Latest / Discomfort Required / Want to Prep for Tactical Games Nationals? Start Here. | Jen Libby

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Want to Prep for Tactical Games Nationals? Start Here. | Jen Libby · Discomfort Required

• Trent: Welcome to Disc Comfort Required. Jen: Yeah. Trent: we got Jen Libby on again today. We're gonna be talking about prepping for Tactical Game Nationals or just prepping for any tactical games. and when it comes to like getting ready for that training and all those fun things. Jen, how are you today? Jen: I'm doing well. Doing well? How are you Trent: I love it. Good, good. Been busy. Jen: doing? Trent: weddings in nineteen days, so grinding towards that. Yeah. and Jen: Yes. yeah. Trent: just been busy training, doing shit, you know. we have all kinds of stuff at Jen: Yeah, up. Trent: the house now. So like we've been doing lots of tactical games workouts and stuff and not really Jen: Nice. Trent: going to do CrossFit stuff, so that's pretty fun. Jen: Okay, good. Trent: yeah, it's like it's super challenging and super tough. So it's fun. Doing something that we don't usually get to do. Right. And and going to the range. We go to the range like once a week. and we also do dry Jen: Right, sure. Yeah. and what is really programming plus means. Trent: fire once or twice a week. So, like, it's it's fucking awesome. But holy shit, all that stuff Jen: that's perfect. Trent: is so heavy compared to like also my body. So it's like working out with all that Jen: Yeah. Trent: shit on is like, god. Plate carrier, Jen: Wearing the plate carrier and and the belt and everything. Trent: belt, magazines, all the fun stuff. Jen: Yeah, it's a lot of extra weight. Trent: yeah, but it's c it's cool though. all right, Jen. so when it comes to prepping for a tactical games, walk me through what that's like Jen: Yes. Trent: the week prior to getting ready for the games. Jen: A week prior. well usually as far as like training in the gym, it's definitely gonna take a a leave, if you will. so I would say we probably leave like Friday, maybe Thursday, to go to an event. So Friday for sure. So I kind of backtrack and go backwards. So the Friday before is absolutely no training because you're either driving there And you're checking in or whatnot, so there's no training that day. if we do leave on a Thursday, also no training because we're just spending most of the time driving. I'm also not a big like I like to take rest days. I know a lot of people like to just go, go, go, go, go, but I don't feel like that's super beneficial, so I don't mind taking like one to two days completely off before an event. I actually feel much more prepared going in and and rested and recovered. so let's say I take Thursday, Friday off and then Wednesday would be like a zone two easy day, just like 45 minutes to an hour on on machines, like no loading, just mobility and an easy day. Tuesday and Monday would be my last like workout days, but they wouldn't be As hard as like I would go leading up. So that whole week before is pretty pretty low key. and the weekend before I'm off anyway, because I take the Saturday and Sunday off regularly. So yeah, it would just be Monday, Tuesday, maybe like sixty, seventy percent intensity. nothing crazy heavy. Wednesday, nothing, no loading at all, and then Thursday, Friday, off. And if I'm not driving on Thursday, if we leave Friday then Thursday would probably just be another light day, maybe just mobility, stretching. Yeah. Trent: Awesome. So like the weekend before you're doing a lot of like live fire stuff and just making sure all that's nice and tight and running through different stuff. Jen: Yeah. Yeah, so usually Probably about two to three weeks out, I'll I will confirm zero of my rifle and pistol. I usually get it cleaned. Like I get it I hate cleaning my guns. I know Trent: Ha ha ha. Jen: how to do it, but I actually I I hate doing it myself, so I will pay the gunsmith to do it because I also know that if there's anything funky going on that I wouldn't necessarily find, he'll find it. So Yeah, probably about two weeks out I'll get cleaned or three weeks out, I'll get them cleaned, then two weeks out I'll confirm zero. and then the week before I'll I'll live fire, but like Like easy stuff, like nothing, nothing new, nothing that I've struggled with in the past. just stuff that I'm confident with that I know that I can do. I'll probably just spend an hour at the range where normally I'm there for like two to four. yeah, Trent: Okay. Jen: and just just a I don't know if it's superstitioned or not, but I always just like the last thing that I do before I go into an event needs to feel good, needs to be a confidence builder, whether that be out on the range. with a good shooting day or in you know, in the gym with a good workout. The last thing I wanna do is go into an event on a bad note and be like, crap, like I don't I don't feel good about this. What if it shows up? Like all that stuff. Trent: Yeah, for sure. Like, going in with confidence not through the roof sucks. I've been there. Jen: They often have open Trent: And it's like showing up to a competition, you're like, Well, I'm not ready for this. Fuck. You know, and that's not the thing that you want at all. so when let's go like let's Jen: Yeah. So and Trent: let's work it back to like when is your like last live fire day that is like You're there for two to four hours and like, what are you mainly trying to hit on? Is it is it weaknesses or are you like trying to just make the things you're really good at better at? Jen: so probably the last like longer live fire would be the same day that I zero, so two weeks out. even that so also by that point, I should have done enough training leading up to that so that I'm not frantic. That last minute trying to be my god, I'm not good at this, I have fix this, or I haven't done any of this in the past few months. Like, I should be, I should be well prepared for my event months before. at least that's my mentality going in. That kind of comes from the horses back in the day. But Trent: yeah. Jen: yeah, two weeks before, again, maybe just some fine-tuning on stuff, maybe practice like an aggregate. which I would have already done many times before, but just kind of running through it again. Maybe if there's one that I'm like, hmm, I haven't done that one enough. Let me let me just run through this again. but yeah, nothing new for sure. And nothing that's going to create any confidence loss. So even two weeks out still. Okay. So process for Trent: Okay. Okay. So tell the people how what your process for zeroing is. Jen: Like w how what do you mean? Like how do I Trent: Like for for like zeroing your rifle, like make make like confirming your zero and all that stuff, like give the people like your rundown and how you do it. Jen: I mean, it's pretty basic I think. well for one I like to be by myself. I don't like any distraction. What's that? Trent: Perfect. I said that's perfect. Jen: Yeah, I don't like to do that especially when anyone else is around because it's just distracting. so alone for one, I used to do it off the like the table at the range, but now I go prone and I have a bipod, so I try to just get my rifle as stable as possible. So have a bipod and a bag that I put under the butt stock and I go prone. And I've just got and I always I zero at fifty yards. I know a lot of people are like, you need to do it at a hundred, but I like fifty, it works. Yeah, and then I just I take my time, I I'm relaxed and I I set up my what's it called? The target that you use for scattering, it has all the squares so you can measure like your Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: MOA and all that stuff. So I have that set up and I shoot five rounds down. Like I just line up to the center wherever it is, I shoot the five rounds down. If it's off, then I just adjust my windage and elevation. I try and I've gotten to the point where I can pretty much get to zero within two to three like iterations of five rounds. Trent: that's awesome. Jen: Yeah. It's actually Trent: so Jen: Fun now, 'cause I I used to really struggle with it. I didn't understand how to do it. I didn't like get it and then I just figured it out kind of by myself. so yeah, now it's now Trent: Hell yeah. I love that. Jen: it's kinda simple. Trent: So w so why do you go for a fifty and not a hundred? Jen: I mean not really any like math reason. for one I just find it easier to do it at fifty because I can see the target through my scope. So I can see without getting up what adjustments I need to make. I find that the like holdovers at that distance really aren't that major. They may not be that major at a hundred either, but I don't know, I don't have a big argument on that other than I just like fifty. Yeah. Yeah. Trent: There you go. That's all you need. You don't even need to like justify it. I mean, if you like it, you like it. That's great. so by yourself. I like that. I think that's like that's important when it comes down to like getting shit dialed and all those fun things. we just went out to the outer range, Jen: It works like all of the things up to be called that bridge. Trent: not last week, but the week before. And we're we're just Jen: Yeah. Trent: shooting it a hundred yards. It w it was super fun. And that was the first time Chelsea shot down that far at anything. So Jen: Okay. Trent: Turns out she's better at a rifle than I am, but I'm better at a pistol. So there's, you know, there's some room for growth Jen: Yeah. Trent: for me in in some aspects. but it's it's super fun. Like, I absolutely love my rifle. It turns out it's fucking pretty awesome. So that's really that's really, really bad. so when you are training, and we're we're Jen: Nice. Trent: gonna go with with the firearm side. what do you Jen: question. Trent: feel like is The thing that you need to work most on, that you kind of like try to hammer Jen: They can even work close to one thing. Trent: the most. Jen: Hmm. when it comes to fire the firearm training. So I know. Because I one even one of the questions was like, what's something you hyper focus on? I wouldn't say any one thing in particular. because I feel like when it comes to shooting, there's so many like nuances to it all. There's so much to it that if you just focus on like one thing, I mean you could go mad trying to to fix it. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: also I've been a little tangent here. I've been reading or I've read a book and now I'm about to start another one on kind of mindset training for competitors. it was referred to be by another Tactical Games athlete. her name is Tara. but it's called With Winning in Mind. Trent: Okay. Jen: Yeah, and it just kind of like gets you to train your mindset for competing and training, and it's and it's just a whole different way like how you might normally think. So part of what I took from that is You don't necessarily want to drill and drill and drill something that you might not be that good at because you end up kind of getting like worst at it. Not saying you should never do it, because obviously if you're not good at one thing, you do need to practice it, but you need to like intentionally practice instead of just drill, drill, drill, drill, drill, drill. Cause I used to have the mindset of like, I'm gonna be at the range for four hours. If I'm sucking at standing rifle, I'm gonna Do the whole four hours at standing rifle until I stopped sucking. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: but I realized that I continued sucking. I didn't leave the range any better. If anything, I was discouraged, you know. I I was like, what the hell? Like, what am I doing wrong? So I just kind of changed the mindset a little bit where like if something is going wrong. Maybe just like put it aside for the day and then Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: come back to it another another time. However, on the opposite, if something is going right, like if you're shooting well at something, keep doing that. Because your brain then starts to like reinforce what the good is that you're doing. just like it also reinforces the bad. So if you keep doing something bad over and over again, it's like, okay, well, this is how I'm supposed to do it. Which which we don't want, but yeah, Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: so Focusing on anything, not really anything in particular. Just kinda whatever like I have a plan for the day when I go to the range, like I'm gonna work on X, Y, and Z. it's usually two no more than three things. And if one of those three things is kinda going south, I'm just like, all right, I I assess like why it's going wrong, and then I'm like, okay, next time or whatever, like in a few weeks, whatever I'm gonna come back to this and then apply. what I feel like was going wrong and see how it goes then. Trent: Gotcha. I like that. I think that's super purposeful. And it goes with any sport, right? Like you can't just keep hammering doing pullovers and doing gymnastics and just keep hammering and hammering and hammering because then you're just gonna end up with bruised hips and being sad inside. And nobody wants that, right? Jen: that person can go to face right then you can't just keep everything with the person is doing that versus distance yeah and what we want to have correct yeah Trent: So when you go to the range, do Jen: Right. Trent: you how often do you get your heart rate high and then shoot? Jen: and that's another thing that I've realized it's not like that necessary to train that per se. like I know that in attack games, like yeah, your your heart rate's elevated many times and you have to shoot like that. So you think you should train like that more often, but it kind of comes down to the fundamentals of the firearm, like how well are your basics are your foundational like just the foundations of of shooting. because if those are all pretty solid, then the higher heart rate doesn't really affect it that much. And also and like you can kind of learn techniques with it too. So if you're like breathing really heavy and you and it's not coming down fast enough, you can kind of learn how to take the shot on a on a breath or on the exhale. and also the fitter you are, like if especially if you're working like interval training, like the faster your heart rate can come down after the work, the easier it is to shoot because now your heart rate is is back down. Trent: I noticed the other day we were doing I was working out and it was like throw the sandbag over a box, me climb over the box, some other bullshit, and then shoot both hands, then strong hand, then weak hand. And Jen: Yeah. Trent: my heart rate must have been 190. Like, no joke. Jen: Yeah. Trent: It was like thumping and it was like learning how to shoot in between breaths. I was like, Jen: Up in how to shoot vision class. Trent: That makes sense. Like that's not that's not that hard in practice, right? But like I'm only I'm only dry firing and it's a it's a little laser at a target. Yes, I can see it's like, that's like not terrible, but like it's also maybe fifteen yards. Maybe if I'm like if if I'm lucky. Jen: Yeah. Well that's still pretty far, like for for single hand, yeah. Yeah, that's far. It is. Trent: Yeah, and that's hard. Like that's real hard. I'm like trying to be comfortable and I'm like nothing's comfortable. I'm just gonna have to suffer through this. Jen: Yep. But another thing I've learned is like you come off the work and you're just like breathing. So while you're loading your rifle, 'cause usually your rifle is first, take the time. Like just whether you have to kneel. So I actually prefer to do it kneeling because you can just kind of like follow. Expenditure by standing. So just kneel and like breathe, like deep breaths out. Load your mag, or yeah, load your mag, get your gun ready to go. Take like I don't know, 15 seconds even. And I know it's like, but the time the the clock's ticking, like you gotta beat everybody. Yeah, you've got the pressure of the time. However, if you're if you're gonna take the time to load your gun. And then let your heart rate and your breathing come back down, and you take that extra 15 seconds, but then you make all your hits because you've calmed down. You're gonna be ahead of the person now that didn't take the time, and they're blasting through rounds and their guns all over the place because they're breathing heavy and they didn't relax, even though they finished faster than you. You made all your hits, so that's what counts. Trent: Yeah. that's funny you bring that up. I was just explaining pacing to somebody at the gym. And it's like the it it's it's the same thing. I'm like, hey, just be smooth. It'll be the fastest. You'll you'll be the fastest person during this workout. And they're like, I don't know, I gotta be I'm like, you don't have to beat anybody, just run your own race, put blinders on, and then just go for it. And Jen: I just played a thing to and like a business like that. So if we look at that. Trent: He ended up like doing really, really well in the workout. And he was like, that makes sense. I'm like, Yeah, we've only been doing CrossFit for 12 years and now we figured it out, you know? So it it only took a little bit of time. but I was talking to Kelly, cause her and John just went to Montana this weekend. And Jen: It's too Trent: she was saying that one of the one of the workouts was ski and then you get rounds as like the the Jen: that you get passed at like Trent: however many calories you ski, that's how many rounds you get to go shoot, right? And it was like between three and twenty. So Jen: Uh-huh. Trent: I think the concept of that workout is so awesome because like you get to choose your own adventure and it's like no matter what, however long it's gonna take you is as however long it's gonna take you. And I think it's so cool like how some of these workouts are written. Jen: Yeah. Yeah, they're definitely they're definitely interesting. You can strategize a lot of them and you know, some of them are are like they're geared towards you in in in certain ways and others you're like, right, that one's not really in my wheelhouse. But yeah, that's just kind of cool how you can strategize. Trent: Yeah, and and like it's it it's people random like I'll I'm telling people like, I'm getting into this and they're like, all the workouts are the same. Like, that's so untrue. A, like Jen: Okay. Trent: there's different so there's so many different variations of how you can do stuff, but it's all like functional in some way, right? And like Chelsea, she's like, It's so much Jen: Right. Yeah. Trent: slower than crossroad. I'm like, Yeah, I kinda love the fact that it's slower, like 'cause I'm not I'm but I'm still dying, right? Jen: No. Trent: but it's just a different mindset, right? It's like I don't need to sprint through this. You know what I mean? It might only be a six minute workout, but it's like me sprinting through it's not gonna help me at all. so I'm just gonna do it at my own pace or whatever. Jen: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Trent: so what do you think is the biggest hole in people's games when it comes to prepping for the tag games? Jen: that was one of my favorite questions. I think most people do not spend enough time on the basics. Trent: Okay. Jen: yeah, I think and by basics I just mean g focusing on your grip, proper stance, reloads, min gun manipulation, like understanding how the gun works, positions. on barricades, position on the ground, like just the basic stuff. I feel like a lot of that gets kind of skipped over because it's not sexy. It's not that cool. everyone like I shouldn't say everyone, but a lot of people do like to just go right to the aggregates or the you know, TAC games is now starting to incorporate kind of like two gun match style stages. And those are fast and they're fun and they're like Just we're going, and they're and they're fun to practice. So people just kind of do that. and they also a lot of them are steal targets, so they're practicing to steal, which like when you're practicing to steal only, like most of the time you've got a pretty large size target, if you will. And it sounds cool when you hit it and you're like, Yeah, I made the hit, but like you could have been on the very left corner where like if Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: in the in the games if you have a paper stage where you've got those little fucking three inch triangles I mean you've gotta be so precise. I mean it's not as precise I feel with the steel. But yeah, kinda back to practicing the basics. I mean to me it's like in CrossFit, the squat. If we kind of bypass perfecting a good air squat and then load up our barbell and just go right to back squatting, yeah, you you might get away with it for a little while and you might be able to lift somewhat heavy for s a certain amount of time, but eventually it's gonna break you down because your squat actually isn't that strong because you didn't build the foundation with the air squat first. So Trent: Yeah. Jen: w with with shooting it's kinda like the same thing. Like if you skip all the basics, you might get away with it for a little bit doing the fun stuff, but it's gonna catch up to you eventually. Trent: yeah. And it like it's just like telling people to do mobility, right? If you're not doing mobility, it's only it's not gonna go so well. Yeah. Hey, same boat. it's a coach thing, right? We can tell people how to do it, but then like us doing it, nah, we don't Jen: By myself. Trent: need that. Like my shoulders are fine. They work great. Jen: Yeah. Trent: Said no coach ever. Jen: I will say I I have started doing more mobility and it works. Trent: Yeah, it does work for sure. That and accessory work, you know, that's the n unsexy stuff too. so when how often do you dri how often do you drive fire? Jen: definitely not as much as I should. yeah, probably maybe just a handful of times a month. Trent: Okay. Jen: yeah, so not that not that much. I was practicing dry fire a lot more like leading up to Kingman or so earlier, like through the winter and into the spring, just practicing positions on the barricades, like the three-port barricade and a trap and just kind of going over like what positions felt the most stable like for each arm of the trap, each port in that three-port. and then like also getting into those positions relatively efficiently. because sometimes what takes a lot of time too is like getting into the position and then the time to your first shot. So if you can kind of know what position you need to be in and then send off that first shot pretty quick. that obviously takes off some time. so I haven't done a lot of that recently. No real reason why, I guess it's just it's not like I'm I've mastered it and you can always be better at stuff, I just haven't. I think I've just been doing a lot more live fire. Just Trent: Yeah. 'Cause I was gonna say you're you're at the range like every weekend pretty much, right? Jen: Yeah, every weekend just spending money, spending those rounds down. Trent: Just just just lighting money on fire, literally. And it's not cheap. Jen: Yeah. Trent: Everybody, it's not cheap. Just so you know, this is an expensive sport. Jen: It is. But I I'm very intentional with my live fire. Like I don't just blast rounds downrange. I have a plan. Like I probably never shoot more than probably never a hundred rounds i in a in a session, even if I'm there for that long. So I'll just I don't think that that's that much, but like Trent: Mm-hmm. So no, it's it like I don't think so either. like I I we don't even do that every week when we go. like we're there for hour and a half, two hours sometimes, and it's like I mean, strategic. At first it was like, okay, let's just put rounds down range and get used to what we're doing and then learn how to do it that way. And then it's like now it's like, okay, now that I'm better, and it's like, okay, I'm gonna be like surgical with this, like how Jen: Yeah. I mean that person put around that look at okay, how like how we can be of Trent: good can I be with the least amount of rounds that I can until I'm like, okay, my brain's fatigued. I don't want to do this anymore. Right. So because like that's the first Jen: how society is okay. Trent: thing that happens. It's not like that like my brain just gets tired. I'm just like, you know what? I'm just focusing too much. and it's like th there's no point in keeping going when it gets to that point. It's like, nope, Jen: Yeah. Trent: let's end it on a high note. Call it good before it starts getting all fucking out of control. Jen: Exactly. Yep. Trent: so give me a breakdown of what the what a normal season is like for the for the tactical games. Jen: like a season for me or just kind of like what? Trent: It so like give me a give me a a breakdown of like what a normal tactical season or tactical game season is just for the tactical games. And then let's talk Jen: Yes. Trent: about like how you pick where you go and like what's Jen: Okay, great, and Trent: what ones you want to go compete at and stuff like that. Jen: Okay. well there's I think roughly ten regionals throughout the US and now there's two over in Europe. There's one in Italy and one in Poland. Yeah, and they're they start in February. That's the first Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: that's the season opener, and then they go all the way there's usually one, maybe two a month, all the way until October. And then there's nationals in November. so and they're all over the US, so you just kind of pick like which one is closest to you. it also doesn't have to be close to you. But like for me, I guess, like I just did the one in Kingman because it was in Arizona, so it was close. and then so for me specifically though, the regionals kind of take a toll on my body just because of my knee injury, my chronic injury, my back. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: so I'm pretty wrecked. after a regional, like unlike some other people, they just kind of bounce back and they do a workout like on Monday. Where no, like I Trent: That like I'm not built that way anymore. That's for sure. Jen: I have like I take an entire week off after a regional I have to. Trent: I'm gonna take after you. Like that I'm gonna do the same. I'm like, no, nope. Jen said I Jen said I have to take a week off. I can't I can't work out. Jen: But I it feels kinda earned. Like my body is like, oof, alright, that was rough. And like let me just rest. Like you just because like you just mentioned before, I mean it's a lot here too. It's a lot of mental fatigue, CNS, physical, so you just need time to chill. Like a month or a a week off isn't gonna you're not gonna lose anything. so with that said, like I can't necessarily do a ton of mints a year. So, my goal for this year was like, I'm going to qualify for nationals at Kingman. I went into it like I'm it's going to happen. It did. So then I was like, well, I don't necessarily need to do another regional. because my mindset, too, is you're not going to get better at competing per se by doing more competitions. At least that's that's my mindset. and also for me, like, because of my background with competition. Horses for as long as I did. Like, I'm well versed in the competition atmosphere. So what's going to make me better at a competition is just training. And I can make mock competitions at home. Yeah, there's no pressure of anyone else with me, but my mentality is like I don't need I don't need that. I don't need someone next to me to push me. Like I'm I'll just do it myself. Trent: Right. Jen: but so yeah, I just I Like last year I did what three three regionals and that was probably enough. That was that was tops. This year is just the one, and then I've got like a bunch of skirmishes coming up just to kind of just little tests, you know, for myself, but not a whole lot of like killing my body. yeah, and then I was going to do I was actually signed up for the Phoenix Regional in October because I'm like It's literally in my backyard. Like I I should be doing it. It's at Cowtown. It's where I train all the time. Trent: Ha ha. Jen: But it's five weeks out from Nationals. So I'm like, it's just a little too close. And like, God forbid, I get more injured at Phoenix and I like hurt going into Nationals, like not not ideal. So I was like, let me just not do the Phoenix one. Save it for nationals and then just train and then be fresh and good to go there. So that's that's my personal thing. I don't know if that works for everybody. I think some people do need to compete more just to get out in that feeling of pressure. and then as far as like which ones you go to, I mean just whatever, like whatever ones you want to drive to, whatever ones you wanna fly to, you could go to all of them if you wanted. You know. Trent: I mean, I couldn't because my body wouldn't keep up with me, you know, so there's that. like last year we did four, four, four or five comps, maybe four. I did four. And Jen: Yeah. Like last year. I didn't work. Trent: like they were just too close together and like it didn't benefit me at all. Like I was tired and not only Jen: Yeah. Trent: that is like I was just burnt out. I'm like, I don't want to fitness fast at all anymore. Ever again. Jen: Like Trent: It's like you can only do it so much, right? And that go I mean, that goes with with anything. And the reason why I was asking Jen: Okay, go ahead. Trent: which how you pick which ones is is there like a range that you'd want to see or anything like that? Because I know that you don't want to do every single regional because of, you know, how how like recovery and shit like that. But was it like, that place would Jen: It's it's like a press each right and building on this one up to the Trent: be really cool, or I know that it's the X or I know so many people that are gonna be at this one, so I'm gonna go to that one so I can see my friends that I haven't seen in a while, Jen: Speaking of S Trent: or Jen: or Yeah. Trent: Anything like that. Jen: Yeah, well Kingdom was just because it was local. I did want to actually go to the Montana one. So I was like, ooh, like Montana's cool. I've been up there before. It's it's nice, like beautiful area. But since we were going to Alaska like before, it was just kinda too close for those trips back to back. Yeah, because that would have been a flying trip. And then what's I do wanna I did wanna try one of the East Coast ones. But again, the the scheduling this year for me just didn't really work out because I've got like weddings to go to, just other stuff going on. So they just kinda conflict. So I was like, well, we're just gonna make do with what got. Trent: Yeah, for sure. so when you go compete, so when you did last year, you did three regionals or four regionals? Jen: Three regionals. Trent: Okay, where were they at? Jen: the first one was in Arizona in Sierra Vista, that was February. and then I went to Idaho in June and then Utah in Trent: Did you drive to all those or did you fly? Jen: drove to Alba. no, we Trent: Okay, so Jen: we flew we flew to Utah. I forgot about that. We flew to Utah. Trent: Did you fly with your firearms or did you rent when you got there? Jen: No, flip with him. Trent: Okay. so I was chatting with support at Tactical Games because you know that I have a fixed mag, blah, blah, blah, bullshit, you know, Washington Jen: Yeah. Yeah. Trent: crap. and I was like, Hey, this is this is what I got. Jen: Hey it's Trent: How are we gonna run the cle the clearing procedure? And they're like, just rent and just rent one. I'm like, but I like my firearm. And they're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, just rent one anyway. And I'm like, Bro, that's not that's not the answer that I wanted to hear. You know what I mean? Jen: Yeah. Trent: So I mean it's a bummer, but we we get married in nineteen days and Jen: Yeah. Trent: we are going out to Idaho in September to go check out places to live. And then April, you know, we're gonna figure out where we're gonna Jen: I know it's working out, but Trent: go and hopefully it's a place where we don't have to have a fixed mag rifle. That would be fucking great. Jen: Yeah. I was gonna say wherever you choose to live, make sure it is a gun friendly state, especially if you're gonna be getting into tech games. Trent: Yeah. so there they do a lot of like two gun and like tactical stuff here, at a bunch of different ranges. And I was looking at a team competition and they have a team two gun thing Jen: stuff new here. I think this is gonna be function and Trent: that they run. I think it's like every other month. And I think me and Chelsea are gonna do it. I think it'd be super fun just to like go shoot around some barricades and things like that. and it's like get get some get some competition like that under a belt. I think that'd be fun. Jen: Yeah, take maybe some like this area is and often what happens for yeah for sure. here if like for just three performance action basically Trent: And I mean that's the best we're gonna get here. but I have this wild idea where it's like it's still summer and I want to we just became members of the outdoor range and they have three or four action bays where they where they do the the action shooting. And I'm like, Hey, I can teach you guys how to do fitness and then you can teach people how to shoot and we'll do it together and then I d I'll you know, I'll just do that part and then w I mean Jen: Yeah, no, that's a great idea. I heard it's good and Trent: It's an idea and I'm gonna run it by him and see how it goes. So that would be super fun. I think it's a great idea too. And I just like Jen: I Trent: I was what was I looking at? I saw I saw on Instagram that there's like a couple tactical, tactical games affiliated gyms, which I think is super cool. I don't think there's enough ranges that do that and like help promote that kind of thing. Like I think that it's becoming more popular and I think that they should like, hey, let's lean into this and start Jen: appropriate report. I don't have enough practices that do that. And I call them both that it's becoming more popular than like, okay, if this is built in more thing for people, yeah, for sure. Trent: having a whole new revenue stream and, you know, making it more friendly for quote unquote friendly for people. You know? I think I think it's a there's a whole new fucking thing out there that people need to be taking advantage of. Jen: I know and I I definitely think it's growing. there's a gym here in Arizona that they do like a tactical class where but most of the time it's just the fitness aspect of it, but if you wanted you could dry fire, like you could bring your belt and your whole weapon system and and dry fire in the class, which is kind of cool. Yeah. Trent: That's amazing. So Chelsea was looking at a place in Utah that does that. And I was like, that's really cool. And that's where like it got the ball rolling in my head. I'm like, there's two outdoor ranges that aren't too far. I'm gonna be like, hmm, hey, I can teach this shit. Let's do it. So plans for nationals. Talk to me about what your ultimate plan is, how you're gonna attack this and where it's at now and all that fun stuff. Jen: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Okay, so questions copy about what's your ultimate access and where can we left. well it's in Texas in Burnett, so I've learned it's Pronounce Burnett, not Burnett. Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: which is like around the the Austin San Antonio area. it is November thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, so it's a three day event versus a two. So roughly four events each day. rough. Trent: Yeah. That's a lot of that's a lot of fitness and shooting. Jen: yeah, that's gonna be like a month off after that. Trent: You know, you earned it. Jen: so we're gonna drive to that, which we figured is gonna well it's we're gonna take a couple days and make like a a bit of a trip of it so it won't be so rushed feeling, but it's gonna end up being like yeah, just so I think we're When are we leaving? One Tuesday? We're either leaving Wednes Tuesday or Wednesday. Maybe it was a three day drive. Anyway, couple day drive. the check-in is Thursday, so I I think we're getting there the shortest drive will be Thursday morning and that'll just be a couple hours. check-in. I think we wanna check out Austin a little bit. but I like to get to all of my events like early, like I wanna be like the first one to check in. I wanna check out the stages kind of like on my by myself. you know, like I love everybody there. It's a great community. I have a lot of friends there, but like I just like to do some of that stuff solo just so I'm not distracted. And that's not a personal Trent: Mm. Yeah. Jen: thing against anybody. That's just my own way of doing it. Yeah, then as far as yeah, I'm we're driving just because I'm gonna be borrowing one of my friends those leg like compressed things, I forgot what they're called. Do you know? Trent: the yeah, I know the the leg impression things. I have in the other room. They are fuck, what are they? I know yeah, I know what you're talking about. I Jen: Okay, I'm glad it's not just me. Trent: have them. They're in there. Jen: Yeah. Yeah, like you just put your legs in there and then they like squeeze and they compress Trent: Yeah. Jen: and you can make them cold or or whatever. So Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: a a buddy of mine is gonna lend me his for that, so like they're kinda big to fly with. Plus, like I just wanna bring a lot of shit and you can't necessarily fly with a lot of shit, so I we're just gonna drive and just make it a trip. Correction Joe is gonna drive because he doesn't allow me to drive. Passenger princess. Trent: Hey, you know, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. Jen: No. and then as far as leading up to that, so I taken like some time off, what was that, two weeks ago now? I'm gonna go hard now until October. So I have a a slew of competitions, like little skirmishes skirmishes from the end of August all the way to the beginning of October. So every two weeks. Which is like it's a little close, but that's just how the schedule fell. One of is in California, so that was interesting finding out those gun laws too. yeah, I'm gonna do all those. What's Trent: Navigating that's gonna be tough. Jen: that? Trent: Navigating that's gonna be tough. Jen: Actually not as tough as you might think. Like I really researched it. I talked to the the guy who's running the skirmish there and there is a law that allows non-residents that are traveling into the state for a competition to be kind of exempt from or not kind of to be exempt from resident so California resident gun laws. Trent: Well, that's fucking cool. Jen: Yeah. So that's why you need to get out of Your state. Trent: I do. I can't well, I I don't like it here anyway. Well okay. Let me rephrase. Okay. The gun laws here, yes, they're su they they they suck. It you know, I'm just really looking forward to moving. I Jen: It I just Trent: think I'm like I'm ready for an adventure. I'm just really, really looking forward to moving. And it'll be really cool to have a place where like we don't have so many restrictions. That's all I'm saying. Jen: Yeah, has possible. Trent: For sure. so we're so you got one in California. Where where else are the skirmishes at? Jen: well the so I've got like a two-gun type match up in Flagstaff. It's the end of August. That's not really tat games related, but it's just kind of something new and different in their shooting, so I was like, let's do it. actually that girl Tara, the one that suggested me that book, is kind of the the host of it, if you will. Trent: nice. Jen: and then two week or one week after that is the skirmish here in Phoenix. And then two weeks after that is the California skirmish and then two weeks after that is there's a sniper skirmish here in Phoenix again. Trent: Ooh, that's fun. Jen: Yeah, did the one back in May and absolutely tanked. I was like, holy shit, I suck at this. So I kinda wanna Trent: So Jen: re redeem myself there. Trent: When you when you go to this the sniper one, like it how much of a different setup do you need to run, like for your rifle and stuff? Jen: Like I just ran my normal Tat Games rifle. you could have like a big old precision bolt action rifle, but I wouldn't you don't really like I'm not gonna go out and buy one just for that because I mean the distances for that were relatively close. I don't think anything was further than five hundred yards. Trent: you run anyway? Jen: I have a Knight Force Knight Force Trent: Yeah. Jen: two and a half by twenty. That's the NX8. Trent: Okay. Right on. Right on. Jen: Yeah. Trent: Sweet. Okay. So when you get to nationals, and you're checking out all the stages and everything, Jen: Okay, so you're gonna have to pay everything. Trent: what is like your process for competing? Like you how early do you get there in the morning? What do you what is your checklist for your gear, rounds, Jen: Or can probably make fun of the question that was really here. Trent: all of that fun stuff? Jen: so the check in starts at twelve, so I will be there Trent: Mm. Jen: I will be the first one to check in. I I do this for the regionals too. I'm just it's just how I do it. Yeah, so I'll get that out of the way and then Yeah, and then I'll just go through the stages. I don't necess like you might not necessarily know what they all are yet, but you can kind of get an idea and you could range them so you can just kind of see like how long some of the distances are. as far as like how many rounds to bring. I think they say maybe in the registration how many. I don't actually remember. I think it's like three hundred for regionals, so it's definitely gonna be more for the nationals. Trent: Yeah, I think it's I think it's two fifty each for regionals. And is that for the whole weekend? Okay, gotcha. Jen: operation. Yeah. Yep. and and that's just kind of a an an estimate. I wouldn't say it's definitely never over that, but it's usually under that that you actually use. Trent: Gotcha. Gotcha. Jen: yeah, and I'll have all my stuff in the truck. Yeah, so Thursday is just checking like grocery shop, check out the stages and just relax. And like when they when they send out the email or they like publish the like when they when they vet the stages they kind of publish like what they are briefly. I'll watch Trent: Mm-hmm. Jen: that and just kind of like I don't know, just watch them and then be like, okay, like this just get a feel of like what's what's to come to what what what I need to mentally prepare for. sometimes they send out the emails with like the squad matrix and your athlete numbers and all the workouts like at nine o'clock at night. And I'm like, I need to go to sleep. Trent: Yeah, you're like I I can't wait anymore. Jen: And there's been times where I've like I I have to sleep, like I have Go to sleep and I don't have any idea like what I'm doing the next day because I haven't gotten the email yet, which of course affects my sleep because now I'm just sitting there like, What am I gonna do? so hopefully they send out the emails early and then I can just kind of go over them and then I I just try to make that first night super chill, super relaxed, go to sleep early, and then yeah, and then just start the next day. And I and I also bring or buy the food. that I eat normally, like here. So whatever I have for breakfast here, I have for breakfast there. Trent: Mm-hmm. That makes sense. Jen: yeah, so I try not to like change routine much so that like your body doesn't know that it's had a competition unless you're like unless you start changing all your stuff and you get all freaked out. So if you don't change anything and you just keep everything to the norm and keep the same routine, it kind of helps you stay on track and keeps you calm. Trent: yeah, for sure. so what time d what time does do the matches usually start in the morning? Jen: well we usually the safety brief is first, so that's like anywhere from six to seven eight AM. and then like the first stage brief will be at like seven thirty, and then usually hammer down like the first heat goes like seven forty five, eight o'clock. I think Nationals is a little earlier just because there's more people. at Nationals is seven in the morning, like first heat goes. Trent: Gotcha. so when how early do you get there before like if the briefs at six thirty, Jen: Yeah. I think how early do you think there's like Trent: what how early are you there? Jen: how early you get? well I like to get there what's that? Trent: You're gonna say four AM, aren't you? You're gonna say four AM, aren't you? Jen: No, I not that early. so if the safety briefs at six thirty, I want my tents and everything all set up, my gear all out and everything like organized. Like by 6:15. So maybe 5:15 get there just to give an hour to get all that up. I I always overestimate time, so you never know if shit's gonna go wrong. That also comes from my horse show days where shit did go wrong, so you just learn to overestimate time. So I would like to be there an hour before Joe is kind of like, we don't need that much time, and like, yes, we do. Trent: Yeah, I get it. Jen: Yeah. So usually compromise 'cause he usually sets up the tent anyway. But yeah, so I'd say roughly an hour before or like an hour and a half before the stage or before safety brief. Trent: Gotcha. Jen: So yeah, we have we have flashlights and we have all the stuff 'cause it's usually dark. Trent: Yeah. So after safety brief well, I mean, especially like in November, it's definitely gonna be dark. so after safety brief, do you go like load Jen: Yeah. actually break the Trent: mags and like break out or get everything set up to ready to roll for your first first event and then just hang out or do you warm up or what do you do? Jen: So by that point I would know what time I go because the email I would have seen the email, so I would know like when my heat goes. So if I have some time after the safety brief and after the first workout brief, then yeah, I'll come back, I'll load my meds, I'll just kind of rehearse in my head, like just visualize myself doing the The workout. I tend to not watch many people do it before me. if I ever actually watch, just because sometimes it's like you might see someone do something different than what you had planned, and then it might kind of fuck with you a little bit. But yeah, so I'll just kind of hang out at the tent, have some food, because I need my carbs before I do that workout. Trent: yeah. Carbs carbs for life. Jen: if if what was the other for warm-up. You know, it's weird. Like at home when I train I minimally warm up, but at events I'm like, fuck it, let's just go. Although the last one I did do a little bit more, but not anything like I mean you can't you can't warm up with equipment, like they don't have a warm-up. You just have to do your own shit. So I can just do stuff with the bands, some burpees, some mobility and then you know, it's kinda go time. Trent: All right. All right. I Jen: But Trent: kinda like it. Jen: because of that style, like I've also been practicing at home not necessarily warming up per se before getting into the work, I just kinda go. Like I'm not like cold, but I'm certainly not hot either. Trent: Yeah. So in November in Texas, it's not gonna be like Arizona weather. Are you gonna Jen: Yeah. It's not going to be light. Trent: have to warm up a little bit more, you think? Jen: maybe because I like it'll I of course I've checked out the weather already because I'm neurotic. Trent: At least you're at least you're you know who you are. Jen: it looks like it'll be chilly in the morning, it was like 40s, 50s, and then it'll get to it'll be about 70 during the day. So that's pretty cold in the morning when you're outside. so will I warm up? I might do it a little bit more just to kinda get the toassies going, but Yeah, I don't know. Kinda just just go. Just fuck it. Send it. Okay. Okay. Awesome. Trent: I like it. I like it. That's awesome. you gonna wear some gloves for that if you have a stage that early in the morning and it's forty degrees outside. Jen: Mm. It depends. I usually don't wear gloves I f I find I don't necessarily need to. however, if I do find my hands are cold, then yeah, I've got some I just have some shooting gloves. I wouldn't say they're like warm gloves, but they're something. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Trent: Right. Something's better than nothing, for sure. What's your favorite type of stage? Jen: My favorite type of stage. Hmm. I know I kind of like the aggregates. they're kind of like the two-gun ones. So the Z drill in in particular, I would say, is my probably favorite. Yeah, it's just like running and gunning. And you probably want Trent: Okay. So d explain explain what the Z drill is to people. Jen: And I'm laughing because I I always mess up the beginning. but this easter is like you start in the center, so there's just one target, one steel target out at fifth fifty yards from where you start. You start in the center on the call of go, you're supposed to run left or right. I usually run left, and there's like a cone here, and you need to shoot the rifle, make one hit from that cone. Then you need to run across Make a hit. Then you kind of go on a diagonal, make a hit, finish the diagonal, hit across, make another hit. So you kind of make a Z shape. Trent: Okay. Jen: and then you show clear, sling it, and then you run up to the next like Z pattern, and then you just do the same thing pistol, and that's just closer. I think that's like I think the further ones away are 20 yards, then 15, and then 10. So it's just a a Z pattern that you're running in. Trent: That sounds fun. how do you how do you mess up the beginning all the time? Jen: Yeah. That was pretty fun. Every time. Like I did it at a skirmish and I do it every time that I trained. So and that's the thing because it it's in my head now. So you're you start in the center, three, two, one, go, you're supposed to run. So three, two, one, go, I shoot. I go for my first hit. Trent: You're like, nope, that's not right. That's incorrect. Jen: And I've done it literally, I did it at the skirmish the first time, and I was like, fuck, I knew that. And then probably three times that I've trained, done it again. Trent: Nice. Jen: I need to get that out of my head. Trent: So what do they tell you wh when you when you took a shot first? They're like, nope, that's not right. Jen: Well at the skirmish, like I go to shoot, I make a hit, but I don't hear them call it, so I'm like, all right, maybe I missed it, so I do it again and then I I just feel a little tap, little tap on my shoulder and and then he's like As soon as I felt the tap I was like and then I ran down to the to the thing. Trent: He's like, Hey. Jen: And then when I do it in training, my friends are like, You need to run down to the next cone and I was like, God damn it. Seriously. Trent: You need to take a Sharpie and write run on your hand before you start. Only way it's gonna work, for sure. I Jen: I don't know. Trent: love it. I love it. That's great. Jen: Yeah. Trent: Jen shit, I think we covered everything. What anything you wanna add or anything? Jen: Hm I don't know. Yeah, I think that's kind of it. It's just I'm excited for nationals. another part of that book that I read was like instead of saying like, I hope I do well at nationals or I wish that I get top five, you change your talk to yourself and you say, I'm going to get top five. I'm Trent: Mm. Jen: going to do this. It it becomes like a like it's like it's going to happen. And it sounds almost like just kind of silly, and you're just like, that's it's not gonna do anything. Like talking like that isn't gonna do anything. But I don't know. I kinda I kinda believe it. I feel like that positive talk and just and I'm already picturing myself there. I already picture myself like doing events, whatever they might be. I picture myself on the podium. so yeah, I'm just kind of creating that to happen. So and I I would Trent: Yeah, manifest that shit. Jen: Yeah, and I would suggest that to anyone because I feel like sometimes we go into us and we're like, my god, this workout is so hard, like I'm gonna suck at this, da da da. And absolutely those are feelings, and you might be like, Mm, that's a little heavy, but if you say it, it just you put it out there and then it almost just creates it. So you just have to like, nope. Swallow, gone, I can do that, wait, no problem, I've done it before. Trent: Yep, for sure. I tell people that all the time. Like they're like, this workout's gonna fucking suck. And it's like, well, now it's gonna suck. You shouldn't have said anything. Yeah, this is this is your fault, not my fault. For sure. Jen: Now it definitely will. Yep. Yep. Trent: I'm super stoked for you, Jen. You were gonna crush it out there. I can't wait to watch the stages. the coverage is getting a little bit Jen: And and press better. the Trent: better and better. they didn't really have Jen: RSP. It is, yes. Trent: they didn't have a lot of coverage at Montana because what's her name was at the cross of games but Jen: That's right. Yeah. Trent: yeah so like hopefully the coverage just keeps getting better and better and that's Jen: Yeah. Trent: super great. yeah, so I can't wait to watch. I'm gonna be rooting you or cheering you on for sure. and you're definitely gonna get some support Jen: Yeah, that's a good question. Like we were thank you, I appreciate that. Trent: supportive text messages. thank you for coming on and talking. I wanna do this again, but I wanna talk about I'll come up with some Jen: Okay, two for next year. Trent: cool shit. It'll be fun. Jen: Okay. It sounds good. Yep. Trent: Sound good? Awesome. All right, Jen, thanks for coming on. I hope you have an awesome night and we'll ch we'll chat soon. Jen: Alright, sounds good. Thank you. Bye bye. Trent: Thank you. Bye.