AlphaCharis

.... I thought so, too! lol, but apparently that wasn't the case lol. ...I took on the USPSA Northwest Section Coordinator Position. Then I got COVID. Went full-throttle as soon as I felt better cause I was tired of being in bed and quarantined.... organized a community easter egg hunt in the woods/cleared trails.... then got sick again... had a few days of wellness and then I was go-go-go, again.... put on a reception for a memorial service.... got sick again... sick going on 6 weeks. On the tail end of that, still congested, I determined to "rest", but then decorated and built props for a Preschool Graduation til 1am before driving 9 hours to Idaho in the morning for Area 1. Lol Got back and packed to move..... AGAIN.... into tents lol. So I'm "homeless" for the next 6 months. The house is JUUUUUST getting started!! Now I need to pack tomorrow for Oregon State and I'm dry camping with no water/electricity..... I'm so not prepared lol Buuuut! tennis elbow is 90% gone! And I dryfired.... at the safety table.... a few times. ...I have not cleaned my gun; it somehow keeps functioning lol. And I've kept shooting!! I'm pretty sure now is the time things are lookin' up!

Thanks!! And OMG, I am ready for a break!!

March 3, 2022 Been away for awhile! Nice to see some people out there training I've been suffering from "shooter's elbow" the past year-ish. There were several months it was too painful to dryfire and strong hand only classifiers HURT lol. I could hardly raise and keep my gun up. This year has been a lot better, I've been slacking on my exercises recently, so getting back on track with that to hopefully eliminate it completely! What a pain. Here's my most recent match a few weeks ago! It was soooooo beautiful for a February day. I'm basically the same as I have been the past couple years, if not a bit worse Buuuut... with the past couple years I've had, I've been using matches as a time to just relax and have fun. It's difficult to not stress somewhat over not doing anything to improve, or at least maintain, but focusing on having some fun in my life has been good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7umqOFemGY A few of my distractions this past year besides tennis elbow: My house burned down (and roof recently collapsed with the weather we had https://www.instagram.com/p/CZtTrmxrBjQ/ ); husband cheated on me while I was at the Oregon State Championship ; I got divorced ; went through a 16 week roller skating/derby program and made the Roller Derby team! ; I just moved into a temporary place since insurance isn't paying for housing anymore (and is now the 5th place me and my kids have lived in the last 12 months); and.... my contractor hasn't submitted permits for rebuilding, yet! My house is taking forever! Been quite the adventure lol Here's to 2022!! Goals for this month: Get back to derby training (had taken a break and it's soooo hard getting back on schedule after taking two months off and now being unconditioned and out of shape) Dryfire twice a week Clean my gun..... when is the last time I cleaned it?! Count calories every day (1200-1700/day) Drink more water Help build stages on March 12 for the PB match Schedule a day for a livefire session next month Check in with myself and do a follow-up post at the end of the month And.... probably should do my shooter's elbow exercises Okay, I'll start with that and see how it goes.

5/13/21 Just finished Lo-Cap Nats! I didn't have ANY expectations since I haven't been dryfiring or livefiring... and hardly shooting. Been a crazy year. Our weather has just been warming up and our shooting season basically just started here in WA. I didn't go to Nats 2020 since I hadn't practiced then, either, but figured I needed to get out and away and have some fun. Which I did! But, I definitely could do better. Back to the old goals of dryfire, livefire, and fitness: I'm ready to get back to practicing. Enough of a break has been had and things in life have calmed down a bit. I reordered some dryfire targets cause my house burned down a few months ago, so I'm excited to get those this week! I did gain some of my 60 lbs I lost, so I'm back to paying more attention to what I eat, getting that weight I gained back off. Oh, and exercises for shooter's elbow. A few stages from Nats: https://www.facebook.com/theuspsa/posts/4255796334432518 https://www.facebook.com/aimhardr/posts/3856000581189771 https://www.instagram.com/p/COuE6efjdtZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

August 10, 2020 This year has been so hard to get motivated to practice. I have only been able to go to a few matches, and it's a little different cause we only have 6 man squads, so you don't have a much time to focus on your stage beforehand. Instead of an off-season, it's more like an off-year for me I miss shooting regularly!!

01/03/20 Reviewing Past Matches I'm starting to get into a shooting mindset now that I've been making match videos from my July - December match footage. In the 7/2 match, I thought I shot stage 3 fairly well. I visualized and walked that stage a lot, and it went pretty much as planned, just minor hiccups. Coulda been cleaned up a bit, but was pleased I didn't panic. Stage 1.... I did not read the stage brief, OR count targets.... shame. FTSA. My friend actually made me a check list to review after every stage to make sure I stay focused and on track. Stage 4 jam was awful, added a lot of time, just glad I threw an extra mag on the back barrel. The WSB didn't specify which barrels could be used, so I stuck them in the port barrels so I didn't have to reach behind me for the reloads. I can't remember if I had thought of it, or who's idea it was. I was pretty happy with aiming on stage 5, lots of steel, some at a distance. Not a super Production-friendly stage lol IPSC Nationals... I did better than last year, but still find it difficult to shoot in this format. I really like to walk stages, and you can't at this match. Even though the stages aren't really hard stage-planning wise, I really like to feel prepared so I can be calm and more confident when I shoot the stage. And it's sooo hard to shoot in Florida in JULY. It is sooo hot. I'm hoping with losing weight that I will do better in the heat. I overheat so easily, and get really slow and it's hard to think. The second half of one day, I was dumping water over my head and drenching my head and shirt. I think I was already too overheated by then, should have started doing that earlier. After shooting, it takes me an hour to cool off with full blast air conditioning in my car. I was Production 20th place out of 42, 57.31% of match winner, Ben Stoeger. I usually place around 63-64% of Stoeger at USPSA Production Nationals, so I definitely don't do as well at the IPSC events. Need to pay attention to calling my shots and not accepting so many charlies, dropping precious minor points. Need to practice using the turtle targets more too, less alpha zone. Top 4 and the ladies above me: 1 - Ben Stoeger 2 - Sal Luna, 94.54% 3 - Jacob Hetherington, 93.95% 4 - Eric France, 86.78% 11 - Justine Williams, 69.81% 16 - Sara Taylor, 65.42% 20 - Charis Denton, 57.31%

Thanks! My goal is to be consistent this year. I've been much better at making goals I can maintain, so need to continue adding more things in my life that I do that with (*ahem* dryfire *cough* livefire)

1/1/2020 Well.... I met ONE goal this year. I got under 200 lbs Down 45 lbs in 2019. Just about.... 66 lbs to go. Should help with practice this year. I haven't thought about this coming season beyond working and shooting the Area 1 match. And fitness goals. Continuing with 1200-1500 calories a day and am getting back into my M/W/F at the Y. Got off schedule when 3 of my kids were in sports and they had practices every evening M-F, and 3 games EVERY Saturday for like 2 months. It was horrendous. So, this next month I will be thinking about my shooting goals/schedule for this year.

8/18/2019 #dryfire 8/16 60 minutes Still on Refinement & Repetition Drill, numbered as the drill # in the book. 1. Sight Picture Confirmation - 20 @0.8 2. 10-Yard Index - 20 @1.0, 20 @0.9 3. 10-Yard Surrender Index - 10 @1.0, 10 @ 0.9 4. Turn and Draw - 10 @1.2, 10 @1.1 5. Strong Hand Index - 10 @1.1, 10 @1.0 5. Weak Hand Index - 10 @1.5, 10 @1.4 7. Burkett Reloads - 20 @1.0, 20 @0.9, 20 @0.8 8. 6 Reload 6 - 15 @5.8, 10 @5.5, 5 @5.2, 5 @5.0, 5 @4.8 15. 2 reload 2 - 5 @3.0, 25 @2.8 16. Bill Reload Drill - 10 @4.5 17. Headshot Sight Picture - 10 (no par) 8/17 30 minutes 2. 10-Yard Index - 10 @1.0, 20 @0.9 3. 10-Yard Surrender Index - 10 @0.9 7. Burkett Reloads - 10 @0.9, 10@0.8 8. 6 Reload 6 - 25 @4.8, 10 @4.5 - time left over at 4.8, but was making sure I got good sight pictures and didn't pull off target for reload early. Practiced leaving position and entering position, getting gun up and sights on target ready to shoot as soon as first foot is touching inside box. Just one more dryfire session before Tuesday! #conditioning 8/16 Yoga 60 min - worked core and legs a lot in this work out. Weights. Added a set to each of these, except rotator and newly added triceps press. Rotator 4 sets of 20 reps, 40 lb (2 sets each side) Leg Press 3 sets of 15 reps, 150 lbs Back Extension 3 sets 20 reps, 70 lb Chest Press 3 sets of 15 reps, 25 lb, 30 lb, 30 lb Row Sitting 3 sets, 15 reps, 90 lbs Reverse Flys 3 sets of 15 reps, 30 lbs Shoulder Press 3 sets 15 reps, 55 lbs Triceps Press 2 sets 10 reps, 45 lbs 8/17 1.5 Mile Run Jog/Walk Interval for 1.5 miles on track instead of app. 1/8 mile track. Wanted to get a baseline for 1 mile and 1.5 mile run. I realized my jogging pace is much faster than on the treadmill. I think it's about 6.3 mph vs 5.3 on treadmill, but ended up walking more and only jogging in 30-60 seconds intervals. Laps 1-8, One mile: 1:11.96, 1:47.48; 1:39.73, 1:33.31, 1:32.17; 1:44.58, 1:46.44, 1:15.92 = 12:31.59 I jogged the whole first lap and 8th lap, others I jogged half, walked half. Laps 9-12, 1.5 mile: 2:06.48, 1:27.28, 1:50.79, 1:04.43 = 19:00.57 It was slightly under 19 min, I just couldn't press the lap button at the same time. On my last lap I noticed I had a minute and a few seconds to get it under 19, so I jogged the the whole way with my side hurting, last corner I noticed I had only 10 seconds left and wasn't gonna make it, so I SPRINTED to the finish line and made it. Then I almost threw up. I'm looking forward to seeing my times for this a year from now! #livefire 8/18 ~175 rounds Dot Torture targets for group shooting at 5, 10 and 15 yards, 45 rounds. Untimed Headshots at 10 yards, Groups at 25 yards, 24 rounds. Untimed Draw to One Shot, 10 yards, 12 rounds - all alpha except where noted 1.37, 1.43, 1.45, 1.45, 1.45, 1.48, 1.48 D, 1.49, 1.52 C, 1.66, 1.73, 1.74 Draw to One Shot, 7 yards, 12 rounds - all alpha except where noted 1.10 C, 1.16, 1.20, 1.22, 1.22, 1.24, 1.29, 1.30, 1.34, 1.35 C, 1.44, 1.48 Draw to Two Shots, 7 yards, 18 rounds 1.36, 1.37, 1.38, 1.50, 1.51, 1.54, 160, 1.68, 2.13 4 Aces, 7 yards, 64 rounds: Total time - draw to first shot, split to second shot, reload to next shot, split to last shot 3.96 - 1.58 0.40 1.75 0.23 3.90 - 1.45 0.25 1.97 0.23 4.24 - 1.63 0.22 2.17 0.22 3.39 - 1.34 0.21 1.63 0.21 3.38 - 1.21 0.18 1.79 0.20 3.36 - 1.26 0.15 1.77 0.18 3.29 - 1.25 0.16 1.68 0.20 3.70 - 1.23 0.17 2.10 0.20 3.64 - 1.28 0.15 1.98 0.23 3.23 - 1.23 0.18 1.65 0.17 3.31 - 1.33 0.17 1.61 0.20 3.88 - 1.26 0.17 1.90 0.55 3.13 - 1.24 0.15 1.55 0.19 3.11 - 1.27 0.18 1.44 0.22 Fastest time, fastest reload 3.60 - 1.17 0.15 2.09 0.19 3.35 - 1.15 0.15 1.88 0.17 Fastest first shot

8/16/2019 #dryfire Some basic drills last week. Session 1 was 8/8, 30 min and Session 2 was 8/10, 45 min. Indexed to various targets at different angles, so it wasn't always the same target and body position. Session 2 did reloads and transitions off par time as well. ...eek 6 days since my last dryfire?! Refinement & Repetition Drills 1. Sight picture confirmation - draw and establish acceptable sight picture on lower A zone, finger on trigger, don't pull trigger, 5 yards. 10 slow motion to start, practicing perfect reps. Session 1: 10 @1.2 sec, 10 @1.0 sec, 40 @0.9, 20 @0.8 2. 10-Yard Index - like drill #1, but at 10 yards. Slow motion to start Session 1: 10 @1.2, 10 @1.1, 10 @1.0, 20 @0.9 Session 2: 10 @1.1, 10 @ 1.0, 10 @0.9 3. 10-Yard Surrender Index - hands above shoulders, establish good sight picture on lower A zone, finger on trigger, but don't pull. Start with slo-mo perfect reps. Session 1: 30 @0.9 Session 2: 20 @0.9 4. Turn and Draw - hands above shoulders. Start with 10, no par. Worked on getting out of holster as soon as it would be safe to draw. Started having a habit of turning completely around before drawing, after drawing a little early at a match last year (RO didn't see, but my video of the stage did!) Session 1: 10 @1.6, 10 @1.3, 10 @1.1 5. Strong Hand Index Session 1: 20 @1.1 6. Weak Hand Index - draw, transfer to left hand. Felt this was getting a lot more smoother, getting sight picture quickly. Session 1: 10@1.5, 30 @1.4 7. Burkett Reloads - Gun on target in a freestyle position, drop mag while bringing up new mag, just tot he endge of the magwell. Start with no par time, 10 reps. Session 1: 10 @1.0 - stopped after this drill as it was super late that night. Need to start dryfire before midnight! Session 2: 20 @1.0, 10 @0.8 #conditioning Tracking calories, goal is 1200/day - usually eating around 1500. I'm adding a lot on exercises to start so I have a record of my starting point to compare to later. I'm using the 5K Runner app now, because the knockoff Couch to 5K one was messing up. Started on Week 2, Day 1 because it was approximately the same times where I left off on the other one. All sessions started with at least 5 minutes warm up and ended with 5 min + cool down. Most days I also started the day with a Yoga class and/or weight training. 7/31 & 8/2 & 8/5 - Strength training. Forgot to add these on my last update. I'm starting with machines, but would like to transition out of them once I get a routine firmly established. I'm trying to get 2-3 sessions a week. I am switching off the ab and rotator machine this week and doing ball exercises instead, I feel they do a lot more. Rotator 2 sets of 15 reps, 40 lb Leg Press 2 sets of 15 reps, 150 lbs Back Extension 2 sets 20 reps, 70 lb Chest Press 2 sets of 15 reps, 25 lb Row Sitting 2 sets, 15 reps, 90 lbs Reverse Flys 2 sets of 15 reps, 40 lbs, 35 lbs - I think I might lower this one to 35 or 30 lbs for both Abdominal Trainer 2 sets 20 reps at 25 lb Shoulder Press 2 sets 15 reps, 55 lbs 8/9 - W2/D2: 1.5 min Run (5.3) + 2 min walk x4 (3.4 mph), 1 min run + 1 min walk x2. Hatha Yoga, 1 hour 8/10 - Kayaying and swimming 8/13 - W2/D3: 1.5 min Run + 2 min walk x5, 2 min Run + 1.5 min walk x1 I knew my next session I had to run 2.5 minutes, which I was pretty sure I was incapable of doing, so ended my last segment with a 2 minute run instead of the 1.5 min - and was surprised I did it. Last time I ran for 2 minutes I'm pretty sure was 10th grade. Walking part was 3.3 for first 3 runs, then switched between 3.1 and 3.2, depending on what I needed). - Cone drill (suicides): 2 sets of 15 touches - this was suuuuuper tiring. Actual trying to RUN and be fast, not jog, was exhausting. I got slower and slower each rep. I want to add some agility exercises into my dryfire routine, like ladder drills and cone drills... but I've been procrastinating on this. After I get dryfire solidified into my schedule, I think I will add these more often. - Strength Training Circuit (same as above). I think I will add a third set on 8/16.... I don't know if I'm supposed to be sore at all after this? because I'm not. 8/14 - Hiking, 4.0 miles - climbing through Ape Cave! 8/15 - W3/D1: 1.5 run/1.5 walk + 2.5 run/2.5 walk + 2.5 run/2.5 walk + 1.5 run/1.5 walk. All runs were at a 5.3 jogging pace, and all walking recovery time fluctuated between 3.1 and 3.3 mph. The 2 1/2 minutes of jogging I was pretty sure was going to kill me, but I finished every second! - Had check-in at the Y for weight training, took body measurements. Added triceps press, 2 sets of 15, 45 lbs to my weight routine and ball exercises. Goals Before this Tuesday's match: 3 dryfire sessions, 1 livefire session (and possibly a Steel match on Sunday). August: Dryfire minimum 1 hour on Tues/Thur For this year: Lose 15 more lbs before the end of the year! (Will be under 200!) Lost another pound this week 23 lbs down so far

Your % earned on a classifier (at a local L1 match) is based on an individual classifier - and the % is based on the high hit factor for that particular classifier (it's a national standard, not based on performance at the match.) You need 4 of these classifiers in the same division for an initial classification. Most locals have one classifier per match. You can look up your hit factor on the classifier calculator at the uspsa website if you login as a member and see what your % would be. After scores are submitted to USPSA, it will show up on your classifier record on the USPSA.com website when you log in. The Practiscore Competitor app also shows what the % of the classifier is. Here's the classifiers: https://uspsa.org/classifiers You can also earn a classifier score based on how you do in your division overall at a major match (L2+). Not every major match will be a classifier, as it depends on participation in your division, and how many GMs competed. There must be at least 3 GMs, ending with division placement 90% or higher, and at least 50 competitors in your division for the match to be considered a classifier score. This would count as 1 of the 4 classifiers you need to be classified. https://uspsa.org/pages/about/classification

I wouldn't base the decision on what classifiers are the best right now. Shoot the division you enjoy the most! If you like shooting a dot, sounds like you would enjoy Carry Optics I agree with Burgess, a dot can also help a lot with knowing what your sights are doing and how to correct it - helps make you a better irons shooter as well. Pick a division that appeals to you the most and then stick with it; with a little dryfire and time behind the same gun, those classifier scores will rise.

I found with my smaller hands, it weakens the grip quite a bit. Also have heard it isn't a great technique to show newer shooters as it can cause them to pull the shot one way or the other even more.

8/9/2019 Where has the year gone?! I've been trying to more things with my kids this summer, camping, hiking, kayaking - so has been hard to be consistent with all the things I want to do. Working on better dryfire habits now that summer is winding down!! #dryfire / #livefire I'm going through Steve Anderson's first book to start out dryfire session. Three sessions in this week, need to update my log tonight with drill times. Just finished a 3-day TPC class held up in Custer, WA a few weeks ago. I had a certificate I had won from Berry's Steel Open so I finally got to use it! Got some good livefire in during those three days, around 1200 rounds. #conditioning I really want to be in better shape and be faster. I know I need to shoot sooner, too, which will happen with more dryfire/livefire, but also really would like to improve exits, running, etc. I've been tracking calories for several months now and have gotten a lot better habits, now have started at the gym about a month ago. Down 22 lbs since January ! Doing some weight training and Yoga. For cardio I'm doing a 5K timer app that gradually increases the amount you run. 5 minutes warm up, then the jog/walk intervals, and walking after for cool down. These are the runs I did so far: 7/? : 60 sec run (5.0 mph), 90 sec walk (2.6 mph) x 8 -- I thought I was gonna die and had to add an extra 15 seconds of walking/15 seconds less of running a few of the rounds toward the end, and even rested on the handlebars of the treadmill a bit for the last 15 seconds of the last 3 sets. Heart rate up to 180 7/27: 60 sec run (5.1 mph), 90 sec walk (2.8 mph) x8 Finished everything! Sweating like crazy = 8 MIN RUN 7/30: 60 sec run (5.1 mph), 90 sec walk (3.0 mph) x8 = 8 MIN RUN 8/2: 70 sec run (5.2 mph), 80 sec walk (3.2 mph) x8 = 9 MIN 20 SEC RUN 8/5: 90 sec run (5.3 mph), 2 min walk (3.3 mph) x9 + 60 sec run (5.7 mph) - I had extra energy cause I was mad at the first app I was using not working, so I ran extra lol = 14.5 MIN RUN 8/7: 90 sec run (5.4 mph) + 90 sec run (5.3 mph), 2 min walk (3.3 mph) x 3 + 60 sec run (5.3 mph), 60 sec walk x2 = 8 MIN RUN I tried to bump up my speed to 5.4 mph, but I was feeling really worn out after the 90 seconds, bumped it back down to 5.3. I was also feeling really tired that day and after the run. Did a Pilates class right after and started feeling a better. Matches I uploaded since last time. Also went to Area 1 and IPSC Nationals. We have lost a lot of Production shooters to CO and PCC in our section, so the competition has been pretty slim. 4-7-19 USPSA Shelton Series Match - Production Win 4-14-19 USPSA PB - 4th Place 4-16-19 MRS - 2nd Production 4-28-19 Renton - 4th Production 5-4-19 Jefferson - 3rd Overall 5-7-19 MRS - Production Win 5-11-19 PB - 5th Open [Production Win] BUMPED TO OPEN 5-12-19 PB - Production Win 5-21-19 MRS - Production Win 6-1-19 Jefferson Series Match - 3rd Place 6-4-19 MRS - Production Win 6-8-19 PB - Production Win 6-9-19 PB - Production Win Inland Empire Sectional

Hey! A local! I shoot at PB as well. We may have met but I'm really bad with names and faces, especially when people are in their range gear - so if we already met... or talked at the match... sorry - takes a few times lol Paul Bunyan is mostly my home range (along with Jefferson) even though it's an hour 15 minutes away for me. I shoot at Jefferson, Renton, Marysville, Custer as well for USPSA. Only shot a few IDPA matches, though. Nice to see you go all in and dryfiring and getting some livefire in! We have a lot of people in our area that practice, I know you've met a bunch of them already. You're doing very well for just starting out, welcome!