Oh, how many times I’ve heard that phrase. It is a cry for help from many entry-level speedsters and fitness skaters alike. Hey, it even plagues a fair amount of old veterans. The pain comes from many different reasons, but the truth is, many times it is not the boot or the improper fit, it’s the skater’s technique!

Photo - Copyright, Matzger
Let’s assume you did your homework, spent hours and hours shopping around, talking to skaters and most importantly, trying out other skater’s boots for the all-important best fit (see “The Right speed boot” in FaSST Spring 2000). You now have a boot that fits well, matches your foot shape, and is best suited for the type of skating you do. So you go out and skate your usual haunt and come back with feet that look like they have been through a grinder! You have blisters on each side of both heels and your ankle bones feel like you banged them against the coffee table in the dark one night while getting a late night snack. Assuming you did a good job selecting a boot that fits well, your problems may have come from improper technique and some other reasons that are the focus of this article.

Technique, Technique, TECHNIQUE!!

Your coach uses this word a lot, and for good reason. Technique is the end-all in skating. You cannot go fast for very long if you’re not an efficient skater. Sitting deeper, getting your weight off your toes and the most common problem, pushing to the side through the heel. Just in case you did not hear that last sentence, push to the side through the heel!!! This is the biggest difference between the real pros and up and coming pro skaters. Do you think Chad Hedrick toes off at the end of his push? Do you think he gets blisters on his heels after a hard race? Think again.

Heel lift, even when the boot fits well, is the common cause of heal blisters and abrasions. It comes from the above-described toe off push. Many new speedsters, fresh out of their comfy recreational skates blame the hard, unforgiving new speed boot. Some of them go right for that heat gun to mold the boot when the boot is not the problem at all. Often, they cause other problems from the heat molding that was not needed.

Let’s take a look at another common speed boot injury. Sore ankle bones are very common and the heat gun fixes this problem right? Wrong! Well, wait. It is true that if your ankle bone is in a completely different place than the pocket built for it in the boot, you can benefit a great deal from heat molding it to fit better. But to grab for that heat gun before looking at the problem is the worst thing you can do for your shiny new boot. I just recently worked with a skater who said his boots were digging into both of his outside ankles, just above the point of the bone. He even had a big ole’ mark to prove it. I said, “Well, let me see you skate.” As I skated behind him I noticed that he almost never got off the inside edge of either skate during his set-down and glide phase. So in reality he was not on top of his frame. This was the cause of the top edge of the boot digging into his outside ankle. Heat molding was not the answer, his technique is what he had to work on.

Skater’s bite!

This may be true, but the injury of skaters bite is different than "beware of skater" sign you might be thinking of. Skater’s bite (named by ice hockey skaters) is caused by lacing up your boot too tight on the top portion of the boot above the instep (last two eyelets of the boot.) This is a very painful injury and usually takes a month off your skates to heal. Skaters lace their skates too tight because they lack the shin strength and ankle stability to hold them on the top of their frame. They basically rely on the boot to hold them up. Performing balance drills in your skates will improve your stability and allow you to loosen up those top laces, so you don’t cause this painful problem.

Other problems

A common mistake I see new speedsters make is padding up the inside of their boot. The boot has all the padding you need, but some skaters feel the need to add stuff! Most common is insole or arch support. Although your intention is good and seems logical, it is not necessary. Your foot is supposed to be in the bottom of the boot. If you add insoles and other things, you will raise yourself up too much, often to the point of instability. Even if your insole is only 1/8" thick, this is 1/8" higher than the boot designer planned. Most new speed skaters need all the stability they can get. I once saw a skater with a Transpack full of all kinds of pads and gel packs. He was just in the habit of padding anything that hurt. What he might have to do is look more directly at the problem and adjust his technique to compensate. Who wants to have pieces of a mattress hanging out of the side of their cool new skates?

So, take a look at your boot-related injuries and ask yourself why you have those pains. You will find that most times it is something that can be eliminated with proper technique. I can tell you from experience that the only time I get any type of boot abrasion is when I skate faster and harder than my own technique will allow.