Easton Cup went well

I didn't hit arm. Okay... so I hit my arm 2 times at 50 meters, but that's it! Much Much better then my first and previous FITA in Baja. I also scored a 1024, a grand achievement to make in just under 6 months of shooting.
Everything this weekend was personal bests. I shot a 93/120 at 70 meters in the Round Robin.
I also shot an 81/120 in OR rounds.

Ready for LA Tournament

I haven't hit my arm in 3 days. Victory shall be mine. lol. Okay, so maybe not victory, but I will hit my goal (pun intended) of not hitting my arm this weekend. :) Wish me luck. I will provide updates after official practice on Friday.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow

Easton Cup

How did I miss blogging on the Easton Cup? My schedule has been "off" since I returned from Mexico last week.
Here it goes...the Easton Cup is this weekend in LA. I will be shooting a full FITA in 1 day and a Round Robin and Olympic Rounds on the second day. This shoot is a "practice" tournament more or less. It will provide a FITA ranking, but it will not apply for USAT or Rolling Rank which is my current goal.
Regardless of the tournament type, it will provide insight to what I will most likely score in Arizona in 2.5wks. Arizona as many of you know is a key tournament for me.

On a training note, I want to mention that I'm working very hard on not hitting my arm guard. I apparently decided to bring back this very painful issue. (I have multiple fore arm bruise to show for it). Hitting your arm guard while shooting distance, which all my upcoming shoots are, will make you miss the target.
Ahh the dreaded M word...
Its out of my vocabulary from today on out. :)

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Tomorrow I will focus on one thing and master the task.

Thankful for those around me

I wanted to say thank you to the coaching staff at Road Runner Archery Club/Olympic Training Center. Your actions speak louder then words and they do not fall on deaf ears.
Your continued effort is feeding the determination inside of me to be great. I look forward to the day when I can bring you the happiness you have brought to me.

*if you read this post you HAVE to click this link for clap your hands

Back to the Olympic Training Center Today

Wahoo it Road Runner Archery Club Day!

I get to shoot 70meters today and its going to be fantastic weather. Can't wait.

Mexican Grand Prix w/ a surprise at the end...

Success!
Success can be viewed in many ways. I believe I succeeded in Baja this past week, regardless of the scores I put down. I shot my first FITA, my first International Tournament, my first Outdoor Tournament, Shot my first Olympic Round and shot my first Team Olympic Round ever this week. I accomplished all of this with out stress, nerves or distress. :) My mental game has come far quickly and I am very proud of myself.
I am extremely grateful to Coach Kisik Lee, Coach Guy and Mrs. Lee for coaching this week during the tournament. There words of guidance did not fall of deaf ears and I learned a lot during the past week and look forward to shooting good for them in the future.
For those of you who dont know I shot a FITA and OR this week. A FITA is 70, 60, 50, 30 meters and OR or Olympic Rounds is 70 meters, 12 arrow match. I have not shot 50, 60, 70 meters more then 5 times in my entire life, so these distances were very new to me and I LOVED it. Distance shooting is awesome, it felt so freeing, the "stress" I felt during my indoor shoots was gone (18m). It was so much fun.

Your ready for the surprise everyone? Here it is...
My schedule went like this in Mexico.
Weds- Opening Ceremony (where I got to walk in USA processional as member of USA) and Open practice
Thurs- 70 and 60 meters
Fri- 50 and 30 meters
Sat- 70 Meter OR rounds
Sun- Sunday is for Team rounds, naturally not coming into Mexico thinking i was apart of a team, but that I was shooting as me, i thought that Sunday I would just watch the RA's shoot in teams for Team USA. On Saturday night i was informed that they were going to create a 2nd USA Women's Team and that I was going to be apart of it.
GUESS WHAT!!! We took a Bronze Medal for 3rd Place in Olympic Team Rounds. Great Job Team. My first arrow was a X, and I shot the best I had shot during the entire tournament. What a great end to a wonderful week. I love shooting and cant wait to shoot again.*shout out to Kristin who rocked it this week in BAJA, she was by far the best shooter this week! Good Job Kristin, you make me want to succeed even more.
Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today I will focus on my string hand finger position.

Wahoo Back Home!

As much as I love traveling, the recent adventures in cuisine and living conditions in Tijuana, Baja Mexico have made me miss home.
I wont go into to many details but I'll list some key components of the conditions.
1. no hot water
2. no towels
3. no heat/air conditioning
4. rice and corn flakes
5. no coffee/tea
6. no recreation

Coaches, Coaches everywhere

It was Jr. Dream Team Week at the OTC this past week.
During my training on Thursday and Saturday there were a slew of Coaches offering advice on how to shoot the BEST method. It's a bit overwhelming sometimes, you know, to have several different approaches or explanations on how to do something from someone your unfamiliar with and who is in fact unfamiliar with you. I am however grateful for anyone who volunteers to help others. (there are many "buts" i can add to this, but i wont) :)
Out of all the coaches I've interacted it with in Archery I would have to say that Coach Lee seem to have the approach that works best for me. Maybe I'm biased, maybe I just want him to be the best for me because i believe he is the best coach. Regardless of why or who, what's important is that I feel comfortable and trust my Coach.
Gotta run, time to head over to the OTC for one last day of distance shooting before Baja next week.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today, again I will focus on my bow arm release.

Timing couldnt be any better...

I've experienced several trials and tribulations in the recent weeks it seems, and I'm fortunate to have the strong support of my family. An indication of this support is from an email I received this morning with the following quote. Thank you, it helps.

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.... You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Field Conditions

Morley Field is not an ideal place to shoot in the Winter/Spring months. With the Mexican Grand Prix next week I needed to practice distance shooting (70/60/50/30m) on days I wasn't at the OTC.
My plan after Nationals was to take Monday off and head to Morley Field in Balboa Park on Tuesday and Wednesday to practice. Well...lets just start off by saying I did end up there on Tues and Weds, but it didn't go the way I planned it...
My first 2 arrows at 70m, while trying to site in (set site pin to distance/height of target) flew over the target and into the knee and thigh height of grass/weeds, stink beetles and mice. :) I spent an hour looking for them with no luck. I decided it best to shoot 50m so I wouldn't lose anymore arrows. BIG mistake, my first arrow shot left of the target. I was DONE at that point. I looked for another 30mins before deciding to go home and return the next day with a weed whacker and rake. You see, each arrow costs around $30 and I need 6 to shoot in Mexico next week and I was down to 4, I needed those other 3 arrows. I cant believe I lost them, it never occurred to me that I wouldn't hit the target, thats not like me.
So, believe it or not on Wednesday morning I headed over to the field with my battery powered weed wacker and rack. It took me an hour of wacking and racking to find all 3 and luckily all of them in good shape.
No more Morley Field, unless its dry and barren. Ahh, how many hard lessons are there in Archery. Every week theres another big lesson learned. Life is amazing.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Today I will focus on my bow arm.

National Indoor Results

I want to start off my saying I shot decent most of the tournament. However, my score does not reflect this. :) I had equipment "failure" my plunger was unscrewed by nearly 1/3inch by the time I noticed it. (time to fork out the $ for a beiter)
I was grouping high far right all day yesterday and just couldn't figure out why. It came to the point when I just knew it wasn't me, my form felt fine, sure I was a bit nervous but nothing like the first day. To say the least I was confused at the results, along with my fellow shooter Aya (thx for Tips, btw), who was mystified as to why I was shooting right, even after what appeared to be a good shot.
This was definitely a lesson for me and I'm very grateful for the hard lessons I have been learning during my first few tournaments. I will now forever check all the components of my bow before shooting, daily.
It's a sigh of relief really. I knew I was better then the arrows on the target reflected and I knew I had to just keep shooting the way I knew how. It was nice to get confirmation that it was my equipment and not me. (for those of you who aren't familiar with a plunger, I'll post a photo)

I will not shoot Tulare, CA again, the environment is not condusive to a beginner or for someone to perform at there best imo. For Nationals in 2010 I will shoot New Mexico.
I don't know how to explain the emotions that I go through during the tournament. I assume it's what most everyone goes through when there a newbie like me. If you had asked me on Saturday how I felt I would've told you it was an awful feeling. The inability to control your fear, nerves, mind or whatever it was is crazy and not something I am accustomed to. Thank goodness for Coach Mel Nichols (Pineapple Archery) who was quick to contact me after the tournament and share tools and tips that would help me un-spiral my craziness and be prepared for my mental game on Sunday. THANK YOU, I was as prepared as I knew how to be on Sunday and was 10 times better mentally because of your help.
I also want to say thank you to my mom for her encouragement on Saturday evening.

Focus Today...Succeed Tomorrow
Tomorrow I will focus on 70 meters