I Don't Lurve My New Skates So Much

I kind of hate my skates.

I'm so miserable. We shopped and shopped and researched and spent an ungodly amount of money. My skates are Wickeds. A lot of girls wait and save for a year or more before spending this kind of cash on skates. A brand new girl really has no business being on a set of these, but we got them and they're beautiful.

The thing is, they HURT. Bad.

Ten seconds into skating, my feet cramp something fierce. Throughout practice, my feet scream with a pain that takes my breath away.

I fear the skates may be too big. The next size down swished my toes, but my heels slip a little in these. I'm certain this contributes to the pain, as my poor toes keep gripping the bottom of the skates for dear life. Every time I pick up my foot, I feel like the skate will fall off. My foot's effort to keep the skate on is killing me.

I feel like crying. Is it really possible I bought skates that don't fit? I've already scuffed them so they can't be returned. Such a waste. I can never tell my husband. He is more excited about the skates than I ever was. He is so happy to have found and bought them for me. How can I ever tell him they don't work, that I want my old crappy skates back?

Some of the girls look at my skates for me. They are not too big. Whew! Cramping is a common problem in new boots. Not only do the skates need to break in, but your feet have to get used to the new skates. In my case, in particular, my previous boots were high top. I'm having to get used to not having the extra secure feeling of laces up my ankles. This leads me to lace my skates too tight, which causes -you guessed it - foot cramps.

The girls offer lots of advice about different lacing styles, insoles and padding that will help in the short term. The real fix, though, is to just give it time. I've just gotta take my potassium and ibuprofen and suck it up.

I'm so relieved that the skates aren't too big.