A little less than two weeks ago, I set up a new Supra X and decided to give it everything I had for the next two weeks to decide if that would be the bow I would finish bring to the Classic and the IBO World to finish the season. Sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle and ride it to the finish line. Other times, the trial period can wreak havoc on your mind and make you start questioning your ability. In my attempts to rush and get it exactly where I wanted it, I ran into the latter. After the two events this weekend and last week's event, I decided the bow and I don't have a good enough relationship to complement each other at this time. However, if I were headed to a dot tournament, I wouldn't hesitate to bring the bow. I'm unsure why I can get it to pound while shooting at dots, and it just hasn't fallen into place on the 3D range. I don't have anymore time to waste to figure it out, so I'm bringing my black Dominator Duo 35 to the ASA Classic next weekend. I have a lot of miles behind that bow, and in my two previous events shooting it, I landed in the top 8 in both events. I have a lot of confidence behind that bow, and I know what it does under certain situations. So now I'll fill you in on the weekend. I won't go into depth, but I'll give a quick rundown, as I have many things to do this week before we head South.
NY State ASA Championship
Although Jacob and I aren't eligible to shoot in ASA federation shoots due to being in pro classes, we can participate as walk-ons, so that's what we did. When I woke up that morning, my blood glucose level was at 44. I ate some breakfast, took insulin to compensate for it, and headed west. Halfway into the trip, I realized my blood was going through the roof. When we got out of the truck, I checked it, and it was at 385... it should be about 80. I couldn't hold my bow to save my life, but I got through the first 20 targets at 2 down. I had all I could do to get through my shots. The pin literally went from head to tail and back to belly, but somehow the arrows found their way into good places for the most part. Over the last 10 targets, we began talking a lot, and my concentration level began to slope downhill. I was satisfied with the first 20 and called it good. However, I couldn't judge how the bow really shot with all of the medical conditions I dealt with throughout the day. At the second target my blood was 465 and when we finished the round, it was under 40. I literally beat the shit out of me. That is the issue I face when living with a hidden disease. I look fine from the outside, but internally I'm all but fine. It made shooting way more difficult than imaginable, and it gets frustrating at times. I'm glad I don't have anything worse than Type 1 diabetes, but it's still something that people just can't understand, not even Type 2s... it's just not the same.
I'm glad I went to the ASA shoot, even thought it was a three hour and 20-minute ride. I felt good to see targets in an ASA-type setting, and my yardage judging was good. Jim Burdic got it right, and I don't believe he's ever been to a national ASA. Of all the regional ASAs I've shot, including the ones in New England and the ones in New York, this one was the best. The range gave people who have never gone to a Pro-Am a true feeling for what it might feel like if they do. The tournament was run with a shotgun start and people were grouped with their peers. They got exactly what they would get at a national event.
My dad shot his best round of the year, and I firmly believe it was because there was minimal walking, and his body was able to handle it better than marching all over the countryside and getting tired out. I'm not sure, but I think he shot 10 down and lost about 6 or 8 points right near the end when he was getting tired. It felt great to see him shoot well. We have both struggled mightily at times this year, and he's been working to correct some of his issues.
Melissa also showed that her work is paying off. Although she had a few get away from her during the day, she stayed steady and remained mentally in tune. Like my dad, she also went on a run on the last 10 targets and put the pedal to the floor. She ended up winning the ASA State Championship for her class. Great job, Melissa. Your journey has been fun to watch, and you make all of us proud with your dedication to improving and learning all you can. It's been rewarding to watch from afar. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much improvement by one person in such a short time period, other than Aiden. You guys are doing great and just keep getting better. Thanks for making all of us look good.
Once again, if you get a chance to qualify for the New York State Championship next year, take advantage of it. This was well run and set up great for being an ASA. It's too bad the federation shoots in New England couldn't qualify shooters for this shoot. I bet they could work together and get a great turnout. I saw Kentucky's turnout this past weekend, and they had about 20 pros there from all over.
Third Leg of IBO Northeast Triple Crown
While I'll write more about this event later on, I'll touch on it briefly here. Once again, I woke up with some blood issues. However, they cleared up until we started, at which time it went low and stayed there the rest of the day.
My hold wasn't great today, but it was better than yesterday. I battled through it and did the best I could. As we continued along the path, I had a difficult time feeling good behind the bow. I never felt poorly, but I did feel like I was working too hard. It felt like working too hard for nothing. Although my shots felt decent, the results weren't matching. Eventually, I put it all in the back of my mind and focused on judging. When it comes right down to it, judging is where I've struggled this year, and I know that has been a weakness. I did get fooled a few times along the way, but overall, I had a great day judging.
Shooting prevented me from being where I felt I should've been, but after dealing with the blood dilemma on Saturday and having it drain every last bit of energy from my body, I basically had nothing left. The effects of it were clearly seen on Sunday, as I shot the lowest score I've shot at a regional event in over 10 years. I guess it just shows you that anything can happen at anytime. Sometimes, we don't like the results, but getting obsessed with a bad outing can lead to bad things. The only think I can really say to anyone is that sh*t happens, and you have to have the ability to let it go and never give it another thought. I know what happened, and I also used the last two weeks to figure out if the new bow had what I needed to make me better. Sometimes different risers give us different feels, and we gain confidence. I didn't gain much confidence, but I also didn't allow it to drain my confidence. I know what I can do, and I'm just thankful I used the weekend to gives things an honest chance before making a decision. I felt the decision was made for me without much effort on my part. It could've gone either way, and I'm glad I did what I did the last two weeks. I don't recommend that people change their stuff as much as I have changed this year, but I also would tell you to bring the equipment to the big events that give you the most confidence. I will be doing that, and I'll see where the chips land when I'm done. It has been a rough year for a variety of reasons, so I'm going with no expectations. I'll shoot my bow and see where the arrows land.
In the last 10 years, I've shot many tournaments in New York and New England. This particular tournament ranked near the top for me. However, I did see where it could've been difficult for older people with a lot of the walking up and down steep hills to retrieve arrows. Older people have a difficult time with that, and we need to keep this in mind. Personally, I loved it, and I would encourage people who aren't in as good of shape to not score arrows or keep score. Instead, stay on top of the hills while arrows are retrieved.
Wally, Tom and the rest of the crew at Grafton deserve an awful lot of credit for this course. This was set up well, and it delivered. Jason VanHillo always set great courses, but this one could rival any of those too. There wasn't an awful lot of yardage, but it was tricky yardage. There were plenty of shorter yardages, but the long ones were tricky too. It made every class work.
Wally did see a problem while walking with us that he didn't see on Saturday. He set some targets during the week while the sun wasn't shining, and they didn't look too bad. Although he said the targets were much easier to see on Saturday, he was with us on Sunday while the sun was brutal and right at our back while shooting into the dark woods. I shot an 8 on a bedded doe that was in your face, like shooting indoors in the winter, and I hit it way to the right. I believe I hit it where the pin was sitting since I had to lead it off. Honestly, I couldn't even tell I was on the target.
When setting courses, these are the things we can easily miss. I'd always encourage people to make it a shooting contest rather than a contest of luck, and the luck is all when you get to the target and what the conditions are when you get there.
Besides those few small errors, this was top-notch. At the end of the day, I ordered a turkey sandwich... and the turkey was actually a baked turkey, not sliced deli turkey. They loaded my plate, and with the heart issues I'm battling, it felt good to have a healthy lunch after shooting. This was a pleasant surprise and seemed to be a big hit. I appreciated their efforts.
I'd like to keep going, but I don't have much tonight. To sum it up, this was the roughest two weeks I've had in archery in a long time, but I'm putting it behind me and going back to the well. We'll see if I can pull up an ice-cold bucket of water and drink it down. We will be headed to the classic on Wednesday this week and the IBO World the following Tuesday. I won't lie. I'm ready to be done with it, and I might just strip everything off my bows and hang up them up after the IBO World. I just need to focus on other things and get my mind right for what's a head. The journey will not be easy, but I know the road for me to travel is awaiting with many uncertainties. I hope to see many of you over the next few weekends, and I wish all of you luck. Shoot well and give it your best shot. Never be afraid to take a few steps backward in hopes of leaping forward. Don't get focused on scores when you have other things you're working toward. That's the only way you'll get to where you want to go. Take the highs and lows the same, and don't let people see any difference in the way you walk.
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