Not only did I survive, I beat my personal best score!
What I'm really proud of is that my second round (204) was better than my first round (186). Instead of steadily getting worse because I was tired, like I did in previous competitions, this time I rallied and improved!
I realized on the 19th end that I beat my previous score and got so excited it caused problems for my last end, but it's fine.
Chaos did phenomenal, especially when it came to slowing down his shot process and remembering to breathe. I'm so proud of him!
My back and neck are screaming, and I'm exhausted, but I'm happy. We'll have no idea how we placed in our divisions until later in the day tomorrow. If I end up not being last in my division I will be over the moon, because one of the shooters in my division holds the national record currently, so the rest of us are competing for 2nd and 3rd. 🙃
I think my favorite thing about these competitions is that they really have a good vibe and there is a real sense of community. Everyone is supportive and friendly, even if they're strangers. One of the kids I was scoring with came out from the Boston area, and he was an insanely good Olympic Recurve archer (his score was in the 500's). It was a really diverse group of people on our line, with a huge range of ages and backgrounds.
It is currently snowing. It is supposed to snow even more later this afternoon, especially in the area we're going to be in.
It snowed yesterday too, resulting in accumulation nearly double what was forecasted.
I'm fine driving in the snow. I love snow, and winter.
I loathe how so many people drive in this weather. They're the ones who suck the joy out of things and endanger everyone else because they don't understand or care about basic winter safety and etiquette.
I shot like shit yesterday, because I was tired, and wore the wrong shoes because of the weather (my sneakers I wear for archery are not waterproof or cold weather appropriate). I was so out of whack that I hit my bow-arm with the string three times, so loud that it got commented on. 🥲 I have a very large and tender bruise now...
We're doing this competition to prep for Nationals next month, as we need to get used to competing away from our home archery range. So it's not like I entered this with plans to try to win or something... But still, I don't want to embarrass myself. Which will happen if I shoot like I did yesterday.
May the Archery and Traffic Gods be kind to my tired, overwhelmed, and disabled ass today. 🤞🙏🙃
(Also a little extra stressy as there is some archery adjacent drama I got pulled into that has nothing to actually do with me, but does/could affect my kid. Chaos' archery bestie has a Dad who is... A lot, and he then relayed shit to his wife that wasn't accurate, and she texted me... I don't want to start shit, but also I'm gonna have to reply at some point and it bothers me that the Coach is being portrayed unfairly by her husband for doing his job and advocating for the kids in his care...BLARGH)
I got to shoot arrows this morning, and it helped distract me from my stupid period cramps.
I struggled with consistency mostly because I've been uncomfortable in my body all fucking day, but overall I didn't suck, so that's a win as far as I am concerned.
Went down the rabbit hole this week of learning about different types of fletching and how to refletch my arrows. Mine still do okay even though two thirds of them are damaged from when my old arrow rest was shredding them. (Okay, maybe my main motivation is I want different colors and pretty looking arrows. XP )
Next Saturday is a Pin Shoot day, and since Hubby got me my USA Archery membership, I get to participate this time and attempt to earn my first pin! For the first Adult Indoor Pin with a barebow I have to get a score of 70 (or better) on a 40cm target (the size I regularly use) at 18 meters, shooting 3 arrows for 10 ends... I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure that will be fairly easy for me to accomplish with how I've been shooting for awhile now. ^^;;
I wish I could skip having to go to the stupid fair tomorrow and instead go back to the range and shoot more arrows, because that would be way more enjoyable and have a lot less people.
But I can't, so bah humbug. *pathetic fake sobbing sounds*
Went to the Adult class as a drop-in, mostly just to get some time away from my kids, and to try to enjoy something. Didn't actually get any instruction, as there were newbies that took the majority of the coach's attention. Also I was shooting pretty darn well and I was pretty obviously practicing the stuff I know I need to work on anyways.
Had an issue stringing my bow, that resulted in a limb popping off? It was weird, and now my upper limb is banged up in a spot. It's just cosmetic, thankfully, but it still bothers me. My bow seemed fine otherwise, but I still have that stupid vibration sound in the top of the limb that won't go away. It's harmless, but it is honestly annoying the shit out of me, as everyone else's bows are so fucking quiet.
My new(ish) arm guard has been doing its job exceptionally well. I thwacked myself a few times tonight, but barely even felt it, because the arm guard worked so well. My only complaint is it gets sweaty under the foam padding part, as the foam isn't breathable like the rest of it. It's not a deal breaker though, and I just turn it inside-out when I'm done shooting so it can air out.
There is another competition next month, but it's sanctioned, which means I'd have to get a USA Archery membership if I wanted to compete in it. I'm still undecided whether I want to do that or not, as the membership isn't cheap, and when combined with the entry fee, it's a bit more money than I might want/have to spend. (I got my MRI bill today, and a notice our mortgage escrow needs more money in it after taxes got raised. 🤢)
I'm enjoying the challenge, and I'm definitely a lot stronger than I was, as honestly my limbs aren't much resistance anymore in comparison to how they used to feel. So I want to do more competitions, I just don't know how financial shit is going to be to facilitate that. Especially because Chaos getting to compete is the priority (USA Archery lets Juniors have a six month membership as a free trial, thankfully).
I dunno. I guess I'll just wait and see. 🙃
Pictures, left to right, top to bottom:
1. First end on the smaller target after two practice ends on a big target. The one arrow off the target was because I wore the wrong glasses and my arrow got caught on them. 😮💨
2. My beautiful and beloved problem child of a bow on her stand.
3 & 4. My finger tab with its new custom cord I made to replace the scratchy one it came with. Also I finally got brave and trimmed the top edge down.
5, 6, & 7. Some of my last ends, that stayed decent even though I was tired.
One last thought... I definitely think I'll be sticking with Barebow for the foreseeable future. The more I learn and watch other people do Olympic Recurve and Compound, the less interested I am in doing them myself. I know I'd probably just get bogged down with all the endless adjustments you have to make. Olympic is very mathematical, which is cool to watch, but would definitely burn me out eventually. Barebow is much more about instincts, muscle memory, and being adaptable on the fly, which works with my natural skills quite nicely. So I'm pretty certain I will be sticking with it without any issue. 😊
This was the only photo I took at the tournament yesterday:
My arrow rest malfunctioned multiple times (those holes in the top right corner correlate directly with each time my rest malfunctioned).
And that wasn't even the worst part.
Just as the other line was stepping up to shoot the last end before the break I realized my finger tab had fallen out of my quiver and it was sitting on the ground just in front of the target as the buzzer sounded them to start shooting. I raised my hand and talked to a judge, explaining what happened. He had to go check with another judge, as he wasn't certain if that counted as an equipment failure (which would allow me to wait to shoot until I could retrieve my tab).
It did not count as an equipment failure, which meant I could either forfeit the end or shoot it without my tab (which is crucial for aiming correctly in barebow). He did offer me a spare tab he'd found, but it was a split finger tab for Olympic Recurve, so it wouldn't work for me unfortunately.
So I shot the damn end without my tab. I've never shot this bow without a tab, and holy shit it was not fun. I immediately had a bruise line across my fingertips. I did manage to keep my arrows on the paper, but I lost the momentum I'd finally regained.
Despite fatigue, period cramps, and the guy next to me on the line coming back from the half with a ridiculous amount of cologne that made me want to gag like a cat, I persevered and ended stronger than I started. I also managed to not have a single miss in either round 3 or round 4. *success kid fist pump*
I did not shoot my best both days, but overall I didn't completely suck, and for my first time competing at such a big event, I am proud of my results.
Here's my score cards:
Yeah, somehow I managed to get the same score both days... 🙃🥲
My biggest personal victory is I beat a barebow archer in my division who was sorta a pain in my ass and who had this attitude that annoyed the shit out of me by two points. (She put her bow in front of my lane, even though she wasn't on my lane... And then would get pissy about me being in her way when I needed to get my bow or put it back. There was room in front of her lane too, so it's not like there was any reason for her to make things complicated. Her vibes were weird. 😤)
I met some cool people, including one old guy who was in the 70+ barebow division who absolutely kicked ass. Also met a lesbian compound archer who was a lot of fun (no I didn't ask her orientation but she talked about her wife a lot, and had the aesthetic that most of the local short lesbians I know share, so I think it's a safe assumption, lol). There were a handful of annoying exceptions, but overall everyone there was nice and friendly. There was a lot of joking and good sportsmanship that reaffirmed some of my faith in humanity.
Months ago, when I was considering entering, everyone at archery kept telling me to do it. All of them echoing the same sentiment that Nationals was fun, and that most people went for the experience without any expectations about winning. Yeah, they were right. We had a diverse group of archers, in age, ability, experience, race, background, etc.
My Indoor Nationals 2026 experience is over, and here I am already excited to go back in 2027. (Hubby is actually excited too, as he had a lot more fun than he was expecting, and he is low-key sad we hadn't planned to go back to watch today.)
I learned some important things. Like I need to buy a second finger tab and break it in so I have a backup in the future. Also I need different glasses depending on the lighting, as the glare with my pair I normally shoot in gave me huge problems on the first day. Also I can get a 399 when I'm actively having bad period cramps and a hot flash, which is pretty fucking good for someone who has only been active in this sport 8 months.
I'm so tired. I am also incredibly sore. Gonna try to take it easy today and probably take a nap with my heating pad later. 👍
OH! My Mass Effect Archery Mom Friend absolutely kicked my ass and got an 868!!! I'm so happy for her!
It was my first pin shoot! I only had to get a score of 70 to earn my first pin. So, because I scored a 186, I think I did okay. ^_~
Now I've got my first pin, and the accompanying lanyard for adult indoor barebow achievements. So that's gonna live on my quiver along with Rutherford, Jiji, and the little sun charm Havoc gifted me.
I downloaded an app to keep record of my rounds; and for a free app I'm very happy with it so far. Today was my first time using it, so I still have more to figure out about how it works.
After the pin shoot was done I hung back and got permission to shoot from the 25 yard line real quick. As I wanted to see how I'd do, since I haven't shot from that distance since the competition in August, and I was debating whether or not to do the next competition with that distance.
I only shot three arrows and did this ⬇️
Yeah, okay, I'm happy with that. A lot has changed since that last competition, including having a different glasses prescription, so I wasn't sure how it would feel to shoot from the 25 again.
Weather is wonky and making my arthritis flare, and I need to make a pie from scratch still for the fair tomorrow... So I'm very tired, but definitely quite proud of myself for doing decent at archery under pressure while only functioning with four hours of sleep.
Two days ago I had a random reaction to something on my face, but I was careful and it seemed to get better. Then yesterday morning I woke up to my face on fire, as wearing my CPAP mask had irritated the spot and made it spread to everywhere my mask touches and more. So now my face was on fire, and I was quickly heading into what I call an allergy storm, where my whole immune system just freaks out over everything and anything. Any sort of topical thing applied to it just made it worse, and the only thing that helped was cold.
But I still had to take Chaos to Archery, and I hoped that maybe the distraction might be good for me, as I was in hell. Honestly I was so out of sorts I forgot my wrist widget (special wrist brace for the type of ligament tear I have in my left wrist). Then, in order to shoot well, my arrows kept touching my face on part of the skin breakout/rash/hives shit, so I had to temporarily put a bandaid on to protect my skin (kudos to the range keeping some in a box for Barebow shooters, especially since they had Pokemon bandaids). I was inconsistent and miserable, and ended up quitting early because my wrist was hurting and I was getting a bit frantic from how shitty I felt.
Look at that struggle-bus of an end ⬇️😰
Oh, and this reaction is this bad with me taking zyrtec and xyzal literally twice a day, for a total of quadruple the normal antihistamine dosage of a normal person. Like, that's my regular dosage, because my immune system is such an asshole.
Anyways, I slept without my CPAP last night, because I was hoping keeping the mask off would help my face calm down. It did, a little bit, but it's still bad, and now my face is incredibly dry which makes the itching and burning worse. But if I use anything to try to moisturize or protect it, it gets worse.... 🥲
So I'm extra tired because without my cpap my pulse ox was fucking awful, dropping down to the mid 70%s multiple times.
ANYWAYS.
My mom took Havoc for an adventure this afternoon, so I took Chaos out to do the errands we needed, and then we went to the archery range to shoot for an hour.
With it being calm and quiet, and my face still bad but at least not all of my body was freaking out, I did shoot better. My archery friend happened to show up to practice shoot as well, so that was nice.
OH AND MY QUIVER BELT CAME!!! So that was a nice pick-me-up! The belt worked great, and did everything I needed it to.
The competition is just over a week away, and it's going to be insanely overwhelming. There are 29 people who will be shooting during our timeslot, which is wild. There are something like 120 people competing total over the two days and six (I think) timeslots.
I'm so tired now. I think I might have to cave and use the heavy duty prescription steroid cream on my face, since it's still not getting better despite being super careful with it. 🥲
