December 2003/Mid-January 2004 Training

The December Recap:

The purpose of my December training was to get refreshed for full time training. When you train full time in any sport, it is important to incorporate periodization to keep things fresh and also give your body a chance to rest. Although September is the ideal month to take time off in archery, December worked well for me as it was the one year anniversary since I started. Also, the National Outdoor Championships are over and the National Indoor Championships are still 3 months away.

December Percentage Breakdown:

Knowing that I was going into full time training in January and wanting to be ready for it, my main focus in the month of December was on archery (77%). I had a pretty good month as far as arrow volume, the additional 1800 arrows I shot allowed me to cap the year off with 26,000 arrows. Despite the relatively low cardio activity (only 5% of my training – off time comprised roughly 18% including holidays), I managed to shoot a personal best indoor score of 284 out of 300 twice. For perspective, last year a 284 average over 4 games won the indoor nationals. However, I suspect that since this year is an Olympic year, the scores will probably be higher.

Other happenings in December:

On December 30th, I had to say good-bye to the team that I have been coaching/mentoring for the past year at ArcheryUSA in Dedham, MA (www.archeryusateamelite.com). They are a really great group of kids… and behind them are exceptional parents. Working with the kids and their families is the thing that I loved the most and will miss the most about Boston. Every team night for the last three weeks, it was one surprise after another: first, they made me a cake that they all signed and managed to sneak past me, then they put together a going away basket complete with a Fitness Magazine, sunblock, snacks for the road, books, and a custom cd with songs hand-picked by the team members. They also put together a quilt that had patches that each one of them designed (see picture). Needless to say I was spoiled with love! Anthony my coach also sent me off with a beautiful Greek shooting statue and a leather-bound gold leaf journal to keep all my thoughts in as I embark on this journey.

The Move:

My job ended the afternoon of December 31st and I was on the road the morning of January 1st. Fortunately for me, my best friend from high school, Jared Craft came to the rescue again. If you don’t know about Jared, the best way for me to describe him is superman; he hears your cry for help and just shows up. So, he showed up with sleeves rolled and some new year’s cheer - before long we had most of my room emptied out and packed away.

My other saving grace was Emma Gillespie (and her parents for having faith in me that I would get her to Florida and back safely). At 9am, I picked Emma up at one of the rest stops off of the Mass Pike. With the words “Olympics or Bust” etched into the dirt on my back window and a car full of healthy snacks from Emma’s parents and unhealthy snacks from Woody Paige (one of my sponsors and a columnist featured on ESPN’s Around the Horn) – we were off.

We were making great time until about 6pm when my right tire blew up. No joke, there we were, two young girls on the side of a Virginia highway with a blown up tire. Emma, having just finished her driving school had enough sense to get us out of the car. We then sat behind it just in case an oncoming car didn’t see it – 20 minutes later thanks to the Gillespie family, AAA showed up, changed the tire and within an hour we were off again.

By mid-day January 2nd we were in Georgia, meeting up with Vic, the thermometer in my car had steadily crept up from 44 degrees in Boston to 68 degrees in Georgia. Likewise, our sweatshirts and jeans had switched to t-shirts and capri’s. About 7pm we rolled into Lighthouse Point, FL elated that we had made it and that the temperature had continued to make steady progress reading a warm 82 degrees – reports from home indicated that Boston was about 70 degrees less fortunate. Sadly for Emma, she had to go back to school on January 6th, so on the 5th I drove her to the airport and sent her safely home. I realized as I dropped her off and drove back to our host’s house that I was truly starting on a new phase in my life, she was the last tie to Boston that I had and now she was flying away. On the ride home, I played the Olympic theme song and made a commitment to myself to work harder than I had ever worked before.

The recap:

First, before I give the recap of the past two weeks, let me give thanks to Doc Brandfass for offering to house Vic and I for the next few months, as well as the Ft. Lauderdale Archery Club for arranging for us to shoot at their club (www.fortlauderdalearchers.com). These two new sponsors have really helped us out in more ways than one!

Now to the recap – remember how I said that in the month of December, I totaled 1800 arrows? Well, I kicked off the first week of training in Florida with two shooting sessions a day and a run every morning. Even I was surprised to see the total arrow amount at the end of the first week was 1200. It defiantly helps to train full time! Thank you all soooo much. Because I have raised almost $10,000, I am able to train all day long. As a result, I have already picked up about 6 points on my average and I am getting closer and closer to the scores that could put me on the Olympic team everyday.

Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter:

Results from the Florida State Indoors, count down to indoor nationals… introduction to Stinky the Hog… more adventures from arrowland… and of course the weather report (I wouldn’t want to deprive you).

Thanks again to all of you who have made this possible, in the last two weeks, five more families have sponsored me for a total of $780. I will be using that amount to purchase new X-10 arrows ($300/dozen) and a new riser (can be as high as $500) so that I have an indoor bow and an outdoor bow instead of having to re-tune my bow every time I switch from indoors to outdoors. I feel very blessed!

Go for the Gold,

Joy

Mark 10:27

November Tournament E-Newsletter 2003

If you are new to Archery and want an explanation of what an Indoor Archery Competition is, go to the bottom of this post first!

2004 Indoor Season Kicks Off:

I know what you are thinking... it isn't 2004! No worries, all of the archery tournaments that start in the fall of 2003 are all for the sole purpose of building up to the 2004 US Indoor Nationals this coming March. Last year, after only 3 months of training I placed 44th out of 86 at the 2003 US Indoor Nationals. This year I'm looking to win the regional tournament and place in the top 3 on the national level.

October 17th, the 2004 season was kicked off by the Bay State Indoor Championship held at ArcheryUSA in Dedham, Ma. It was my first tournament since the Outdoor Nationals and although I was the reigning 2003 Bay State Outdoor Champion, I felt a little shaky. The advantage to doing lots of small tournaments is that you start to learn what to do and what not to do. What not to do lesson #1: Don't change arrows the day before you shoot a tournament.

BAY STATE INDOOR RESULTS OCTOBER 17th, 2003:

Although I shot well, I was 10 points below my average and was in second place after the qualification round. Mind you, I had also rowed the single in Head of The Charles that same weekend (the HOCR is the world's largest long distance rowing race in the world, held annually in Boston, Ma). Another good lesson learned, don't try to do too much in one weekend. Anyhow, I didn't stay in second for very long, during the Olympic round (similar to a tennis bracket system), I won the Gold Medal Match by coming back from a 2-point deficit after 6 arrows to win by 5 points. In a Gold Medal Match you only get 12 arrows (4 ends of 3 arrows). Whoever has the highest score wins.

HALL'S WARM-UP TOURNAMENT NOVEMBER 11TH, 2003:

The first weekend in November, I decided to take some of the kids that I coach on a road trip to Connecticut to shoot in the Hall's Warm-Up tournament. I was hoping to go head to head against National Team member, Roxanne Reinmann, however she wasn't able to shoot as she was running the tournament instead. So, with the pressure off, I beat my previous tournament's score, shooting a 272 average. There are two pictures from this tournament included in this E-Newsletter, the first is of me, Vic Wunderle (the Silver and Bronze Medalist from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia), and some of the members of my team at the tournament. The second picture is of all of us again as we stand with the Tow truck guys... by accident, I locked the keys in the car when we returned to the archery shop that night. We had a good laugh about it though as you can see from the smiles on our faces!

BAY STATE BOXER SHOOTOUT NOVEMBER 9TH, 2003:

It is what it sounds like... in order to have your score count, you must wear boxers on the extremity of your clothing. Those snoopy-raking-leaves-silk boxers must have been really lucky because I shot my personal best in a tournament at the 2004 Bay State Boxer Shootout. My first game was a 278 and my second game was a 276... a 277 average for a total of 554 points (at nationals last year, that would have put me in 6th place after the first day. Needless to say, I was thrilled...) too bad they don't allow you to wear boxers to all the tournaments!!

CTAA DUAL DISTANCE SHOOT NOVEMBER 26TH, 2003:

This was my final tournament of November... phew! On the 18 meter distance, I shot a 274 out of 300. This month was really a success performance-wise. To give you an idea of what these type of scores mean to me, all you have to do is look back at my scores from 11 months ago when I picked up a bow for the first time. In December of last year I was shooting a 229 average. So it is a great accomplishment for me to be performing consistently above a 270 (41 points higher in just one year). The dual-distance shoot also included 30 arrows shot at 25 meters... I found out very fast that my arrows are way too heavy to shoot much further than 18 meters... I only shot a 240 out of 300 on a 3-spot target. Good thing 25 meters is not longer the National distance!!

What is Indoor Archery and what do Indoor Competitions Entail?

The indoor season is a time to focus on form and fine-tuning. In case you are new to archery, Indoor tournaments are shot at a distance of 18 meters (the Olympics is shot at a distance of 70 meters). Indoor tournaments are also shot on smaller targets (40cm versus 120 cm).

Adult Recurve shooters shoot on a target called a 3-spot. It looks similar to an inverted Mickey Mouse, with two circles on the bottom and one on the top center. This type of target is used for advanced shooters for many different reasons. The first is that often, advanced shooters will hit the same spot on the target multiple times thus hitting their own arrows. In many cases, arrows can cost up to $50 an arrow, so the prospect of willingly killing your own arrows usually leaves a bitter feeling in an archer’s stomach. The second reason is that it eliminates the 5,4,3,2, and 1 point rings that you typically find on a single spot, making it a little bit more challenging because if you miss one of the targets on a 3-spot you get 0 points for that arrow.

If you are unfamiliar with how games are scored in archery, here is a brief explanation: A single spot target has 10 rings, 2 white, 2 black, 2 blue, 2 red, and 2 yellow (3-spots as I have said before only have the 6 rings). Most people have heard of the Bulls-eye. The Bulls-eye refers to the center of the target, the yellow 10 ring. As I mentioned earlier, each ring is allotted a certain point value. The center ring is worth 10 points, the second ring out is worth 9 points, the third ring out is worth 8 points, and so on... In a game, an archer shoots 30 arrows for a maximum point total of 300 points.

Indoor archery tournaments usually consist of 2 games with a 10 minute break and can take up to 4 hours to complete depending on the amount of people shooting. Archers typically get 2 minutes (40 seconds an arrow) to shoot 3 arrows, and then they walk down to the target and score. The entire act of shooting 3 arrows and then retrieving those arrows is called an end. In archery-speak, an indoor tournament consists of 60 arrows for a maximum of 600 points over 4 hours broken down into 20 ends of 3 arrows with a 40 second time allotment for each arrow. Have I lost you yet?

November Training 2003

THE BIG DECISION:

November was a busy month for me. I finally took the leap of faith and decided to train full time starting January 1st, 2004. This was a big decision for me to make because I have a great job as a Sales Trading Assistant at Schwab Capital Markets in Boston, MA and it will be hard to leave. However, if you had the opportunity to make the Olympics, wouldn't you give it your best shot?

Now that the decision has been made, I am in the process of fundraising. Thanks to you, I've been able to kick it off.

Details about where I'm training:

I will be training in Florida - I can't wait! If you are in Boston you know that just this past week we got slammed with snow. As much as I like a white Christmas, it doesn't go very well with training for the Summer Olympics.

November Training Recap:

My training for November was quite successful. I shot a 274 average out of 300 for my 18-meter indoor scores. If you are new to Archery, 18 meters is the official distance for indoor competitions. The targets are much smaller (40cm) than the targets used during the summer outdoor competitions (120 cm). The advantage to shooting indoors in the winter are numerous - first, you can practice form to your heart's desire and you have no wind to contend with, second, you don't have to walk 70 meters every time you shoot 6 arrows. However, that being said, I am more than thrilled to be shooting outdoors again in a month.

To give you an idea of what shooting a 274 means to me, let me just tell you that in December of 2002 (my first month of archery training), I was shooting a 229 average out of 300. That is a 45-point increase in my average in 11 months. My training in November focused on several different aspects, besides shooting, I was rowing on the erg, weight lifting, attending yoga, and of course taking the appropriate amount of time off to eat turkey and let my body have a rest.

Training Breakdown:

The weight-training program comprised 17% of my training last month. The program I am using was written by one of my good rowing friends, Brian Moribito. So far it is working out well. I am only doing about 5-6 exercises a week but it is relatively tough. Yoga also took up 17% of my training in November. I had read about the benefits of yoga on the FITA website (www.archery.org) and decided to give it a try. It was really hard at first, but the more I did it the more I got used to it, the easier it got. The best asset that I think yoga provides an archer is the opportunity to clear your mind for an entire 90 minutes and just breathe.

My cardio recap this month was a little poor - only 7%. Usually, I like to do an equal amount of cardio to my shooting but because of my job and the increases I made in Yoga and Weights, something had to go. However, I did manage to go out for a 6 mile row on Thanksgiving day. The water was soooo flat and the weather was soooo warm that for the first time in a long time, I can actually say I enjoyed every second of my row.

Books I read in November:

I try to read inspirational books to keep my mentality positive. This month I read "Gold in the Water" by PH Mullen. It was incredible. It is a book about the lives of top US Swimmers and their coach leading up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Although I swam in High School, you don't have to be a swimmer to enjoy this book - you just have to love the Olympics and/or the pursuit of Olympians. www.goldinthewater.com

I also read "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown. There are several reasons I read this book. First, Dan Brown went to my High School, Phillips-Exeter Academy and I had the opportunity to meet him at the Exeter Annual Dinner in Boston, MA. Second, I was given the book as a present for my birthday (November 6th) from one of my dearest friends, Simone Gignoux (also an Exeter alum). So the combination of being given the book for my birthday, and then having to admit to Dan Brown that I hadn't read it, but would like him to sign it, made me feel so guilty that I finally finished it and LOVED IT!!! www.thedavincicode.com

Thanks for reading my November Training E-Newsletter!