unfuckingbelievableareyoukiddingme.
Quail Creek Plantation – Okeechobee, FL
2/22/08 – 2/24/08
Friday Prelim 9AM. – BLUE course.
started so hard, fast crossers, fast FAR away crossers, shit. i only hit 3 of my first 24 targets, missing over 10 in a row at 2 different stations even, far targets, shit, i thought i had gotten on them, not now, i had no idea how to hit these. i would go on to get a 54/100, one of my worst scores ever, not just in a comp, but ever, i think my fist time shooting wasn’t even this bad. my poor squad, all master class shooters, this was so painful. 20 targets off the winner of just C class with a 74, a 74 should never win C class, these targets were set tough, all the scores reflected it, but damn, even ones i should run, i didn’t.
Phil Hughes Prelim 1PM. – RED course.
went much better, i dunno if it was the warm up on the other course this AM, or the target level or just me being an unprepared dumb ass, but i started getting back on targets for a 72/100. a 77 won, so they must of still been tough targets, and you did need to make them all count, but damn if i didn’t start to feel more like myself, now if i could just get consistent, i could hit each target finally, i just couldn’t hit them each and every time.
Seminole Cup MAIN Event – Day One – RED.
the red/blue courses were reset for the main, all new targets. i would only get a 64/100 on this day one of the two day event. i found all targets but one crosser i never hit. the rest was me, all me. they were hard, but really fun, really fair and really well set targets, think too much or brain fart for a millisecond and you were fucked, you’d miss. my score was messy, hit the first pair, drop the next, then back on, sloppy. so if it wasn’t for my brain, i would do alright, i can hit the targets, i just cannot hit them every time.
late saturday night after racing go karts all evening, i had to know how i did, i looked at the results online on my phone sitting there at a chili’s with my aunt and uncle, somehow or another, the 64 was good for 5th after day one. a second day would put me up towards the top or drop me way down, i could still go either way, at least in my class, there was still hope, i just needed to step outside myself and step up already.
Seminole Cup MAIN Event – Day Two – BLUE.
my whole squad started better today, me, 2 master class guys and diane sorantino.
(fyi, i got to shoot behind diane both days, fyi, diane is ladies champion of just about everything she enters, fyi, diane is in the sporting clay hall of fame).
they all kept doing better after a stand or two, i unraveled again, dropping all kinds of targets i could run forever another day, the course felt easier, i felt better, but the damn targets just didn’t break when i pulled that trigger, my chances were slipping away, one target at a time, of even trying to stay in the top of C class. i rallied for a bit and found targets that scared me with their distance, edge and speed, to the point after smashing one pair, a wow escaped my lips, i laughed a little at the amazement of watching them break, and then got serious again as i readied for the next pair and said pull, knowing i could hit it. yet i only ended with a 60/100…. i had a 124/200 for the MAIN, abysmal.
i cleaned up and went over to the score boards, the new results weren’t up yet, but the earlier scores of the day were, there was a 3 way tie of 124/200 for 3-6th place with 80% of the scores in my C class. holy crap, there was a chance i could hold on for a trophy and some $, the cup pays/punches and trophies out to 5th. so i was tied, it would come down to tie break stations and luck. great, my luck with these is never where i’d like it.
i stood around and tried not to look so desperate to hold on or wait around for a 4th or 5th place trophy, but dammit, i want a trophy from a national event already, it was the whole point of this trip, this quest i decided was so important so last minute and funded thanks to a combination sponsorship by my amex, discover and mastercard.
then they posted them, almost 2h after the event ended. we all gathered around and gawked, then i saw it. i had won the tie breaks, my 124/200 beat the other 2 124/200 scores based on how well i shot predetermined stations, but others sneaked up and in with simply better shooting. 5th place had a 125, 4th place had a 126 and 3rd place had a 128.
i missed a trophy by one target out of 200.
AGAIN, unfuckingbelievableareyoukiddingme.
this is the third national event in three this has happened. one position, no, one target even, out of the money, the punches for class and my goddam trophy.
walk to car, start driving, turn up music.
(learn to shoot already).