Little By little...

I've practiced a few more times since my last post. I am learning enough to make me realize I still have tons more to learn about archery. It is frustrating at first. Then I focus and work through each shot.

I am also learning that people mean to be helpful when they don't know a whole lot. And they jump on me after one shot when I haven't shot for a few days and need to warm up. You're doing this wrong and this wrong and you need to fix thissss....till I can't remember the beginning of what they said. If you have one bad shot they assume you don't know anything and that you need all  of their advice, which is honestly probably true. I am grateful to have the free coaching I am getting though, after I warm up after 15 minutes, 'mkay?

On a more concrete note, I got to shoot an ILF rig today for the first time! Another archer brought a Hoyt Excel riser for me to shoot with SF axiom limbs. It was difficult until he switched them out for lighter limbs. The lighter weight meant I could focus more on my form. I worked on sighting in the bow and moving my shoulder the right way. I saw progress. Just mentally tired from all the coaching and the shooting. It's pretty difficult to shoot from 9:15-12:30 as a newbie archer.

I guess I basically feel like I'm getting my hand slapped a lot, figuratively speaking.

Progress!

I met my fellow archers at our archery club this past Sunday and I ended up getting great tips from some recurve archers. they helped me improve my form and shoot a million times better. They actually brought my target very close and told me to ignore my score and just pay attention to my form. It made all the difference. Even up close my groups were still tight and by the end I knew I had made a breakthrough. One archer even filmed me in slow motion so I could see my draw and release. There are lots of things to learn, little things to tweak and I honestly still have a lot to learn. But now I have some pointers and a little muscle memory to recreate and practice on my own. I also learned of a new online shop called Alternative Sporting Services which has so much archery equipment to browse. Talk about being so glad I went between rain showers! Did I mention that one of the archers will bring equipment for me next week to try out? Not to buy, just to try out.

Off to shoot some more on my own :)

New Sights

I have a literal sight to talk about and a figurative one. The figurative one is simply this: I am going through a major personal life transition. Everything has changed and I am trying to figure out a more permanent set up. But I have not lost sight of what makes me happy and my own interests through it. Archery has been a lifeline for me. I have joined a local club, received a lesson or two from a good coach and some not so good advice from people who think they know things but really don't (thank the lord I can tell the difference.) Maybe I can't control my personal life right now but it's a great consolation to pick up my bow and know that if I nock an arrow, draw and aim it and let go-it will sink into the target or maybe the ground or the target stand. Such is life. But I am getting stronger through it.

I actually bought a physical sight and it has made a world of difference in my groups. I've only used it twice and it's a cheap beginner's sight but hey it works for me. My groups generally start fairly tight and I play around with my sight...a little more to the left there and a bit higher there, until my arrows are reaching the bullseye. As I get tired my arrows tend to loosen from the size of a baseball to the size of a basketball, just as my coach said would happen. Over time as I get stronger and more skilled it should take the groups longer to loosen up that much. Once the groups reach the size of a basketball I stop so I don't burn out. My right shoulder was protesting the movement towards the end of my shooting hour so I must remember to do some ballistic stretches next time. I also need to do some core work because I think that would help me.

It feels so good to be doing something for me and to see progress. It's coming at a glacial pace but I can see it. Looking forward to the shooting on the range again this Sunday.

Putting myself out there and a NEW Finger Tab

Originally I wanted to keep my blog private and build it up for a year so it would be more substantial. But let's face it, I have to start somewhere and I can only get better by getting feed back through comments and hopefully e-mail. Tell me I am completely wrong in everything I am doing-or-tell me that I'm close but need to fix  five million that one little teensy eensy thing.

So here you go little fledgling blog of mine. Take flight. You are so not ready and I will never compare you to what other blogs look like. You will get there one day, as soon as I find another template and hopefully my own domain name.

I am so proud of you already.
That I decided to do this.
To pick up a lost hobby.
To write about it and finally discovered a niche that could be filled.
I am not a coach, I am truly a student with a lot to learn.

That being said...I got the finger tab I wanted!! A LEFTY version and I screwed on the finger spacer and read the directions and trotted it outside a few days later with my bow. The first arrow missing the target jarred me back to reality. That it comes down to the archer's form, not their equipment for good shots. So I will work with the new finger tab as much as temps allow. And I will do much more to work on my form so I am not even thinking about it as I raise my bow. I will say that my fingers thanked me a lot more for giving them a much sturdier barrier than they had before. So that was a win.

Lately I've been doing lots of yoga and Pilates and running outside while I can, as exercise. I work on core, core, core and legs mostly. My arms get a pretty good workout each time regardless of what I do-it's jus the nature of the yoga moves. I want to lose weight still so eating lots of veggies is on the docket. And thanksgiving is looming on the horizon so I have to get disciplined now. And get rid of those granola bars in my pantry. They are seriously my downfall. Plus I need to eat slower which is harder with kiddos as any mom knows. I bolt my food down these days out of stress and I stress eat a lot=more weight gain or cancellation effect of all my exercise.

Lot's to figure out-that's life I know. But I'm excited to see comments and any e-mails I may get with tips for better shooting! I'm hoping to load some pictures and videos eventually to give you a better idea of what my archery form looks like.

I'm Back with a PLAN

Hello! (I know I am really just saying hi to myself which might be a bit narcissistic but this blog will eventually be public. Right now it's my journal.)

After some thinking, resting (aka lots of napping) and laying into my house for cleaning before some family guests arrived, I feel like I have a plan of action for balancing my re-discovered hobby with the rest of my life. I am still tired-what's up with that?-I literally have been taking a nap most days and with the help of my friend benadryl, fell asleep at 9 last night and slept good and deep! Yesterday I felt like biting everyone's heads off and was just in a panic to get.to.bed. Much better today.

I've started doing daily yoga. It's mostly in the morning after sending my son off to school and before my daughter wakes up. It's no more than 20 minutes usually but it really flies by. I do it for strength training and stretching, mobility and it clears my mind. I'm hoping to do some of it with my kids in the future. I incorporate yoga poses directed at my abs 3x a week and it seems to be paying off. I plan on running around my house or at a park in the mornings with my daughter 3 days a week and doing archery the other 2 days. If I feel burned out on one I'll switch to the other. I have PiYo dvds for when I'm snowed in and P90X for when I need variety.

I've been paying attention to my diet and can feel my belly slimming down. (YAY!) I've realized, yet again, the secret is really watching my complex carbs. I just have to eat smartly. This time of year I am switching from the summer produce to autumn inspired roasted root veggie salads. I'll share them in the future on the blog. I also am enjoying a green smoothie most mornings and my peanut butter custard oatmeal. I snack on almonds and some cheese too through out the day.

I am at a loss for what to do next year. I need to find a job but I don't want to lose my newfound hobby. I was talking with a friend who was able to complete the traditional process I was going for and share my fears and hopes and this blog with her. She was so supportive and admitted my situation is really different from hers but she also pointed out that this blog and the field of archery is a really cool niche that isn't saturated with information online, yet. I really want to build this blog, build my hobby, advance to different equipment when I'm ready and cross train and eat well so I can eventually compete on the world cup USA team. And I can share it all with my readers through my love of writing. That has really been the one thing which has always come naturally to me, apart from archery ;)

I'm still in a finger tab dilemma. Mine is falling apart. But my husband vetoed ordering the new one so unless I find a super good deal on it or another one in town, I have to make due. (My poor left hand :()

My goals-get going shooting again-which may not happen for a little bit considering my guests are still in town and the weather is turning. but I'll cross each bridge as I come to it.
Also find good finger tab for this southpaw archer girl. And build my blog!

Rest Time

I have to admit, I've started pretty heavily into recurve archery. I shot 6 out of 7 days last week. I took Wednesday off because it was raining and I didn't feel like drying my bow off after shooting along with bow string and arrows. Also I just needed the break.

I love every minute of shooting even when my arrows still fly too high over the target and into the woods. There's always more to learn, something to polish and never a dull moment. That being said...I need to remember that as much as I wish I could commit more time to it, this is just a hobby for me right now. In my dreams I can practice with a coach on a real archery range and see major progress each day and be shooting an ILF rig. In my dreams I am a professional archer and compete against other archers in world cup matches.

But let's face it. I am not anywhere near that yet and I have 2 very little kids, a husband and house to take care of. I work out a lot too, or use too, but lately I've been giving that time over to shooting my bow. I think I need to alternate a day of working out with a day of shooting. (And really that's only an hour devoted to each when I do.) I get burned out easily and frustrated when I see myself making the same mistakes over and over and I don't know how to fix them. Or I maybe I do know how to fix it but I am waiting for a better piece of equipment to come in.

So this is just a reminder to take breaks, and not forget my other interests and responsibilities too. I am by no means stopping but I may not shoot as much next week which is a shame because the weather will be super nice and perfect for shooting. Yesterday I shot in 88 degree and muggy weather and I only lasted 20 minutes. It's okay to take days off, to make you remember why you love it again.

72 degrees and sunny outside, absolutely beautiful and I don't have a problem enjoying it inside today one iota.

The Lefty Dilemma

Time flies when I'm shooting my bow. I am concentrating so much on repeating each aspect that gives me bulls eyes that before I know it I've shot for an hour. I'd like to shoot more but I do have a house and family to take care of-they definitely come first!

I'm definitely hitting the target a lot more (knock on wood!) And I get several bulls eyes each session but I am still pretty close to the target. But I want to get 2 more hay bales, one to raise it off the ground and another to put behind the back. I rarely go into the woods now to hunt for arrows.

I'm having a hard time squaring up to the target. Maybe it's because it still moves a little with each arrow. The ground slopes, the hill slants off another way...I don't think my husband would be to interested in grading it for me. But he does need to mow-the grass is pretty long back there thanks to all the rain a few weeks ago.

Until I can shoot there, hehe, or at a decent outdoor range, I'll just close my eyes dream that everyday I wake up and shoot for hours on end at this place.

I've realized that I am most likely shooting with a right handed finger tab. Just inside out. Brilliant I know. I realized that in all the pro pictures I see, they have a spacer between their pointer and middle fingers and mine was on the inside of my tab...while theirs is on the outside. So it's not a shelf for my chin at anchor point. It's a spacer for my fingers which would probably affect the flight of my arrows for the better. I already asked my husband for this tab and he wasn't too happy to cough up more money. But it could last me years. And I could order the lefty version. I think I'll tell him about my right handed tab dilemma tonight and maybe the fact that it is the wrong one can help him understand. This world makes everything right handed by default and us lefties fly in the face of default! I didn't choose my left handedness-I just live with it and I wouldn't change it if I could.