Dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Lackluster match this past weekend at CFRPC. I won't get too wound up about it, and I'm willing to chalk it up to being distracted by "upcoming events" of the following day.

That being said I am happy that after crashing on stage one I recovered well and shot a nice, boring 98% on the classifier "BIG BARRICADE".

And in other news, the next day I got my stuff back!!!

Thanks to PaulW, Hacksaw, Hardball and Bigbadaboom.

yup, I am running out of excuses, time to get back to work!!!

Edited May 29, 2007 by dirtypool40

[zhunter]

Does that mean you got your 1050 back??????

If so, congrats dude!!

[PaulW]

No, no, no...>SUPER 1050

[zhunter]

No, no, no...>SUPER 1050

Yeah, mine is a RL1050, the old one, like me.

[dirtypool40]

Icky local at Malabar this past Saturday, bad back and lack of "give a damn" left me WAY off the pace and slopping mikes all day.

So finally, I get pissed enough at myself to shoot the last stage like I am supposed to. Standard set up, hallway with barrels, flow through that, then exit and run up to some contact targets hidden behind hard cover.

I chose to exit the hallway, hit the reload and whereever the mag locked in the gun shoot the heads of the targets instead of running up to the two different positions.

Here's what I got:

1 Shannon Smith 38 GM Open 146 0 17.66 8.2673 170.0000 100.00%

2 Eric Stanley 40 GM Limited 146 0 17.85 8.1793 168.1905 98.94%

3 Ed Lawson 24 M Limited 160 0 19.78 8.0890 166.3336 97.84%

I figure I did ok, and I flowed well through the front, aggressively and shooting on the move.

But it bugged me, the other guys ran up and I wanted to know. So afterwards I ran it again, just for shits and giggles. I missed my draw, missed the load and fired an extra shot at the steel....... and was STILL over three seconds faster running up!!! + I had better points!!!!

Well, I learned something there

So....... I just dropped two in a row for the first time in a long time. Quite the wake up call.

90 days to nationals bitch!!!!

Get off your ass and get ready!!!!

message received.

Edited June 11, 2007 by dirtypool40

[Tim James]

Missed this match because I didn't realize I had left my keys in my girlfriend's car until after she went to work. So I went back to bed.

Did Jeff Frahm give any updates about the PMRPC match director position? Are they having a match next month or is it going to be a practice as of right now?

[dirtypool40]

I haven't heard of anyone stepping forward, sounds like you're it, Tim.

[dirtypool40]

12 weeks from now the 07 Limited Nationals start, and I have yet to get off my gynormous azz and get back in shooting shape.

I'm finding it tough. I just dropped two local matches in a row for the first time in a long time. Getting back out to the practice range is like going back to the gym for that first humbling workout after a long lay off; you know you're not going to make any progress and your just going to get sore, and get pissed about how out of shape you let yourself get vs. "what used to be".

A buddy pointed out that the second practice is even worse, because now you ARE sore, and have fresh frustration about the long climb back in the front of your mind.

Hopefully by the third session you're seeing some new hope.

Well, that's my Monday entry, accepting I've been lazy about it and that it's time.

About a month of practice and getting back into it then the big matches start, beginning with Area 7 in Vermont.

Time's a waistin'.....

Edited June 18, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Good morning all.

I actually got up after about 4 hours sleep and made it to the gym this morning. As I got in the car "BlackBird" / Matt called me to say our first practice is "ON" for today, so it seems like it might be a good start.

I've been hitting the gym regularly but my diet and cardio have slipped a little and the intensity isn't where I want it. I'm sitting around 205 still, but pushing decent (for me) weight again.

So to set some goals (& rehash some from the "07 goal thread")

I want to hit Area 7 at 200#, leaner and stronger. Especially my "core". I have a minor back problem that gets more and more "minor" the better shape I am in. I'm convinced that general fitness and core strength help on long days of travel and standing around waiting for LAMR.

I want to hit the Nationals 195#, leaner and stronger than I was at Area 7.

I want to drag PaulW out to practice and raquetball once he returns from vacation.

I want to shoot clean, smooth, controlled, well executed big matches, each one improving until I shoot the best I ever have at the nationals.

I want to look back on EVERY SINGLE MATCH and say "yup, I was clean and the points were solid.... but I coulda gone faster". That's the kind of post match chirping I like.

Edited June 19, 2007 by dirtypool40

[ogiebb]

sheesh Eric i wish i have the time and dicipline that you have.....im slowly getting bigger and rounder everyday

[zhunter]

sheesh Eric i wish i have the time and dicipline that you have.....im slowly getting bigger and rounder everyday

So is he That is all internet crap, he does not go to the gym!!! His idea of cardio is chasing hot Latinas

[dirtypool40]

sheesh Eric i wish i have the time and dicipline that you have.....im slowly getting bigger and rounder everyday

Thanks bud, now you're motivating me. I put in some good time and made a routine of practice last year, but when change came (job, move and divorce) , and time got short it was all too easy to fall off that horse. Same with working out, I got really lazy after nationals last year. I made GM on residuals of work I did last year.

This year, even with all the changes I have done a better job of working out, but never got back into practice. I did eat out every meal for three months which makes diet a little tougher to manage, but I kept hitting the gym. The little break I took ending last Saturday for a sore neck was 8 days and the longest I have gone without hitting the gym this year.

That being said I know I am on the "back side" of the testosterone curve and never had the genetics to be huge or cut, but I also know I feel better when I am in better shape, and hey, you gotta try.

With all that's going on, it would have been easy to just roll over, gain 50#'s really go into a slide. I did that (well 40# anyway) back a few years ago. Fighting my way back was a long, tough road, and I keep promising myself NEVER AGAIN.

poco a poco (little by little).

Edited June 19, 2007 by dirtypool40

[Catfish]

Hey DP - something you might try as you head back to the gym is 5x5x5.

Five days of lifting a week.

pick 3-4 exercises a day, and hit them each with 5 sets of 5 reps. 4th-5th rep should be hard each set. It's quick and fairly easy to set up; I did deadlifts, shrugs, and triceps yesterday with a good solid effort and was done in 35 minutes. Another 10 days of these and I'll be ready to start hitting it hard again.

PM me if you want some more info, but for getting back in the groove, this is not a bad way to go.

[dirtypool40]

cool, all advice appreciated. PM sent.

[zhunter]

Eric

Remember the lunch we had with Coy?

He talked bout alternating body parts by 5 days, just taking a day an only concentrate on that part while lifting. then rotate.

I have been doing that since then, and it has been great.

[PaulW]

I'm Back!!

[blkbrd]

I'm Back!!

If you were back you would have been there yesterday whipping my tail.

[zhunter]

Paul, sounds like you were missed

[dirtypool40]

Local match this past weekend at CFRPC. Same boring stages as last month, and I shot about as poorly. Lots of extra shots, two mikes and no real highlites.

I have lost interest in sleep-walking through matches with no practice.

I've let myself go enough it's going to take major effort to fight my way back.

Time's a waistin'....

[dirtypool40]

Quicky indoor match last night.

Overall it was just horsing around and fun at 8-12y, but I did shoot clean and smooth and down a total of 9 points for the evening. I dropped one delta pieing / moving around a barricade.

Udder-n-at we shot the last stage low-light, and I FINALLY got to shoot my black gun with a light attached. Down 1 point in 80, including 8 head shots.

Fun was had by all....

[dirtypool40]

No match this weekend but I did get out for a couple of light practices.

Once with "Hardball" and "Bigbadaboom" and once with PaulW and the EOSS boys.

Overall, there is rust under my rust, but it's coming off..... slowly. There was little progress in the two short practices, but it's amazing how my outlook improves at having put in some work.

I did get to chrono my load with the MG 180's and I'm still making 172.5pf for an average of 10 shots, and nothing under 169.

Plenty of work to do before A7 in Vermont, but I can almost detect positive movement, so I can't quit now!!!

[dirtypool40]

Got out on the 4th for a nice relaxed practice with S&W M&P Sponsored bohemoth, Jeff Degracia. This guy shoots GOOD, keep an eye on him in Tulsa.

I started off rough, and felt a little sluggish all day. Cold draw test only netted one draw under 1.00 which a REALLY slow for me. Not that I real speedy, but at 10y I EXPECT to see some 2 digit numebrs. (for the record, 10.3 total, -3 Charlies, 4.56 hf).

After a couple of mediocre runs I did have a decent step back with one flyer and the rest going into a nice round 21 shot group of about 2.5" from 5 to 40+ yards. That's the big confidence builder for me, accuracy. Being able to dot an "i". When I start, instead of working my 5y draw times, or something sexy, I work boring "step backs" and bianchi plates for days and days. Accuracy and confidence in it, is the bedrock for me. Until I can shoot nice round, point of aim "step backs" consistently, why would I move on? Same goes for cleaning the plates, when cleaning the plates becomes a foregone conclusion, then I'll move on to other challenges.

Speaking of plates, we shot through them once at the end of the session. 1 run each, 25 in to 10, then back out, alternating plates, 1,6,2,5,3,4 and of course standing. I dropped three, all from lack of focus. one at 20 on the way in, a 10 yarder, which is just wandering focus on the easy stuff and always pisses me off, and a 25y on the last run, which always leaves me hungry for another run.

Still a "3" isn't TOO bad, and that is the toughest way I've come up with to shoot the plates without changing the par time or adding SHO WHO or reloads. It'll sure teach you to let the sights settle and follow through, but it also works on snappy eyes.

Time on the plate runs were about a second off decent times from a year ago, but it was an improvement over last weekend, and again, it's amazing how my spirits are lifted and my attitude improved by signs of life. It's been a while since I had such an optimistic outlook, and I miss it.

I also started by working out this morning after taking a week off for a minor back/neck thing. The goal is still to go to Area 7 in two weeks 200# and ready.

Local indoor tonight if I can make it, and then Titusville this weekend.

Edited July 5, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Couple of local matches this past weekend.

I was HOA Limited in both but shot a total of four "mikes" and more deltas than I remember in the ten stages total.

Still, I guess I have to see it as improvement if, given the same field, I go from getting beat by 5% to winning by 9%, even sloppy.

My "quicks" weren't there all weekend, and for some odd reason I had two old habits return:

- First I fell back into dumping a Delta or Mike moving the gun, either into a load, a move or the last target in an array. I NEED MORE BIANCHI PLATES!!!

- Second, I focused better, and performed better on the difficult parts of a stage than on the easy ones.

Overall a long rough weekend, but hey, it's still better than workin'.

Also, in unrelated news, my DOH took a dump on me, and broke clean through where it attaches underneath. Completely unexpected, I thought they were indestructable.

I also got hosed for the third time on a slot for Nationals. Was told I had one, and now I get to go to the back of the line on the waiting list. NICE!!

Anyway, "poco a poco", I guess I'm back up to a baseline. Two weeks to go before Area 7 if I can still get in.

Time to clean up, tighten up, and find my quicks.

Edited July 9, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Nice practice session yesterday with Hardball.

I got to test the new carry gun from Venry @ RPD, shoot my SA "milspec" and still have a pretty good practice with the Limited gun. The carry gun is suhweetuh! Cool looks, but still conservative and tight. (I'll post pics when I can). I can't wait to show off the 6" we're scheming on. Gonna be hard to wait until after Nationals to switch. It'll be like Christmas in September!!!

The SA is a full house gun I've had a few years but really haven't shot much, less then 300 rounds total. Damn, that thing is nice. With craptastic WWB I was shooting nice groups in the head of a target at 25y, which is tough for me any time, much less with a single stack I hardly know. That guy sure did nice work, too bad....

Switching to my #1, DIRTYPOOL40, I got to the actual practice. I worked some step backs, only to about 25y but I was happy to see improvement. Nice, round groups at point of aim give me a lot more confidence than any amount of sexy speed.

We also worked on movement, just dry fire, but moving on the range and discussing it. Good leg workout. Yowch!! Gotta find my quicks.

Lastly we worked against some partials, from 15 and 20y. Just standing there, going across an array of three partial targets, in six shot strings. Shooting them at pace, you sure gotta hurry up about taking your time.

Nice hard workout, about my third one back. Nothing major yet, but little by little I am starting to see improvement.

Feels good!

Edited July 11, 2007 by dirtypool40

[dirtypool40]

Decent practice yesterday in light drizzle and fading light. I shot probably 2-300 rounds on a plate rack, mostly far, near, far alternating sides "crazy plates" runs using the bianchi par times.

Never shot any cleaner than a couple of "3's", but I'd say a "4" was my average that day. Focus was kinda iffy all day, but still it was a good, if humbling workout.