Some thoughts and Instagram

1.) I've been reading this article to learn all I can about tuning because my carbon foam Winex limbs are verrry different than my fiber glass/wood Samick Privilege limbs. Almost makes me miss those twigs.

almost

2.) I have some equipment changes/experimentation in the works=lots of tuning at the range. And it's absolutely lovely when used equipment comes with no manual. And I end up googling everything. Did I mention I am not a natural "tinkerer" and am learning all of this as I go along?

3.) I have accomplished almost every archery related goal that i set out for myself in 2016. And I still have 5 months left to complete the last, which is to set up my blog on a new blogging platform with my own custom domain. It's good to see where I'm headed and know what to do to get there. I am on Instagram (I practically read it like the daily news these days) and I've already met several archers from around the world through it. It's also how I watched the archery matches in the olympics thanks to Crystal Gauvin posting videos of it online.

Reality Check

I fell prey to a terrible trap for new archers. We see archers competing on the world circuit and analyze every.single.thing.about.them. How do they stand? Which brand do they use? Are those foam or wood limbs? Her release is like that but his release is like that. And what is their poundage?

We totally forget that most of these archers have been shooting for a very long time and have earned that high poundage.

Then other more experienced archers tell you, it's not about the poundage. It's about the form. The poundage will come with strength gained from proper form; however only injury will come from shooting too much poundage too soon.

I heard the more experienced archers, worked really hard at achieving the strength to increase poundage and then it sunk in...it really isn't about the numbers. You don't need fancy equipment. It just needs to be tuned. And then you need to work very hard.

I had to make a judgement call this past Sunday. I had intended to find my 70m sight mark and also tune my bow with new Winex limbs. I had literally started the process of sighting in different distances when another archer showed up and advised me to choose. She pointed out I would reach the 70m faster in the long run with the Winex limbs because of the speed, but I would be struggling with the heavier poundage and would have to wait a bit to actually reach 70m.

Do you see my dilemma?

If I can't shoot 70m yet, there is no state competition for me end of August. I would focus the rest of the summer on distances such as 40m and so on until I reach it. The reason why I am over complicating this is because I want to compete safely. And I don't want to lose my arrows needlessly in the field trying to find my sight marks. I also am having head placement problems. My arrows keep grouping right and I am troubleshooting it, some pun intended there.

My gut is telling me I need to focus on strength training with these new limbs to handle the weight. And since so much of archery is instinctual, I am going to trust my gut and let go of attending state in August. My new long term goal is to master this current poundage (again the number is NOT important) by this time next year without losing any of the form I've worked so hard to build. And if I can only tackle 70m next August, then so be it.

I do not care if I don't screw my limb bolts in for another 4 years to increase the poundage and maximize the limbs. I would rather shoot with strength and perfect form now then hurt myself and risk never shooting again or for a very long time.

The higher poundage will always come. And something tells me, call it instinct, that my coach and 2 others archers I trust, and my gut will all concur when that time comes.

Rio 2016 Olympic thoughts and Form Updates

Like everyone else, I am very excited for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. I have it all planned out, where I will watch the opening ceremonies with my family and with this drink  in hand. I saw archery for the first time watching the Atlanta Games in 1996. Athough I don't remember watching the archery finals in the olympics (were they even covered?), I do remember features on the American men's recurve team. I stayed up late to watch the USA women's gymnastics team win team gold and Kerri Strug's vaults and injury. It's a very special memory for me because not only was it in my home country but also introduced me to the world of competitive sports. And now one of the men going is from my very own state too! Go Zach! Good luck to all our teams and all the athletes competing in Rio, from other countries, that as I know as well! It's not all about the gold, it's about good sportsmanship too!

On that note, last time I met my archery club, a friend took some videos of me. I can finally feel my back tension! It took a lot of picturing it, description from my coach and trying to mimic motions sans bow. I started to cover ground, figuratively, pretty fast at the range. My focus is now 90% on my back muscles and how they compress versus aiming alone. But do you know how hard it is to watch a video of your progress and see how much farther you have to go? I am very happy with all the progress I've made and I know to phrase everything I still need to learn positively in my journal. It's all about the positive reinforcement. 

I took myself to MJ Rogers for another lesson. It was hot, super sunny (I have the sunburn to prove it) and not a ton of shade when you are surrounded by corn fields, but every once in awhile a cool breeze blew by us. I practice relatively close to the target there. Then MJ walks around and corrects my technique or demonstrates the right technique. Today I was focusing on my release. Apparently I was wasting energy letting my hand go to far behind my head. But if I can harness it and stop it at the right point, I can maintain alignment, angular motion around my spine, and have a much cleaner shot. Then I can shoot A LOT more arrows without getting tired half as fast.

Speaking of arrows...I ordered more Easton Apollos since half of mine are buried in the archery club field, haha! Due to a measuring error, on my part, I told Lancaster Archery's made to order service a number shorter than my draw length according to their system. MJ pointed out that the shorter length was actually better for me and I was pulling through the clicker a lot more. So my draw length is a little bit shorter than 28" now. I am not hung up about the number as long as it gives me the results I want. I'm trying out Spider Vanes which are really durable. Pink Easton pin nocks still. I'm thinking I may stick with this set up for a lot longer than I originally thought. I eventually want to try a barreled arrow and am leaning towards Easton A/C/Es. Apparently X10s won't do me any good until I am at least 40lbs in draw weight. I'm all for that because it will save me money as I get stronger and increase my draw weight.

Something told me that I was shooting higher than the 30# draw weight marked on my limbs. MJ hooked a scale on my string and drew an arrow through the clicker. After the 3 pulls through the clicker the average weight was around 32#s. And there was still room to bottom out my limb bolts. So we screwed them in all the way and low and behold, it cranked my humble 30# limbs up to 34#s! This has been a major goal for me to reach this year. I wanted to reach it by the end of the year and here I am already at it in mid summer! It feels SO GOOD! Better yet, I found a pair of 34# Winex limbs for cheap on eBay and they are on their way to me. So with a little bit readjustment I can pop those lovely, smooth Winex limbs on to my riser and shoot. I'm hoping I can crank them out to about 38#s before I replace them with a higher poundage limb. But I'll have to see how the Winex's behave. 

It's amazing how things come together suddenly. I'll be trudging along, running into walls, wondering what am I doing wrong? why aren't things working out? Turns out I needed to be stubborn and put in some long hard hours at the range this summer to reach my poundage goal for the year. In other ways my life has been sifted. I thought I had picked out the right degree program and found a great job for me. Then poof! the job went up in smoke and the degree program I am currently in could not be a worse choice for me. It was for a safe job and definitely needed by the world, but dear Lord I could never sit at a desk for that long cranking away at logs and numbers and policies and government regs. Give me sunshine, fresh air, nature, and room to stretch! I realized I had already started the right path back when I received my NASM CPT. But I need to learn more, receive more certs in different forms of exercise and conditioning and performance, and a bachelors in exercise science. I really want my bachelors but I also want it to be in the right field for me. Luckily I found a completely online program that fits the bill. I will start my courses Aug 8. 

So I will learn everything I can about exercise and how it helps us use our bodies to the fullest. I use it on my own life as much as I can-listening to my body told me I was eating too much and when I decreased my portions and kept moving, I lost a few stubborn pounds. I also have been doing lots of pilates sessions on the reformer with my pilates teacher for overall strength to shoot better and love the results I see, not only in my shooting, but in my muscles. I am so much stronger and leaner than I used to be. And I am not hung up about the number on the scale. I've been skinny weak-literally a wraith, due to depression and anxiety, and I've been skinny strong. I know which one I prefer. I proved this to myself fighting the wind on a nearby lake as I steered a standup paddle board for two hours. That's no joke people. It's a full body workout, like archery, and keeping myself upright meant I was so sore the next day! There were a few times when I thought I might lose my balance but I bent my knees to absorb the shock of the waves. If I could absorb the shock, I wouldn't fall. I'm looking forward to using that knowledge on dry land too. 

So lots of good things happening-physically and mentally in my life! I am so thrilled to be in this brain space; I am old enough to know myself and what I want, and young enough to chase my dreams. I'm going to do what I love doing and see where it leads to me. And it's going to be dang near impossible to dissuade me. No rose colored glasses on my face, I simply think this is the only way to live life. 

Practice Goals

***Edit*** 
A fellow archery club friend informed me that I will only be shooting at 70m at the State championship. Gulp-better move that sight soon!

I've decided to compete at my state championship later in August. This means more practice and more focus all around.

I've been working for so long on my form that I've haven't sighted in different distances. The competition takes place at 50m, 60m, and 70m. I have 50m figured out but not dialed into incrementally. The others will come as soon as the weather cooperates. Today it was raining off and on and the wind was just strong enough that I didn't want to risk any long distances. As soon as I have another day, I will work at sighting in 60m.

Apart from safety, the other reason for not risking arrows in the wind is I am low on them. Nocks have popped off and I may have lost a point or two to an arrow kiss with a target stand. Time to re-glue and in some cases I will have to re-fletch. Note to self-order twice the amount of spare parts you think you will need because you will inevitably use them up. I'm sticking to the cheap stuff for now because I really want my next major purchase to be new limbs. I've reconciled myself that it may not be as high as 34# but I will make the first jump by the end of the year. Still using Easton Apollo carbon shafts for now although I could see myself playing around with carbon ones, next time I order. I'm also interested in trying out a few other brands. No point in spending money on items I'll use up very fast. I am tempted to try these vanes but not until they cost less than my arrows. Lastly, I may need to invest in a jig for accurate vane placement and strings-ugh, I need to learn more about how bow strings are made and string count and all that jazz.

My shot sequence is coming along! The work will never end there but for now, I've figured out muscle position to align that tightrope of bones between my arms and shoulders. Remembering to shift my weight makes a huge difference. I couldn't figure out why my arrows were hugging the upper right side of my blank bale and I've realized there are so many planes that I have to line up between my bow and my body. If one thing is off everything will be off. My arrows were going to the right because my release was very sloppy and was my string alignment. It's tighter now but still evolving. I've watched so many archers now to learn form that I don't want to force my hand and shoulder to move a way that isn't natural to me. I tried out a few things today with my release that seemed natural and made my arrows fly straighter and group better. Once I'm comfortable with the release I'll make it tighter and repeat it over and over.

I'm hoping to have another archery lesson before state and show my coach major improvement from our previous lesson.

Shot Sequence Update

I had my first lesson with MJ Rogers this past Friday. I learned so much in two hours-I can't believe how much my shot sequence has improved already.

I am now using the 'barrel of the gun' set up...
I have an open stance and square my shoulders up to the target.
I pull slightly on the string with my left hand to create tension and feel responding pressure from the riser in my right hand. With the tension in my left arm I make a right angle with my left elbow and flex my wrist while my thumb and fingers are curled neatly around the tab. Any fingers not on the string are curled back towards my wrist.
At this point I raise the bow from left to right across the target and in the process, I am drawing back on the string.
By the time I am at my anchor point, with the string resting along the right side of my nose, I should only have to expand internally, like a spring compressing between my shoulder blades.
Once that expansion happens, and the clicker goes off, the string should leap out of my fingers while the arrow flies to the target.

But in the space of seconds between shots, I forget things.
I forget to check the pressure on the string from my fingers. Too much of a deep hook will block the string and too shallow of a string hook will kill my fingers.
I have to find the balance between keeping my riser stable and not gripping it.
I also forget to check the distribution of weight in my feet.
I would really love it if I could remember to swing my shoulder back along that tightrope of bones I am trying to construct with each shot.

Shooting like this is different than any shooting I've ever done before. I can feel my muscles responding differently because their supporting bones in the different positions than before. My upper traps gets sore very fast and so do my shoulder blades. And tonight at practice I could feel my left deltoid muscle working in a way I've never felt it work. But overall it feels much better to be shooting off my bone structure as opposed to muscle alone.

MJ had me shoot fairly close to the target and so that's what I'm doing now. Perfecting in close proximity and than challenging myself with some distance. Because I finally understand, that if you can't perfect it up close, how can you shoot well at 70m, when there are more variables at play with the arrow and your shot sequence?

Lastly, I'm teaching myself not to aim. I may glance briefly at my sight aperture but I am more interested in watching the arrow slide past the clicker as I feel the string slipping past my fingers towards the target. If I have lined up everything correctly my bow may even give me a bit of flip forward as a finish.

Lots to practice and learn!

Watching and Waiting

Like most archery fans I'm keeping tabs on the USA olympic trials and all the athletes competing. One female recurve archer from my own club placed 9th at the Arizona cup. The final scores were very close which shows how much talent is on the field. Best of luck to my fellow recurve gal and friend Darcy in the next tournament!

Despite tons of rain, switching jobs and parenting and deciding to go back to school, I have not forgotten my own archery dreams. Most of my training right now is visual. I'm watching videos like crazy of the best to learn technique and reading resources through kisikleeinternationalacademy.com to learn more technical aspects of each shot. For example, "transferring and holding" was very vague to me. But once a friend pointed out how my shoulders should move and I practiced with my bow trainer, it became more clear and I practiced the motion to obtain that familiar feeling in my back muscles over and over. I could finally see the results of mimicking the motion after shooting my bow this past week. I could set up with correct shoulder position and load, transfer and hold much better. There are other technical feats to chase now, like my release, which although a lot smoother, is still really sloppy.

I can only get to the range once a week now so most nights after my kids are in bed, I plug in my earbuds with my favorite music and pull out my finger tab and bow trainer. Although slightly different, I try to stay as close to the form I use on the field and after a few pulls of the third band on the bow trainer, I feel much looser and my back starts responding as it should. For me right now it's about quality over quantity, resistance training, visualizing the shot process and also trusting the process. I am so impatient but I've been told 'time is your friend'. I won't be moving higher in weight until I master 30#s. It may happen by the end of the summer or in December. Whenever it happens, I will gladly make the jump into 32# or 34# winex limbs. I can't WAIT to feel that smoothness from the carbon foam again. Light as a feather yet strong and quick.

I've noticed that most risers jump out of the archer's hand and into the finger sling after each shot. Right now mine doesn't. I would put weights on the end of the stabs except my riser doesn't want to seem to move at all after the shot and I am not gripping it tight at all. I'm curious to see after this season of outdoor shooting if that will change especially if I can get higher limbs by the end of the year.

So here's to another week of waiting, learning, bow training, technical reading on the shot sequence, new job training and general life all around. I can see it will all come together eventually. Can't wait to get back to the range!

2016 Archery Resolutions

Wow...I've had this blog 2 years and started it as a journal for my archery progress. I'd heard of other bloggers talking about blog analytics but thought, yeah right that'll never happen to me. At first, I didn't even make this blog public. Imagine my eyes bulging a foot in front of my head  shock as I saw I had viewers from Egypt? Hong Kong? Mexico! This is truly amazing. I've met quite a few archers from the US and other countries on tumblr and as one said recently though a message, 'Meeting archers online is always bittersweet.' But you never know, I have many travels in my future and I hope that the majority of them are archery related. And I will always try to reach out to fellow archers. That's what's so great about the archery community.

As everything else in my life is getting a revamp, why not the ol' blog too? Let's be honest, even my tumblr account colors make me cross eyed. I want to offer my readers a polished, quirky place to read about my journey and all things archery obsessed. I don't know about you all, but the airplane window template and the dandelions in the grass with the blue sky just aren't cutting it for me anymore.

Some equipment news-I finally managed to sell my yellow infitec challenger riser to a JOAD club in Florida. And my SF axiom + stabs and Beiter vbar, are on their way to another archer in California. Great thing about selling archery equipment? I suddenly had money to buy HMC+ stabs I found on archerytalk. I got them for a great deal (hi Scott!). I've ordered this vbar and the thing most archers seem to swear by, a bow trainer. There's no other way for me to build strength since my ceilings are too low for my bow and it's too cold to shoot outside. And honestly, shooting at an indoor range is a luxury right now so it doesn't happen often. Can I move here yet?

I really want Winex limbs. So archery resolution #2 for 2016 is to be at 34# draw weight by the end of the year. The only way I will get there is if I can pull a bow string or something similar every day. And the only way I can justify paying that much is if I can make a 4# jump. And get my family to chip in for maybe half the price? (Good thing Christmas and my birthday pretty much rub their backs together lol.) And with new limbs will come new arrows but I'll cross that  bill erm bridge when I come to it. I don't anticipate X10's happening this year.

So a recap:

Archery resolution #1:  to upgrade to HMC+ stabs
Archery resolution #2: to upgrade A Southpaw Archer Girl-make it worth reading and easy to navigate!
Archery resolution #2: to buy 34# Winex limbs by the end of  2016.   Accomplished in July 2016!

And that's only my archery list. But I'm already good on goal #1 on my other list-I passed my CPT exam! I'm starting out at a gym soon and I don't think "NEWBIE" could be written bigger on my forehead but I everyone starts somewhere! I've picked up Pilates seriously again and am loaning my new trainer my archery book put out by Kisik Lee and his team of coaches and archers. I'm really interested in getting more certifications through NASM and getting certified in Pilates too.

If you've hung in there with this post for this long I applaud you! Lots more to accomplish this year!