The Think Tank

Mom and I are up in Seattle this weekend so I can shoot in the USAA Indoor National Championships, the first Indoor Nationals ever held in the Pacific Northwest.  I signed up late, so the only shooting time available was 5pm both days, so I shot later in the day than I usually do for tournaments. That was pretty nice though, because I was able to lounge around the house and relax most of the afternoon.

I warmed up 4-5 ends downstairs on the practice range, then shot the two official practice ends.  I started out very well, felt really strong and like I was executing really well.  In fact, I felt like I actually shot better than I scored.  I finished the first thirty arrows with a 290, and I felt like I shot around a 293-294.  I had three or four arrows that felt really good, I held well, I wound up in the proper post-shot form, and the arrow missed by the tiniest sliver imaginable.

The first end of the second half was good, all 10s, but the next three were all 28s.  That was rough.  I did not feel I was holding well, I was holding longer than I like, and my form was feeling stiff.  My shoulder was also getting pretty sore.  Around the 15th end, I started feeling a little better, but it wasn’t until the last 2-3 ends where I thought I was actually drilling it again.

I had been bouncing back and forth with Justin Carver all day (up a point, down a point, tied… ), but coming in the final stretch I was up one point and I really wanted to stay there.  I got just a touch nervous, which gave me a little extra boost in the energy department, and I came through my shots much faster and stronger and I drained three inside-out X’s.  I also used my new trick, thinking to myself “You can’t miss.”  Several weeks ago, I started reprogramming myself so that whenever I say that, I execute a perfect shot.  (In the past that always preceded a missed shot, but a few weeks ago I started turning that weakness into a strength.  Now whenever I think that, I double down on my form and make damn sure I drill that shot.)

I finished with a 579.  I really think I should be more along the lines of a 585, and I really don’t like dropping below 580, but all in all I’m not too disappointed with this score.  Last time I was up here (for the WSAA Indoor FITA Championships) I shot a 1156.  I would really like to get into the 1160s this time around.

I do not know where I placed overall, but I was the top spot in my group by two points.

 

 

I went to shoot at Archery World after work on Wednesday evening, the first time I have shot since Maure went to the hospital.  The wheels felt a little spungy, something I have been thinking for a few days now, so after I was done I had Joe check them for me and they were out of time by about 1/4″.  We fixed the wheels, and it felt much, much better.  The wall was very solid.  I shot for a little while after that, but my arm was pretty tired and I made a few mistakes due to fatigue and a sore shoulder.

I also changed the weights on the stabilizers.  I started out with 6oz in the front (including the Doinker) and 15oz in the back.  I changed it to 4oz/12oz (including the Doinker), but after a few ends it felt like the bow was rocking backward so I put another ounce on the front.  (That makes it 5oz/12oz.)  That felt like it was holding very well.

Practice AW Feb 15, 2012
round: 1 20yd

1	2	3	arrows	sum	balance
X(4)	10(6)	9(5)	29	59	59
X(4)	X(5)	10(6)	30
X(4)	10(5)	10(6)	30	60	119
X(4)	X(6)	10(5)	30
X(4)	X(5)	X(6)	30	60	179
X(4)	10(5)	10(6)	30
X(4)	X(5)	X(6)	30	59	238
X(4)	10(6)	9(5)	29
X(5)	10(4)	10(6)	30	60	298
X(4)	X(5)	X(6)	30

nines: 2

tens+X: 28

X: 18

average: 9.93

arrow statistics

arrow	nines	tens+X	X	average
4	0	10	9	10.00
5	2	8	5	9.80
6	0	10	4	10.00

—

Sent from my iPhone

Practice today was nothing special. My chest and shoulders were tired from working out the day before, but all in all I thought I shot pretty well. I upped the weights on the front/back stabilizers as follows: Front = 6oz (including Doinker), Back = 15oz.

I felt that combination held pretty darn well. In fact, it may have been a bit too solid. The arrow that dropped held dead center on the spot, but that sort of lulled me into a sense of security and I wasn’t really thinking about pulling through like I should have been. It went off and missed high-right, the typical spot for a weak shot.

After that I paid better attention to pulling through and everything worked pretty good. The shots at 3 O’clock on target 2 were all three a bit of a surprise, as they felt pretty good and held pretty well. Ditto for the high arrows on number 1, although that target was hanging on the high side the whole day. The first 4-5 arrows (including practice) were all in the same spot, right at the very top of the X line, so the two that went a shaft-width higher were barely in the ten. Both felt like pretty good shots to me.

I worked out at the gym the day before, and my arms and shoulders were very sore to start. That is probably why, but I had a very hard time shooting consistently good shots. I also kept getting an arrow out the left on my number two targets despite changing arrows twice. I’m not sure what this about. At first I thought I was doing something different with the way I held me release, but even when I was paying special attention, I kept popping out to that same whole at 9 O’clock.

 

 

This was sort of an up and down day for me, but on the whole I did not feel very solid.  At times I felt like I shot some good arrows, but I never strong together many in a row.  I did not feel like I was aiming well, and that was affecting my pull-through as well.  After a while I was starting to second guess most everything: my release hand position, how hard I needed to pull on the stops… everything.

When it came to the eliminations, I was feeling fairly confident that I could win if I shot well, but I was concerned that adding nerves to my already sketchy shooting would equal nines.  And I was right.  When I got nervous, my dot was bouncing all over the place.  However, I did a good job of just pulling through the shot even though my dot was bouncing, and mostly shot pretty well.  What I noticed was that I was a bit stiff, and that seemed to translate into high shots.  I shot three nines in the elims, which is a lot more than I’d like, but the shots weren’t that bad and they all missed high.

In the end, my mistakes weren’t too costly.  I won my first two rounds and wound up shooting for the Championship against Sean Elza.  I shot a 59 and 2x and lost to his 59 and 4x.  Even with the low X count, it was another example that 10’s are good enough.  If I’d a shot 60, I would have won.  Also, if I’d shot a three hundred in any of the last three legs of the shoot off, I would have wound up in first for the whole thing.