Back to Square One
I can’t remember if I shared this with you or not, but I switched out my equipment in late April. My existing blades were nearing the end of its life, and my boots felt like they were worn and not as supportive. They were about 2 years old, so it was time to get new boots and blades.
Last summer, I had bought new boots and blades but waited for my existing equipment to run down. My skate tech said that my boots and blades would last me through the rest of the season, so my new boots and blades sat in the closet until it was time.
We got my new boots and blades mounted, and that’s when things started going awry. The boots were so tight on my ankles that they started rubbing into the bone. I lost about 3 layers of skin on my left ankle from the boot rub, and my right ankle was so sore that I could barely skate. We tried punching out the boots to widen them a bit, but nothing helped. I was in a lot of discomfort.
In addition to the physical pain, I had to relearn how to jump and spin. I used to skate in MK Professional blades, which I’ve used for many, many years. I got used to the rocker profile and knew how I need to use the equipment to achieve the edges I needed for all of my elements. However, I upgraded to Gold Seals, which are a completely different blade profile, so my jumps and spins were gone.
I’m ~2 months into the new equipment and still dealing with a bunch of issues. My right ankle is still painful, and I’ve solved for the left skin rubbing issues with Bunga pads. I’ve never had to wear them until now, and they are definitely preventing my skin from constantly rubbing into the boot. I am struggling with my camel and sit spins, and I haven’t figured out how to enter my axels. The rocker profile near the toe pick is vastly different in these new blades, and it’s taking me a while to get used to them.
I am hopeful that I can quickly adjust to these new boots. From all the skaters and coaches I’ve spoken to, this adjustment period is normal, particularly for Gold Seals. If these continue to be an issue, then I may consider going back to MK Professionals. The one positive aspect of the Gold Seals is that I am skating a lot faster without having to exert as much effort. It feels a lot easier to skate fast in these blades, and that is something that I didn’t have in the MK Pros.
Here’s to hoping that things start feeling less painful and back to normal soon!
Sorry to hear that you’re having equipment issues 🙁 Did you change boot models as well? If not, it’s weird that these issues suddenly cropped up.
I skate in Gold Seals as well, and I love them aside from the fact that my current skate sharpener (in MT) doesn’t like sharpening parabolics and is a bit inconsistent with them. The next closest sharpener is 3 hours away, so I’ll probably just make do and try to get them sharpened when I travel to larger cities. For boots, I ended up in Avanta custom boots early on in my skating career — due to weird feet, being located in CA at the time so I could get locally fitted at the factory, and being able to afford them — but I’m so thankful for that decision. I had zero break-in time on my boots despite a big adjustment period, like you, when I went from beginner/intermediate-level Ultima Legacy blades to Gold Seals.
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I did not change boot models so it’s strange that I am having so much pain/pressure on my ankles. The bunga pads have definitely helped. I’m glad you love your Gold Seals. I’m sure I will get there but it’s just going to take a bit more time to get adjusted.