Fridays challenge

AHHH! It is so hard sometimes. I tried so hard, to not "try" to be so particular about my shot cycle, but I must have missed some part of the explanation of the objective along the way. It was horrible, lol... it's completely out of my character, its the exact opposite of how i approach anything and everything. I always try to do everything the best I can.
It's true though, when I first pick up the bow I shoot great, and I mean great. As time goes on and I start to tweak and nudge and move around my shots are not as good.
opps low battery catch up later...

Not try to try and relax

Apparently I'm a ball of tension when I shoot with lots of other wonderful side effects. I have to admit, I'm not that surprised I do have a higher intensity resting rate then others. For those who dont know "me" in all my environments wouldn't understand/see this.
No, I'm not making any excuses. I do bring to the table a high level of intensity and high standard to every action of the shot cycle. I know I need to work on relaxing while shooting and just letting some of it come more naturally.
This is going to be my focus tomorrow I'll let everyone know how that goes.

BTW: I was so excited I forgot to blog a personal best that I shot yesterday. A 268 (w/a miss) out of 300- 18m indoor/outdoor 40cm target. The miss was a choke, the last arrow of the end. (Uh-hmm, high intensity, probably)


Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus today was learning everything I could from the RA's.

Monday Update

I Shot a 3 spot, 10 ends of 3 arrows, 4 times. Is that confusing? I'm scoring right now to prepare for the Vegas Tournament NEXT week. I shot roughly 200 arrows including practice ends, before scoring. (I wont reveal my scores :) my form was off and until I watched some videos and really thought about it in the evening I didn't know what was "off")

Morning- SPT Endurance- ten 25 second holds with full bow (v-bars and stabilizer) and stretch band on bow (increases pull weight) then ten 30 sec hold with full bow only.
Mid-Morning- Shooting 3 spot
Lunch
Afternoon- Shooting 3 spot
Evening- 1 hr Boot Camp fitness class (legs & core) and 20 mins stair stepper.


Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus on Monday was shooting a 3 spot*.

*that was not good for my mental game.

Trying to beat 258

Well I didn't beat a 258, but I shot 2 255's with a miss (5 ring, instead of 10 ring target).
It was cold out, well San Diego cold (55F) and I pushed through it.
Oh and for the first time since scoring on a 3 spot I got 3 10's. See pic.
I was really trying to work my mental game yesterday and I'm feeling good progress.



Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
I will focus on being indifferent to shots scored.

Fridays strength

SPT's SPT's. Must build strength!

Morning- Roadrunner Archery Club website work
Mid-Morning- 20 mins SPT Endurance
Afternoon- Shoot 150 arrows 10 meters
Late- Afternoon-Gym- Cardio and time permitting triceps
Evening- 30 mins SPT Endurance with Bow and stretch band.

Yesterday at the OTC, Jake's plan was to tune my arrows with my bow, but at my current bow weight of 33.25 lbs my arrows wont properly tune to my bow. The best solution we could come up with is to use aluminum Easton Jazz arrows. After a trial and error time period he found the best arrows for my bow weight, which has been kicked down a notch. Thanks for your help Jake.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus today is to pause during setup.

Thursday Update

Coming to a blog near you. :)
Videos to share and schedule updates coming soon. :)
It's Road Runner Archery Club day. Jake is going to tune my bow with my arrows to help me for my indoor shoot in Vegas.
Here's my squished Schedule for today.

Morning- Roadrunner Archery Club website work
Noon- Lunch
Afternoon- Gym- Cardio
Evening- Club shooting 18 meters- 2 hours

New Day - New Way

Welcome to Wednesday Everyone.
Yesterday, was my R & R day. I shot 50 arrows to keep my muscles warm, but that was it. I didn't even hit the gym, however that wasn't the plan.
The Roadrunner Archery Club is hoping to improve there website and I volunteered to assist them in improving their site. Jake, a Resident Athlete at the Olympic Training Center has been managing the site so he came over and we set out some ideas and plans for the site.
This is what we've got so far. www.roadrunnerarchery.com

My schedule today is going to be aggressive. I must meet my potential.
Morning- 30 mins SPT Endurance
Mid-Morning- 20 arrows at 5 meters -150 arrows at 18 meters
Lunch
Noon- 50 arrows at 18 meters
Afternoon- Gym- Cardio, triceps and back/lats
Evening- Roadrunner Archery Club website work
Late Evening- SPT 20 mins Endurance

I'll update everyone later on today's progress.
Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus today is setup.

Monday Determination

Shoot Shoot Shoot. That was my plan. ...I succeeded!

I shot 200 arrows on Monday, quite a feat after all the shooting I did this weekend at the OTC this weekend.

Monday's Schedule
Morning- 30 mins SPT
Morning- 100 arrows at 18 meters
Lunch
Afternoon- 100 arrows at 18 meters
Afternoon- Gym, Boot Camp fitness Class-focus on shoulders and back. 20 mins Stair Climber lvl 11
Evening- R & R

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus Today is picking up the pace.

Going to Vegas

I've decided to shoot NFAA World Archery Festival 2009 in Vegas.
This tournament is not part of USAT rankings or US top 20 rolling rank, but will help to prepare me to shoot Nationals at the end of February.
I will be shooting 18 meters, 40cm target.

Wounds of Archery

Don't hit your arm. Okay, got it! Uh, too late...Saturday was a day of whacking my arm with the bow string. It seems no matter what I tried I still hit my bow arm, and in some cases I hit my shoulder. Yeah I said Shoulder, how in the heck did I manage that? I over rotated on my extra set, rolling my shoulder in. I abated this issue by mid afternoon on Saturday, but continued to hit my arm. The bruises on my arm are with an arm guard and an ace like wrap.
I haven't done anything like this since I first started shooting in Oct 08.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
I will focus on NOT hitting my arm :)

TGIF - oh wait...

Did I just post TGIF?...hahaha... I like Fridays and not for the reason everyone does I'm sure. I like Fridays because it means I'm going to be spending the next 2 days at the Olympic Training Center for Archery Training. I'm ready for the soreness Coaches, so lets make some adjustments to my form. Like past days I have several videos I could share, but I narrowed it down to 2.
This was my schedule today.
Morning- Floor stretching including legs and upper body.
Mid- Morning- 70 arrows at 18 meters outdoors (good results on the target, hopefully the form was good) *see pic
Early Afternoon- Tournament Research and Mental Challanges Research
Afternoon- Gym including Cardio, mat work for abs, core, triceps, traps and a bit of lats
Evening- 40 arrows at 5 meters. 25 mins SPT Endurance, 30 sec hold

I probably wont post tomorrow, but will do my best to give everyone an update on Sunday.






Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today my focus was Right hand position on Setup and Set

Club Day

Shooting at the Olympic Training Center is here again. This week has really flown by.
In the past, after Sundays Club day I'm itching to shoot again at the OTC the next day, but we've been having such excellent weather in San Diego I've been out of the garage. Its been 85 and even hotter (no humidity) for over a week now and I've been shooting outside since Sunday. I have videos I will upload later this morning so you can see where I'm shooting and our brilliant sunshine.
Below is my schedule for today.
Morning - SPT Endurance 25 mins
Mid-Morning- 50 arrows at 5 meters
Afternoon- 50 arrows at 5 meters
Exercise- 2.25 mile run outdoors
Afternoon- Shooting at OTC - 100-150 arrows



Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today My focus is shoulder position and back tension

Wednesday

Yesterday, Tuesday was my rest and recovery day. In the morning I shot 2 ends of 10 and did Cardio at the gym and 2 walks w/ the dogs. * Update...I forgot I shot at night for a couple of ends. After reviewing the videos below I realize I was not showing a set or extra set.

Today was a good day. My form is becoming more consistent day by day. My schedule was a little out of wack today. I went to do my SPT's in the garage this morning and was just too sore to hold the bow for more then 15-20 seconds, so I took a break and returned an hour later to continue my training. You see, on Monday's I take this Boot Camp fitness classes that kicks everyone's rear. Most participants in the class give up at one station or another at least 5 times and some even leave early. I wont give up, I can be beat red, grunting, winded, and literally crawling to the next station (really, I've done it before) and I will finish it. I will always finish it and I will always do more then the person next to me. (except this one chick who schools me in push ups)

Schedule Today
Morning- 15 minutes of stretching
Mid-Morning- 125 arrows
Exercise- Abs and Back/lats - 40 mins of Endurance High intensity Cardio
Evening- 49 arrows and 20 mins of Endurance SPT




Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today my focus is my bow arm rotation.

Monday Monday Monday

Start the morning off with Endurance SPT's with the proper full loading for 25 mins.
Morning- Shoot form until lunch at 18 meters
Afternoon- Run outdoors for 30 mins
Late Afternoon- 1 hr boot camp class, Circuit weight training
Evening- 50 arrows and 30 mins SPT Power and Strength. "Draw from the Set-Up to the Holding position; Holding must include Transfer and Loading like in a normal shot. Hold for 3 - 5 seconds and let down, but only as far down as the Set-up, then draw straight back to the anchor position and, again, include Transfer and Loading. Do this 5 -12 times for 3 - 5 sets, depending on current strength. Rest period between sets 3 - 5 minutes - Ensure that proper alignment and form is maintained" http://kslinternationalarchery.com/Training/SPTs/SPTs.html

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus today is my release.

* I notice my head pulling back a little when I'm expanding. I also notice I "expand" by moving my elbow up instead of back, at least once. I worked on correcting these after I reviewed these videos. I also noticed if I hold my right pinkie finger in a particular position it hits my jugular vain, which tells me I've loaded properly (i hope, coaches will need to review first)
Camera is charging I will have more vids tomorrow showing these corrections from 3 angles.

Training this Weekend at Road Runner Archery

This weekend was very productive. I spent 3/4 of Saturday working on Form and technique with a light bow and stretch band. By the time I was ready to practice technique on my bow it felt so heavy that I couldn't get the proper form and control at that weight. We knocked the poundage to 31 from 33.5, at that point I was able to pull it back, but only with significant breaks in between.

On Sunday I started the morning off with a 2 hour, maybe 8 mile hike up/down the mountain behind Mountain Hawk Park. After the hike I headed to Archery. Apparently a good nights rest under my belt helped because I was able to pull my bow back with out much issue that afternoon. My focus wasn't spot on, mostly in part to the Chargers Playoff game being on the radio next to me :). I don't think some of the coaches liked the distraction that brought about. I will have to buckle down this week and really work on getting a feel for the technique and I should have it under control soon enough.

Coach Guy took some good before and after video this weekend of my shoulder/back tension position and release I will post them shortly.

Pictures from Hike.

Focus today...Succeed Tomorrow
My focus today is my form with a release that shows conviction. :)

Friday - The Day After Yesterday

The effects of shooting extra yesterday are felt today. :)
Not in a bad way or an ouch I want to complain sorta way, but a, hey I can really identify muscles in my shoulders and back that I don't normally.
My schedule today was spread out a bit.

Morning- SPT 30 mins with full loading (I wasn't loading enough b4)
Morning- 100 arrows, 10 ends of 10. I don't think I physically enjoy ends of 10 as much as ends of 7 or 8. It makes a difference imo on your strength in those last 2-3 shots.
Afternoon- 50 arrows and 15 minutes of deep stretching in shoulders, back and core.
Mid-Afternoon- Gym for Cardio and Shoulders. I want stronger shoulders for sure.

I took some videos of my scapula movement. After review they appear okay, but I would like to see my right scapula go lower. I will post them shortly.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
*Today my focus is loading

First Day back at Road Runner Archery

It's hard to put into words how I felt today. I was counting down the hours (subtly of course). Sometimes I feel silly, it's like I was blindsided, I never saw this coming, Archery.
I haven't felt a passion for something like this since I first started my career in technology. For the last 5yrs I've been living my life without a "drive", but I didn't know or feel like I was missing anything. Then Archery came along and I have a drive now, something I didn't expect, something I wasn't looking for. I think Archery fills a gap for me that most of us don't know exists until we discover that one thing that really, really drives us to succeed in life.
I don't know how else to say it, maybe my point isn't coming across. What I do know is that I feel a fire inside that I don't want to extinguish. I hope everyone feels this way about something in there life. I'm grateful and thankful for the opportunity to experience hope.

*Okay, off the mushy topic
Thank you TyTy for staying late and fletching my arrows.
My first day back at RAC shooting wasnt a smooth as I was envisioning, but was great non the less. As it turns out I wasn't loading enough during my break (4wk) practices. So I spent the greater part of club time working on loading. This is exactly the type of stuff I like to learn while at the OTC, this will give me the opportunity to work this into my home practice schedule.

So, back to the grind tomorrow. I will do 30 mins of Endurance SPT tonight, using the correct loading. :) Thanks Tyler S. for pointing that out. I know I can kick the potential habit.

Thursday - Club Day

Wahoo, Today's the day! Back to the OTC this afternoon for Road Runner Archery Club Practice.
I'm going to condense my schedule this morning to make sure I'm ready to impress this afternoon.
I'm not sure what the pace is going to be at the Club today, but I will do my best to practice patience. There is no rush.
Morning- 15mins of Endurance SPT and stretching
Mid-morning- 105 arrows (15 ends)
Lunch
Early Afternoon- Gym for triceps and short Cardio
And then off to the OTC for Club Practice!
No Videos today, but I will have the guys take some on Saturday.
:)

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
*My focus today is on my shot cycle not the target.

Wednesday's Schedule

2 more days until I return to shooting at the OTC!!!
I'm working really hard to impress the coaches on my return tomorrow. Hopefully they can see that I've improved in strength and control. Well, at least it feels that way...
Today's Schedule has gone like this so far.
Morning- Endurance SPT for 30 mins
Mid-morning- 5 ends of 8 and 10 ends of 7 (110 arrows) this was not the plan, but i split an arrow today from what I believe to be from too much contact with the other arrows (aka I group too well) :) so I switched from shooting 8 per end to 7.
Afternoon- Cardio, normally I would do abs/core today, but I fell 6ft off a counter and injured my tail bone a bit. ouch. So, no abs for me.
Evening- 70 arrows and 30 mins of Endurance SPT

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
*My focus today was my release. Follow the jaw line and keep hand position the same.

Week 4 of shooting Oct 25 2008

I found this video and had to share. I can see a big difference between this video and my newer ones, can you? This was the first day I got the new bow from the club. Thanks Coach Guy, Heather and TyTy! I went from shooting 20lbs with a slight injury in my bicep to 28.5lbs in 1 day :) You can tell from my quick setup and pull back that its a little heavy.
In both videos I'm shooting 30 meters (98.4 feet)

Tuesday Shooting

I want to start off by thanking Aye for encouraging me go the extra mile in my practice yesterday. He encouraged me to do 5 sets last night instead of 4 and 35mins of SPT's instead of 30. Every extra push is appreciated imo.
Today's practice schedule is very similar to yesterday.
Morning - SPT for 30 minutes
Mid-Morning - 105 arrows at 5 meters in my garage.
*I kept hitting my bow arm with the string, owe, for those of you who don't know getting hit with the string on the arm is very painful. I decided to place blame on my sweatshirt, so I removed it and it seemed to reduce the amount of times I hit my arm. Placebo affect, who knows...
Afternoon- Off to REI to find tight fitting cold weather gear. Yes, it does get "cold" and windy in San Diego. Then to the gym for Triceps, Back and Cardio.
Evening- 6 ends are my goal with another 30 mins of SPT's.

Below is a video of my late night shooting yesterday. Enjoy the penguins!

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
*Today my focus was to not drop my bow arm until after the full shot cycle was complete.

First Competition November 22, 08 - First Prize

YEAH! First Place, how exciting and at my first competition. I scored a 534 out of 600. I really feel I could have shot a lot higher then that if I had the site (equip. piece) I have now. During the competition it was being held from falling down on my bow with a rubber band. Yep I said rubber band, and instead of it holding it from falling it was actually slowly moving my site up, which changes where the arrow goes. The difference between a 9 and 10. Oh well, I did the best I could regardless of the equipment "issues". It was so much fun and exhilarating, I was so excited to participate and a little bit nervous in the beginning, but the butterflies subsided very quickly.

I have pictures of the ceremony and the medal and plaque I got. I'm smiling just thinking about it. I will reserve a special place in the house for my future awards to share. :)

Monday's Practice

This Thursday is the first day back after break, so I'm kicked my training into full gear this past weekend.
Today I started with...
Morning- off with SPT (Specific Physical Training).
I'm working on Endurance SPT for 30 mins. "The bow is drawn in the normal manner, using correct technique, but without an arrow; hold for 30 seconds. The rest time, between each repetition, should be double the "Hold Time"; e.g. hold for 30 seconds then rest time will be double this or 60 seconds. - Duration 30 minutes.
This exercise must be done with proper form, incorporating aiming, otherwise bow will move all over place when fatigue starts to set in." http://kslinternationalarchery.com/Training/SPTs/SPTs.html
Mid-morning- I shot 100 arrows in the garage at 15 meters. (One & half hours)
Afternoon- Gym for shoulders, Lats and cardio.
This Evening I intend to shoot another 25 (4 ends) or so arrows and an additional 30 mins of SPT training.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
**I worked on my hand position on the bow today. It's starting to make more sense on how to "hold"/palm the bow for more consistent shots.

Back from Winter Break

Ahh, its been so long, 4 days until I get to shoot at OTC again... Because of the holidays and the OTC Resident Athlete scheduled Winter Break I have haven't shot at the OTC since Dec 11th and I miss it.
Maybe it has something to do with being new to the sport, but I just cant seem to get enough. It's so much fun to shoot. Maybe I should be more clear, its so much fun to shoot anywhere but my garage. :) Sure its practical and allows me to work on my form, but nothing beats shooting with others and being outdoors. I particularly enjoy shooting distance which is tough in the garage where the most I can get is 15 meters.
I have lots of videos to share from the last 3 weeks and will start posting them with snippets shortly. My goal is to keep a running blog of my progress, practice sessions, etc and kept up to date. So bear with me as I work to catch up my blog to date.

How it started

An advert in my community newsletter had a small column about an Archery Club forming at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. Having tried Archery for a couple of months in High School and somewhat remembering that I enjoyed it, I thought it might be something I would enjoy during my free time.
It was mid-September 08 the first time I shot a recurve bow at the Olympic Training Center. That first day was an overview of the Archery Program and the Clubs expectations. They permitted those interested to shoot a couple of arrows. I was the oldest person there, who wasn't a parent of a child who wanted to shoot. Putting awkwardness aside I put on my best face of confidence and shot my first Recurve bow. Whew, how exciting I thought, but as the 9 and 10 year old's around me were squirming around wanting to shoot i decided it best to take a step back and just watch.
Looking back, I'm really surprised I went to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) Archery Club that first day, from the minute I pulled up, I was an anomaly in my yet to be known quest.