Foot ache

Wow I haven't had a blister since I was at Mohegan Sun Casino last summer. I can honestly say this is the worst one I have had in my life. I hiked 88 miles through Shiloh National Park in one year and dealt with many blisters during that trek. I've never had anything as bad as what my skates left on my foot the other night.

I woke up to this fluid filled monster the next morning. After deflating it I got my odds and ends done and went to a couple of casinos. On the way home I hit the local Wal-mart for some food and other assorted items. It had seemed alright until I quit moving. Now it is just a painful reminder of my skates not fitting the way they should.

I've only worn them once this season but I had them baked last year when I purchased them. Now I know my foot is more than likely not the same shape as they were when I bought them but the pain I have now is crazy. They have to be close to the same shape as they were when they were baked. I am going to have to find a solution to this now but I have an idea.

Ultimate Pain

Well the t-blades themselves performed terrific in the games I had to officiate. The boot however gets a huge failure mark. I was in terrible pain after the second game. I ended up having to give away my last game to another guy that was there. Thankfully he was able to pick it up or I would have been in a tough spot.

Luckily my ankle became the least of my concern for the evening. There is something seriously wrong with it however. It has a nice lump that does not match the other one.

I'm glad that I don't have any games on a professional level anywhere. I would seriously feel like shit having to call a league supervisor and explain that my health has become a problem. I will correct that this summer unlike the last two. It's tough at the age of 28 to accept the fact that your physical fitness is not where it needs to be so your body will recover from injuries quicker. I am officially over the hill as an official and only a good physique will be the thing that can keep me in the game.

Hopefully it won't take too much work to get there since I am truly not heavy. I just hate to run. I am currently researching a plyometrics workout that will help develop more speed. I definitely will be taking a break from the beers and cigarettes I seem to enjoy on the weekends lately.

t-blade playing test

I tested out the t-blades tonight playing in an adult game and they are loud but awesome. My team honestly thinks I just had that much energy but doesn't realize that the blades and chasis did a lot of the work tonight. They were so light when we were in the 3rd period I was beating guys to loose pucks and giving chase which I would never normally do. The difference being that the blades were much smoother and lighter I didn't have to burn as much energy to get down ice.

The ultimate test comes tomorrow. I have 4 games to officiate and that will be a lot of time on them. I expect my foot to cramp and be in pain but only because the skates have not truly been broken in.

Public Skating

Why do they call it that? If you're skating in a rink is there ever a time when you're not doing it in public?

Anyway I got to go to a post game skate the other night and tryout the t-blades on the Tacks that just came back in from Nashville. I actually didn't have any problems skating on them. I was looking for something to bother me and having to re-learn to skate on them. In actuality I like them better then when they had the CCM holder on them. I am not sure if I will be used to the edge but everything felt alright. Even the boot felt better than the last time I was out on them. I think the new chasis is helping to put my foot into a better position which is causing less pain in the arch.

I can't wait to put them into a serious test. I think I might even put the runner with the shorter rocker and deeper hollow on them.

t-blades

Can't take the pain anymore. I broke down today and sent the CCM Pro Tacks I bought last year to Nashville to have the t-blade system installed on them. I really wanted to go to Nashville this weekend and work a tournament but I was afraid after that many games that I might not be able to skate anymore for a while.

I need to be able to skate the next week because I have the important games coming up. I have a set of playoff games for the high school league that week. Since I don't want to deal with a bruised ankle again I decided some drastic measures were going to have to be taken. A trip to the local Fed Ex spot and off they go. A trip on a jet airliner and they will be fixed and on their way back to me. I wish they had gotten done earlier so I could have skated in them for the first men's league game this week.

I am excited to see how much I like or dislike them.