Bend.That.Ankle

I used to skate on the back of the blade. 

Yes, that's scary and it prevented me from progressing on a lot of elements. I needed to be on the middle of the blade for 3 turns, mohawks and every other move, but my body was having none of it.

Until I took up Ice Dance no coach had ever made me fix this. You know how it is in lessons, there's so many things to learn (*cough* fix *cough*) that even important, singularly critical instructions from your coach can zip through the air, bounce off your ears, and never reach the brain. Then one day Dance Coach put on the Russian Coach Frowny Face (trademark). "Don't skate on your heel," he said with such bossy Russian accented authority that it penetrated the outer ear and made it to my brain.

And then came the problem, I had to figure out how to not do that. Sometimes I could get it and sometimes not. I tried various things that ended up with me bending too far forward to get my center of mass over the blade. I think for a while I got worse.

I don't know how I got to the solution, maybe coach said it in bossy voice and it only penetrated my consciousness later, but the solution is: Bend the knee, and Bend the ankle.

How hard can it be to bend the ankle? Well, pretty hard in stiff boots. And as a beginning skater I needed to hear: BEND.THE.ANKLE. Which is the emphasis it deserves.

It wasn't easy for me to get to the point where I could consistently bend the ankle and get well tied boots. I could consciously know what to do, but my foot in boot wouldn't cooperate. So I tackled it like an engineer.

Yep, I kept changing stuff until I found something that worked. Here's my solution, I redid the way I tied my boots to free up the ankle without losing support.

This is how I used to tie my boots, with the official Maribel Vinson Owens surgeon's knot at the ankle.

Knot once, knot twice and finis!

But Maribel was skating in boots from a different time. Perhaps the boots in her era weren't as stiff as the ones of today, or she was so powerful that she could skate in a stiffer boot. I'm a fragile and delicate flower I need a little slack.

Step 1. I stopped tying a knot at the ankle to give the ankle freedom to bend. 

Well, as in all engineering problems changing one thing just introduces problems somewhere else. In my case it was that I was now pulling the lacing on the lower boot tighter and my foot began to hurt. But I needed the extra support since the knot wasn't there to hold my heel in. Then luck stepped in. I came across the video below. At 00:45 the host introduces a new way to tighten laces, pull down toward the blades rather than up. And it worked! I now had enough support in the boot that they didn't slip around and I didn't need the ankle knot AND my feet stopped hurting when I skated.

Step 2: Tighten by pulling down.

Now all I had to worry about is the lacing above the ankle. Over the hooks or Under the hooks.  I don't make a decision, I do both. Under on the bottom two, over on the second two, under on the top and tie off. That sill leaves the top hooks. I don't lace these, I use Katz Straps (these get a post on their own) or heavy duty pony tail holders. Elastic at the top give enough 'give' to get over the blade, but are secure enough to feel safe.

Step 3: Under/over/under. Elastic at the top.

Even with an engineering fix it took me a couple of months to reeducate my body and develop new skills. Then one day I realized I could put myself on any part of the blade whenever I wanted. Success! I had freedom at the ankle to move, and security in the boot to not move. Freedom and security, it's like a party platform running up to a Presidential election!

What's in your boot bag?

Understanding someone is easy. Go through their iPod playlist, their purse or wallet, or the trunk of their car.

Understanding a skater is easy. Go through their bag.

Kleenex: This skater cares about the health of others.
Used Kleenex: This skater needs a mother to clean out the bag. Yeeeuch!

Gloves: Complete with little sparkly SK8R on the backs, This skater is under 10
Gloves: Missing fingers. This skater is either having trouble with jumps or skates with an iPod.
Glove color: Matching gloves--start of the season. Non matching gloves---this skater is normal
Glove color: Black--normal; Red--a rebel; Yellow--cheerful/perky/a fun person to be around; Purple and red--over 50

Soakers: Shaped like an animal--This skater is under 10; Shaped like an animal with a squeaker--under 8
Soakers: Leopard/Tiger print---This skater is a woman in her 30's and knows the address of every bar within 5 miles of the rink.
Soakers:  Brocade--this is a woman of mystery, she has secret connections with art dealers, Racehorse breeders, and museum curators. Always skates with earrings on, and wears lipstick. May speak russian.
Soakers: Terry cloth, plain, can be walked in--Do not stand between this skater and the ice. This skater is here to skate, not get style points.

Blade rag: Has their name embroidered on the corner--coach (xmas gift from a skater)
Blade rag: Cut up cotton towel: The skater who thinks anything will do
Blade rag: Microfiber super soaker towel: The skater whose blades don't rust

Jacket: In a color that is part of the marzipan spectrum--teenage girl

Jacket: Black, plain--an adult skater who is not a coach.
Jacket: Black, sparkly designs--everyone else

Head protection: None--coach. teenager . or an adult not working on back threes
Head protection: Yes--an adult working on back threes

Callus pads: This skater has been skating more than 1 year
Gel pads: This skaters is breaking in new boots.
iPad: Facebook junkie: "Hi I'm at the rink, I just flutzed. I'm going right out and do it again and I'll post an update."
Pencil and pad: Skater over 50.

Screwdriver: This skater is prepared for emergencies
Vodka Screwdriver: This skater is REALLY prepared for emergencies

Starbucks gift card: Coach
Nieman Marcus gift card: Brocade soaker skater
Tie Domi Sports Card: Someone playing for the other side. Hey! we don't let hockey players in here!

Warming up is more than keeping Warm

I wasted the first 3 years of my skating life by not warming up before I skated.

3 years of ice fees, 3 years of lessons, 3 years of time on the ice down the drain.

Then I was off ice for a year. This is about what happened when I restarted.

If you're a teenager or in your twenties you may not see the benefits of warming up. But once you hit your 30's the natural resilience of your body begins to fade. One day you say to yourself "I was a little 'off' today." and you wonder why. There's other little hints, the spiral that doesn't go as high as it used to, the sore knee that appears out of nowhere.  When you pass your peak of strength and speed in your twenties there is a gradual diminution of your skills; you can help deal with that with a proper warm up.

How did I get to be such a warm up hot shot?  I was taking a lesson with Coach Great Hair while Dance Coach was on his honeymoon. She flatly told me I needed to warm up, and that skating a half hour before a lesson wasn't enough. It was warm up tough love.

So before Dance Coach (aka Coach Frowny Face) got back from his honeymoon I had instituted a warm up boot camp. I stopped at a mall near the rink and did 45 minutes of fast walking including going up and down stairs as quick as I could without running. Then I got to the rink and did 10 minutes of stretching before I put on my boots.

After a month coach did his frowny face at the end of a lesson. "You're doing much better. Usually students get a little better a little at a time, but you just got better like an explosion. I've never seen it happen before."  Notice what he said: I had a SKILL EXPLOSION.  How many lessons is that worth? So even though it takes time, it's worth it.

Is there anything special about my warm up? Not particularly.  You want to get the large muscles of the legs warmed up and walking is excellent for this. Going up and down stairs warms up the knees. It's not rocket science. How long I take is due to my age. As I approach social security payment time, I find I need more time. It's a part of my life now. If I was younger I might jump rope or jog in place, but no one exercise is absolutely essential. What is essential is getting the blood moving into the legs.

What about stretching?

It's hard to do stretching at my rink because the party rooms are always booked, there's a hockey game in the rink area and no place in the boot changing area to do anything.  I've had to make do by finding a little corner off of the rink and doing 10 minutes of standing stretches. Holding each stretch for 30 seconds and repeating it 3 times does appear to be critical for me.  There's lots of books, articles and web pages out there about stretching. Pick the ones that work for you. I need stretches for my hips and I pick exercises for that.

Have I convinced you to warm up before skating? I hope so. I don't want anyone thinking as I do about the wasted money, time, and effort that I spent because I didn't think I needed to warm up before getting on the ice.