Beginning Skaters: Share Your Experiences

[Ophidias]

Originally Posted by Gerhardt

A size 9

Well, you know what they say about small feet ROTFLMMFAO!

that they wear small skates?

[skillwilly]

Originally Posted by Guru

How long does it take a 30 yr old to learn to skate? I can't stop, or turn yet. I been at this for about 6 hours. The slightest decline scares me to death.

Go on till you think; walking is strange and clumsy

[KeLLy]

Originally Posted by jlerp

Earlier this week, I did 19 miles that started and ended with that same little 1 mile trail I began on in the Spring. I'm not graceful and I'm still heavy (but 30 lbs lighter now)...persistence has paid off.

Way to go !

After 3 months, i'm still only doing 4,5 miles (in 40 min.)

[Jon B.]

Originally Posted by KeLLy

After 3 months, i'm still only doing 4,5 miles (in 40 min.)

Don't sweat it Kelly, just keep it up. Even without trying you'll find your endurance and speed picking up. Just don't stop ENJOYING yourself! That's what it's supposed to be about anyway! JB

[KeLLy]

ty - I do enjoy it a lot (first times it was just hard work and not giving up) and i feel really good after a run - condition is slowely picking up, it was down to 0.

i think the main problem is i don't go skating enough (only 2x a week), there is no skating rink anywhere in my area. And now winterhour has set in, there's hardly any smooth lighted places (it's dark at 5,30 pm now ) or appropriate roads.

I'll just have to keep looking.

[hungryrollerblader]

Originally Posted by NakitiDL

Then, to add insult to injury, I met up with a mother and daughter skating pair when I returned to the beginning of the trail and started taking my skates off. (I wasn't going to try skating those rough areas again. I was just going to walk them this time.) They weren't wearing a helmet or any pads, but then they took off like speed demons as though they've done this a thousand times before.

They probably have done it a thousand times.

Just keep practicing. Eventually you'll get like that.

I love the feeling of going to a skating rink and being better than the girl I'm trying to impress *cough*

[KeLLy]

hahaha

I finaly got my new wheels, and "rocked" them, so i could try slalom. (i found a nice dry spot, so the rain can't touch me - only thing is, the shop there needs to be closed).
I started to test it out on saturday, and i love it My skates have become so much more manuevrable (as aposed to fitness skates).

Thx for all the advise !

[OTonWheels]

So here's my story so far.

I tried quads a couple times as a kid and hated it. Tried again in college, same result. (As a result, whenever people my age get all nostalgic about time at the skating rink, I just nod and smile, and mutter something about "couples skate" or the chicken dance.)

Regardless, while in college, a friend mentioned to me that I should try inline; she swore up and down that it's easier. Years later, I got up the nerve to try, and thanks to a very helpful sales associate at my local store, I now have a pair of 'blades and all the required safety gear. I play NFL rules football on a women's team, and I was looking for something new to add into my conditioning routine. Plus, I play on the line, so I need a lot of power in my legs. While watching the olympics the last time around, I noticed how powerful the speed skaters legs were. Now, I'll tell you that ice skating and I didn't get along when I was a kid either, so I got to thinking about other options. So, here I am. Got a great place to skate, and when I'm up to speed, got some folks from my team who will skate with me. They'd probably let me join them now, but I'm not trying to hold anybody back.

Thanks for this fantastic forum. It's a great resource.

[Rennvogel]

Hello!
This is only my second or third post here so i'm kind of new. I have been considering trying inline for a while and after finding this site have decided to give it a go. Hopefully I can start seriously looking for some skates after the first of the year. I mainly a runner. I have a half marathon coming up that I am training for but have been looking for a good cross training activity. Inline looks pretty good to me and really fun too. I played hockey as a kid and actually had a pair of inline skates a long long time ago. Notice I used the word long twice. My family thinks I am crazy and will kill myself. Where we live is quite hilly. The stories here are inspiring so maybe it won't be too long and can I give my experience. Thanks everyone!

[spectrumvoid]

Hi everyone. I just bought my 1st pair of skates with guards a few days ago. (Rollerblade Astro, size 80 wheels, 82 hardness). Can someone please help me? I've tried skating with the skates, and my feet really hurt. They also tend to wobble inward and outwards... I constantly feel like I can't really balance on the skates.

How do I know if I bought the right size skates? I have a few feet issues, my left foot is about 1/2 size bigger than my right, I have a pretty huge bunion on my left foot too, and I suspect I have flat feet. (Without spending tons of money seeing a doctor, is there any other way to find out for sure?) I tried a 6.5 and the toes felt cramped so I bought a 7. But now my ankle seems to be wobbling a lot and I'm worried that I bought a size too big. My right foot also feels like it's swimming in the shoe, but the left still feels a little cramped.

I decided to pick up skating because there's this really cool huge flat area below my block. (I checked this forum before I made up my mind ) So far I've tried to skate for around 6 hours spread across a couple of days or so. Is it normal for newbie skaters to have feet that really hurt?

Thanks so much for any advice! I've scouted around this forum and I've gotten a ton of helpful tips too!

Edit: I forgot to add that I'm female, but I ended up buying a male cut because I just didn't feel comfortable in the female cut. Is this ok?

[mvirtue]

boots are pretty much unisex. For some manufacturers a women's boot tends to be narrower, but that is not a hard rule.

I have two different sized feet (10 and 9.5) and depending on the way the boot is made my right will float around, or I have to buy two pairs to get one working pair. If you are lucky a manufacturer will sell boots with each boot in a different size (expect to pay more for this option -- it applies more to speedskates).

Now onto feeling wobbly. That is part of the learning curve. As you spend more time in them, and on them your ankles will get stronger.

And best of all, 'Welcome to the forum!'

[LezSk8]

spectrumvoid wrote:

Is it normal for newbie skaters to have feet that really hurt?

Some discomfort seems to be the rule but it should deminish and leave with more miles and minutes on your skates. I remember I had a different irritation spot after every skate until my muscles strengthened and skin toughened.

For the foot/boot wobbles, try some sole inserts with some arch support. This and the extra padding they give should help and you can customize it for your different size feet quite easily. Like Mark said, the boy/girl skate difference is more cosmetic and shouldn't matter that much.

Welcome to the wonderful world of inline!

LezSk8!

[Nature1992]

hi, i'm new in this forum. I sure like skating and i've been skating for about one year now.. but i am just gonna ask one question.

is using T-stop a better way to stop than using other techniques? because i found out that using T-stop is much more comfortable and faster.(although my wheels are wearing out faster than usual.)
Any help would be grateful. thanks

[spectrumvoid]

Thanks for the advice. I'm now into my 1st week of skating and I can move around okay. Not fast, but at least my feet don't hurt that much anymore.

[Shannon]

I've been skating since I was about 7 or 8, and I'll be 37 in two days. However, my knowledge of how skates actually work is rather limited. I have purchased few pairs of skates, so I'm not quite sure how they should work when they're fresh out of the box. I just purchased a pair of relatively cheap roller derby skates for my 8 year old son. I noticed the wheels don't spin freely. Like, if I try to spin the wheel with my hand, it stops moving as soon as my hand loses contact with the wheel. Is this normal? Am I supposed to loosen something before he skates? Or is it a safety feature for novice skaters? Thanks for any advice you may have to offer.
Shannon

[Shannon]

Why is it when you first take the skates out of the box, the wheels won't spin freely. Like, when I spin a wheel with my hand, the motion stops as soon as my hand loses contact. Should I loosen something, or is this just a safety issue?

Thanks,
Shannon

[Nature1992]

well.. i'm not very familiar with that and i'm not a very proffesional skater.. but i can tell you that it should... shouulldd be ok. I think the effect it has is that it rolls slower than usual. But you know, there shouldn't be a problem to that. Just be cautious, thats all.

[LezSk8]

Shannon, I went through the same issue with my grandaughters skates. It seems to be a safty and libility issue. The kids can start out by walk-skating with little roll. Once she got more agressive in her skating style, I bought her an adjustable (size) inline skate with better wheel spin. Last year when she was 13 I gave her an adult fitness skate with full spin.

Adult skates will have slower spin rates in the low ABEC numbers (1-5) and faster spin in the higher numbers (7-9). This is a generalization that applys but exceptions may be found depending on the manufacturers specs.

Congratulations on the two of you getting into skating. There's a lot of fun waiting for you in skating.

LezSk8!

[NightWind]

Originally Posted by Nature1992

hi, i'm new in this forum. I sure like skating and i've been skating for about one year now.. but i am just gonna ask one question.

is using T-stop a better way to stop than using other techniques? because i found out that using T-stop is much more comfortable and faster.(although my wheels are wearing out faster than usual.)
Any help would be grateful. thanks

Heel brake is just fine! Especially in busy streets during rush hours!

[Okami]

I skated as a kid and attempted inline skating a few years ago. I saw the Landrollers on The Dog Whisperer a few months ago and decided this would be a great addition to my workouts, so asked for a pair for Christmas.

One day maybe my dogs can go with me, but right now I'll be happy to just stay vertical and for my ankles not to hurt. I'm wearing wrist braces and knee pads, but what a really need is butt pads, I landed on my left hip the second time out and acquired a nice road rash , but I'll survive, just have to get back out there. Any suggestions for protecting the rest of my skin?

Hopefully, practice will show improvement - I'll never make perfect.