and I cannot even work for progress.

But, being that I found new boots, and I'm feeling very anxious about breaking them in, and the possibility of them not fitting in the end. I thought I should try to put the Pre-Juvenile moves test together on my old boots, film it and submit it for virtual judging. It feels like a swan song... a last effort on unstable but familiar boots, before going into the unknown new boots. I videoed myself with the phone set on the boards and the test looked correct but timid. I'm thinking that the thought I'll test will give me motivation to work on that, well, to work on something, because as I said, lately I was mostly just skating around.

The rest of the month will be spent breaking in the new boots...