As the rinks summer schedule is all over the place, I haven't even tried to make a plan for my skating. The idea was to go as much as I could and stabilize my muscle and my skating ability. Also I wanted to observe the rinks to hopefully be able to make a plan for the fall.
I'm generally more comfortable skating on "adult only" ice, that is offered at noon time during the fall through spring, and I can make it work into my schedule. Without a skating plan, without stamina and without clarity on what to work on, plus with the intention to plan for the fall, I tried to stick with "adult" ice, but that is more rare in the summer.
I use the 3 rinks that I used previously. My old home rink offers in the summer for adults, only 45 minutes on Mondays, besides the inconvenience of driving more that I would want, for only 45 minutes of skating, I felt I'm back "home". I went on some Wednesdays and Fridays to the new rink I've used during the last year and it become clear I don't like it there. The skaters here skate more randomly and the ice is way colder, so harder to control. Then, I've come back to a rink that is very close to my home (5 to 10 min) but it is the home rink of the city's hockey team and their schedule for public or Freestyle ice is wildly inconsistent. Besides the schedule I used to like going there last year, I gave up on that rink last summer when it become crowded. This summer it was manageable, though they didn't have a lot of ice available. To conclude, I skated enough during these summer months and I can see that in the fall I can use my old home rink and this hockey rink close to home.
Also good news, the boots are finally feeling better as I stretch the left boot regularly. I have more control on the left foot (I work on awareness and pressure on both feet, comparing them), but I still would like them tighter.
The muscle conditioning goes very slowly, partially because I don't have a regular skating/ work out schedule. I don't feel I have more energy, time and will to put into it. I have to be patient to develop the strength slowly.
My skating skills are all over the place. I think I'm getting more sure on edges and I get more flow and speed, but I feel I need some goals, a plan on what to work on each week and a coach' s supervision. So, the next step is to find some coaching, as I don't think, at least for now, that I want to drive north to see my old coach.
