So, I've been trying to get into ice skating. First, a few important stats:
-I am an adult, male, in so-so shape (yes, round is a shape!), decently tall - 5'8", or 172cm for you
-I have flat feet, and in the past needed orthotics (not so much so now).
-I've been self-learning on
figure skates for a little while, so I am used to those.
-Oh, and I am from NYC, so pardon any American slang
I can "pseudo-skate" fairly with the crappy rentals, but after about 15-20 minutes the pain in my feet becomes unbearable. After an hour or so of going on and off the ice (as my feet allow), my feet hurt so much I can barely walk, my knees ache horribly, and my toes are numb (and frost-bitten).
I tried buying some stock insoles from a local pharmacy, which had absolutely no effect whatsoever.
I want to buy skates to learn on, but honestly I have no idea what kind.
It seems that most stores just do not sell figure skates for men, as hockey skates are the "manly" thing to skate in. I have tried hockey skates; while the setup felt much more stable and the boot far more comfortable than figure skates (which tend to have very hard, very flat bottoms), I found myself constantly falling backwards, because without that little extension at the rear end of the skate, I had nothing to apply back pressure-on. Perhaps I learned the wrong way on figure skates, relying on that extension for stability and balance, but I kept doing the "backwards run" (feet flying out forward) until I finally fell, over and over, backwards. Front stability was lousy as well and I ended up on my knees quite a bit...the hockey skate seems to require very precise balance, strength and control of foot pressure, which as a beginner I do not quite have.
I went to a local sports chain to try on skates, and of course they had no men's figure skates. Of the hockey skates I tried, some made my foot pronate (tilt outwards), while others were flat but tilted forward. Those that weren't too tight around the feet were not tight enough on the ankle (do I have wide feet??). The only one that felt remotely comfortable was an Easton; the Reeboks and Bauers were pretty hard and uncomfortable, and difficult to tighten around the ankle (stiff material). Of course all had very painful arches, with Easton being least painful (don't know if these are uniquely American-only brands).
So I guess I have a few questions:
(1) What do I do about the excruciating pain in the feet (and knees)? What are the best, most supportive insoles?
(2) Should I try to completely relearn to skate "from scratch" on hockey skates? Or stick with figure skates? Or is it possible to bolt a figure skate blade to a hockey skate body, for the best combo of comfort and stability?
(3) Anyone else have the problem of constantly falling backwards on hockey skates?
(4) How do i find a good boot balance between a not-too-tight foot with a sufficiently tight ankle?
(5) Do skating shops exist where they could evaluate me in person and have an experienced person assess my needs? The big sports stores obviously don't have the expertise...
(6) Are there exercise I can do to strengthen my feet, knees,legs and thighs? I am a little overweight, and not in the best shape...
From across the pond, Thanks!