Well, 3D season is here, even though the weather is telling us that the end of indoor season is winding down. The weather just doesn't seem like it wants to let up, and I'm more than ready to get outside and start shooting some arrows from distances beyond 20 yards.
I got released from physical therapy this week. I think it's the first time I've been to physical therapy for something and felt like I didn't gain anything from it at all. Knowing my body, I can tell that what the therapists and surgeon think is wrong with it is not the case. If I had to bet money on it, I would bet that no amount of therapy is going to ease the pain in my lower arm and elbow. While I can still shoot my bow, I can't do it comfortably, and I can't spend any time to practice. If I shoot, I can't spend long enough doing it to gain anything from it, which makes it really difficult to progress.
I did shoot a few times indoors this week. I tried to get my 3D bow rolling, but the hardest part was deciding which bow I want to run for 3Ds. I have two options and both bows are 35' axle to axle and 60lb bows set at 57 lbs.
I spent Saturday morning and early afternoon with my buddy George. We worked on my 3D bows to get them so they all measured the same draw length. I'm going to start there and see what happens. I highly recommend this type of teamwork while working on equipment. Find a person whom you trust and bounce things off from each other and work together. I've always thought that two minds are better than one. I also like when you can make changes on something and see the results of the changes. I guess you would call it a security blanket. Although we both work on our own equipment, I think it is sometimes easier to identify problems or potential problems when four eyes are looking at something rather than two.
When I left George's place, I had three bows set up with the same draw length. The length I settled on is 28 11/16. I'm sure there will be some fine tuning along the way, but I know have a good starting point. We shot each bow through the chronograph, too. The speeds were 300, 301, 300 with Gold Tip Platinum Pierce 500s. I shot a Lightspeed 3D through the chronograph, and it came out at 312. That's the arrow I used last summer. I'm unsure which arrow I will be using, but I need to make some decisions in the next few weeks.
I spent one day walking through the woods at my dad's house to see if enough snow was gone to put targets out. I carried my rangefinder with me to check my numbers. Amazingly, I was unbelievably accurate out to 52 yards. If I had shot a 3D event that day, I would have scored well. Unfortunately, it might just have been some pot luck. Hopefully, I'll have good numbers next weekend for the first New York IBO shoot.
After leaving George's place on Saturday, I spent the afternoon trying to get a bow ready to roll for the 3D next weekend. I had a mixture of emotions while getting marks on my sights. My groups were okay at best. I did shoot some really good groups at times, but I also shot some groups that gave me cause for concern. Hopefully, I'll improve as the time outside increases.
Earlier this week I exchanged a few messages with one of my buddies about shooting with an accelerated heart rate. I can say that I've had that happen on more than one occasion, especially in big spots. He asked how that feeling can be replicated, and although many people think it's impossible to replicate the feeling, it's not if you use a little bit of your creative imagination.
The picture I posted at the beginning of the article is from the final day at the IBO World a few years ago. It was taken at the second target of the final round on the last day. When I got to the target, my heart began racing. The target was a coyote, and it was just about the maximum distance -- and I had to lead it off. Knowing I had to get the shot off quickly because my nerves were through the roof, I told myself that I needed to let my body relax as soon as I hit full draw, and that's what I did. The arrow fired almost instantly and landed just right of center. I was ecstatic.
When I got to the target, I had the same feeling that I had experienced every day during my practice routine, so I knew I could make the shot. How did I get that feeling during practice? Every day I walk up a steep hill to shoot on my practice range at my dad's house. I leave a deer or a wolf target at the top of the hill and shoot it every day when I get to within 38-50 yards from it. I always race up the hill as fast as I can, and without wasting any time, I stop and draw the bow. My heart is always racing from walking up the steep hill, and it's almost impossible to hold as steady as I would like. So I taught myself to accept the rapid heart rate and just shoot the shot. Over the course of the summer, I got to the point where I knew I was going to smoke the 10-ring, even though my heart was beating through my chest. I felt the same exact way when I drew my bow on the coyote that day. I had shot the same shot every day throughout the summer. Although I was in a tournament, the shot was exactly the same. It's easy to do something that seems so similar to what you do every day at home.
In the winter, I sometimes go to the range when I know that nobody will be around. I do this so sprint back and forth between the bale and the shooting line After four sprints, my heart is usually in full gear, just like it is during some indoor tournaments. If you do this enough, you'll become confident that you can shoot well with a racing heart. I've done it enough to know it works. While sprinting might not be for you, maybe you could try skipping rope. I've done that on more than one occasion, too. Do whatever you need to do to replicate the racing heart you feel in a tournament. Use your creative imagination.
The first 3D is new weekend. I'm not overly optimistic about it, but I've already decided that this year is going to be a year to learn and grow. Hopefully, I can stay the path and figure out this new draw length. I won't lie, it has been a grind. I just wish my elbow was good enough to put in the kind of practice I need to put in to succeed. I'll take it on step at a time.
This week's special archer is a little different than the past few weeks. The archer I want to highlight this week is one of the best guys I've ever had the pleasure of knowing in New England archery. Although he is no longer with us, he had a lot to do with my participation in IBO events in New England, and he played a big part in my success throughout the years. That man is Steph Hamner. Quite a few years ago, I got a call from his wife shortly after he passed away. The following link it what I have to say about Steph. I wrote it the night I received that phone call. Please read it if you have the time. I just think it's fitting since we will all become our own big archery family in the coming weeks. We never know when we might see someone for the last time. I encourage all of you to be thankful for the time you have to spend with each other on the archery range.
http://toddmead.com/blog/?p=172
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