Extra-Sensory

First, my apologies folks for not posting in a while.  I thought I had a new gig going but so far the editor has not set up my profile.  Two lessons there.  One I remember.  Don't pester editors or they will go away.  One I forgot.  Don't wait for editors.  Keep yourself in the public eye via other avenues.  Same thing when you are job hunting.  Don't quit until you have the offer.

Second, my blog for the day.  As you know, I have been training my son Aaron for his first OCR race.  We are two months into it.  The first month he just followed along with me as I was in strict training for a race.  The second month, I introduced him to my OCR training for beginners program - M80.  For the most part, he has done exceptionally well, with one exception.  He has Aspberger's Syndrome.  That means he is autistic.

He is on the spectrum slice of highly functional.  Most of his issues are social.  I have also discovered his extra-sensory issue since starting with the OCR training.  Those of us in OCR are very familiar with our "war wounds" that we wear as badges of honor after a race.  Cuts, scrapes, bruises, and other minor wounds are part of the game.  We don't give or get any sympathy for them.

But for Aaron, he is hyper-sensitive to these things.  One scrape and he is done and out of the game.  I try everything I know to help get him back on the course.  So far nothing has worked.  He just shuts down.  Typical Aspy behavior.  Very frustrating to me.

This morning we were supposed to do a 5-mile playground run.  We were doing fine until we got to the third playground.  Surrounded by a split rail fence, we were supposed to weave in and out of the rails.  He got scraped on the first one.  Game over.  I decided not to push it or talk him out of it.  Perhaps if we just ran.  No more obstacles.  He said he would give it a try.

But a quarter mile later the issues intensified.  For Aaron, that means he thinks he cannot breath.  The problem I have as a parent and a trainer is I cannot tell if it is real or just a display of Aspberger's.  I know he feels it and something is going on.  So it is real in one sense.  But in another, it is difficult to tell if it is amplified by his hypersensitivity or he really has something physically going on.

I have seen the symptoms often enough to raise the alarm to my wife.  We agree we need to get him checked out.  Thus ended my training for this morning.  I wonder if I should still sign up Aaron for an OCR volunteer job the first week of October.  I don't want to take anything away from him.  But at the same time I don't want to see him hurt.

Unless you are the parent, family member, or care-giver to someone with autism, you may not understand much of this.  But this is part of the OCRMudmaster's life on a daily basis.  It is a very tough, sometimes frightening obstacle.  It defies every technique I know for OCR.  And I can't burpee out of it.

I know there are a few other parents of autistic children who follow me on FB.  There are a few OCR athletes out there who are autistic.  Your insights and stories are appreciated.  I am feeling defeated.

Passionate, Pissed, or Picky?

Are you passionate, pissed, or picky about your race products?  A recent and frequent posting in the OCR world comes from folks who are all three at once when the dreaded Beachbody troll makes the rounds.  The new Coach is passionate and wants to drum up new members and sell product.  Those on the receiving end are pissed about another unsolicited pitch.  The picky ones like me are in the middle.  We’re careful about who and what we support.

Part of my background includes quality and statistics.  So whenever I try a new product, the seller usually follows up with a satisfaction survey.  Nobody ever gets a perfect “10” for me the first time.  I take the time to explain in the comments box.  If the product is repeatably and reproducibly “perfect” over time, then they get the gold star.  That means my experience and the experience of my peers must be consistently excellent over time.  That’s my criteria for success.  Wait and see and in the meantime I will keep using your product until I am either convinced or you screw something up and I drop you.  Once I am convinced, I will use word of mouth marketing to my best ability.  I will want others to know how great this product is.  Sadly, many others are a bit premature in this approach and their passion outweighs the real benefits or consequences of their product.

Beachbody just happens to have a few products that I love.  Shakeology is not one of them.  P90X and P90X2 are.  The system works.  Tony Horton is a man of his word and lives the system.  I’ve met him and worked out with him.  It may not be for everybody.  But that is your decision.  I’ll just give you the option and lend you a DVD to give it a shot.

I also review products for other companies.  Then I post them online – good, bad, or indifferent.  Same for race venues.  My main motivation is because I like to write and I like to race.  But more than these, I like the feedback so that I know I have helped someone.  That’s why I am also a course volunteer.  I love to be a part of the journey we all take in health, fitness, and training.  Whether big or little, I like to see people smile and get pumped up when they discover the magic of “I can.”  If that feeling comes from a product, a technique tip, or a word of encouragement, I’m all for it.  If that happens online, on the course, or any other time, I want to see more of it.

Here’s the thing.  Find what works for you and use it.  Just be smart and stay away from the junk.  There is nothing new under the sun.  If there were, we’d see the top rankings change hands all the time.  Remember, for most of us, this is about fitness, health, and training.  We’re glad to help friends and family sell things if they are good things.  It’s OK to say “No” sometimes.  We look out for one another in this OCR community to it’s good to keep things out that don’t fit the bill.  There are plenty of products I won’t pitch because I learned the hard way thirty years ago just how harmful some things can be.  Don’t be a guinea pig.  Before you agree to review, just be up front and let the producer know that you will read the label, do some research, and be willing to back out, accept “No”, or accept a negative review if things don’t work out.  We have to be brutally honest if we are going to help each other.

If that is difficult for you then do what I do.  I let my wife be the initial sounding board.  She is the family nutritionist and she is very good at it.  If I get her thumbs up, then I try it.  If she is with me at a race venue and hands me a cup of some new drink or whatever, I try it because I trust her.  I really don’t care who is in the tent, how flashy their sign is, or how much muscle or cleavage they show me.  I encourage you to simply be picky. 

Picky pays off.  Producers want picky consumers.  They want your feedback, your posts, and your word-of-mouth.  They don’t really want your passion or piss because these fade quickly.  But if you engage with your producer, they become friends.  And friends help friends.  In one case, I tried a new recovery powder drink mix.  It passed the wife test.  It passed every workout and OCR test.  I gave it a great review on multiple platforms.  The producer sent me another entire batch of the stuff for free.  How cool was that!

I see people post this kind of story on FB quite often.  They are not lucky.  They are not getting random free stuff.  They are engaged, picky, hard-working athletes looking for the best stuff out there to make themselves better at what they enjoy doing.  I’ll see them on the course long after the passionate ones have vanished.

And then there are some products I make myself like these gorgeous arm compression sleeves made from a cutoff tech shirt!

M80

I like M80s.  You know, those great big firecrackers.  Kind of like cherry bombs.  They are tough to find, especially in a state where they are illegal.  I guess that explains why I haven't had any for 35 years.  Until now.

Last year I designed a training program for taking beginners up to their first OCR.  I called it M80.  It is a 90-day program built on much the same philosophy as the P90X programs that I started with.  The Beachbody formula works so why not copy it right?  Three phases.  Ninety days.  Gradual increase in complexity.  Work to get the participants over those difficult humps.  Lots of encouragement.  Form, form, form.  You get the idea.  You see me write about these things often.  They work.

M80 - that's Mud run training for 80 days in your own home or backyard gym.  Where's the other 10 days?  On the course.

I've been training my youngest son for two weeks now.  I've taken him through the basics and assessed his baseline.  Now I think he is ready for formal training.  He is hungry, motivated, and has set some goals.  In thirty days he wants to be able to do a pullup and a pushup unassisted as well as run five miles.  That's about where I was when I started fitness training about seven years ago as what Aaron calls me, "chubby daddy".

Aaron is my M80 firecracker right now.  As an autistic child, he has locked in on this training.  So that makes it kind of easy.  Because normally his autism side can make things like training extremely difficult if not impossible.  For instance, I still have a concern about mud.  Mud is unpleasant to him.  It can cause him to melt down or freeze, sometimes at the most inopportune moments.  Mud is a sensory issue.  So I will have to wait and see whether mud will dampen the fuze of my M80 boy.  That time will come in October when he will volunteer with me on his first OCR race at ABF Mud Run.  As a volunteer, he'll have the option to opt out if he does not want to do the mud.  But I am sure he will blast through all the rest.

Are you a OCR beginner?  Are you interested in formal training?  If you would like more information about the OCRMudmaster M80 OCR training program, please comment or PM me.  See you on the course.

Are You In or Out?

"Some people just don't belong."  Does that painful statement or ones like it resonate with you?  Well last week it rang out loud and clear for one new Spartan.  It's not the first time I've seen these kinds of comments on Facebook.  It won't be the last.  But it was the first time I saw somebody stand up for themselves.  Her first words in answer to the accusation were, "I'm one of them."  Them.  I grew up being one of them.  The memories still haunt me.  Sometimes it's tough to let go.  I applauded her for her bravery.  I know she'll be on the course again despite the words of others who feel she doesn't belong.

 

This week I started training my youngest son for what will hopefully be his first Spartan next year.  He is fifteen years old and he is autistic.  He can't do one pullup or pushup.  His running flags after about two miles although he can clip along at about a seven-minute pace for that much.  Does he belong out there?  We'll see.  In the meantime, he has had a few choice words for the OCRMudmaster.

 

I reminded him that when I started on my fitness training using P90X, I could not do one pullup and maybe just nine pushups.  What I make look easy now was impossible back then.  "Yea, back then you were chubby daddy," says my oh so blunt son.  Chubby was an extra forty pounds.  He remembers.  But ouch, those words.  We can laugh about it as father and son.  But what he doesn't know or understand is the memories that strike suddenly, the rush of shame, the blush of those same chemicals in my body that create tension, fear, and anger.  It's the same principle as I wrote about some time ago when  yoga teacher showed me how to release body pain from old injuries. 

 

In this case, embrace every bit of those horrible flashbacks - the words, circumstances, feelings, reactions from others like laughs and jeers.  Guaranteed if you did that right now you are also experiencing that moment all over again as if for the first time - the tears, fists balling up, wishing you could run and hide, knowing that someday, somehow, you will show them that you are good, better, the best, than the rest of them.  But that time may be way in the future, or never.  Sometimes these events are so traumatizing that we never let go and never achieve what we truly desire.

 

But you can.  Look deep inside yourself now.  Feel it all.  Remember it all.  Now drop it, forget it, put it all behind you.  Because today you are somebody else.  You are not a failure.  You are not a loser.  You are not the last one to be picked.  You are not picked on, laughed at, beat up, or whispered about.  Now you can look in the mirror and see the winner you wanted to be all your life.  Now you see the sweat, the hard work, the hours, days, months, years.  You no longer fool yourself like when you first started and all you had was ambition.  Now you have results.  Now you have what everybody else wants.

 

The two things you don't have and won't carry around with you though are: one - that old defeated person, and two; a person like those who brought that pain on you so long ago.  No, that will never be you.  You are an encourager, a team player, someone who belongs.  And you want everyone to come along with you no matter who they are or where they are in their fitness training journey.

 

In my years on the course, I could have been one of those who say, "You don't belong."  But then the veteran with one leg would not have gotten up the 14-foot warped wall.  But then the team from Biggest Loser would not have gotten over the 6-foot military walls.  But then the family of untrained first-timers would not have finished the race smiling and ready to come back for another.  The OCRMudmaster encourages you Spartan, TM, WD, BF, to be that person on the course whether as a racer or volunteer who says, "You belong!"

The Season is Not Over Yet

I live in New Jersey, the Garden State.  Burlington County to be more exact.  And there are lots of farms around me.  In particular, there is Hammonton, the blueberry capital of the world.  Nobody grows more blueberries than right here in my backyard.  So I know a thing or two about blueberries.  The variety we all know and love was cultivated by Elizabeth White less than 200 years ago in what is now called Whitesbog, NJ.  They even have a festival named after her and her famous blueberries.

Sadly, the growing and picking season for blueberries just ended this last week.  But Proven-Nutrition has extended that season with their CORE All-Natural Blueberry Flavor drink mix.  The little amount of undissolved solids in this mix is sure proof that there's real blueberries in there.  And it tastes good.  I just hope they are Hammonton berries, and not Michigan!

I received five packets of this stuff last week.  Four of the single serving packets are gone.  Each one was consumed right after a training workout.  Another thing New Jersey is known for this time of year is heat and humidity.  This recovery drink also claims to "sustain mental focus and physical energy", and "replenish electrolytes for endurance and hydration".  I will definitely give it a thumbs up for that.  These were 95-degree plus days with the humidity pushing the heat index into the triple digits.  Drinking this stuff helped me feel great as soon as I got back in.  I have one large 300g package left.  I'm pretty sure when it is gone that I will order some more.

The packaging is good too.  It's biodegradable, vacuum sealed, and has a zip seal to keep it fresh.  I posted a short review earlier this week and got an instant response from one of the owner/developers.  So these people care about their product.  I like that.  Check them out at www.proven-nutrition.com.  Hopefully they will start showing up at race venues and festivals.  Mud runners and OCR folks are going to like this swag.

For comparison, I usually take a packet of Vega mix for my post-race rehydration drink.  I think this CORE blueberry mix does a better job, has an overall better and faster effect, and will definitely be with me at the August 22 Rock Solid finish line.

What Gear is Fair?

There have been a few flareups recently in OCR ranks both at the elite and open levels.  What gear is fair to use on the course?  Opinions very widely.  With no regulations, the only general agreement among all comments I have read is, "Pick up your #$@&* trash!"

My buddy Charles "Jazz" Vassallo, an elite Spartan racer, got reamed for drying off his hands before an obstacle.  He used a t-shirt he found on the ground.  Some athletes called foul.  That's unfair gear.  Use the grass or your shorts or wave your hands in the wind.  But using a t-shirt or a rag you find on the course is an unfair advantage.

I got reamed for replying to an issue this week when somebody asked for advice on rope burns caused by dragging the feet on the Tyrolean Traverse.  I suggested wearing soccer shin guards in reverse beneath compression socks.  Oh the names I was called.  The videos and writeups I got for showing proper technique.  There were a few who liked my idea but they were in the minority.

I wear them for two reasons:  First, after my first attempt on the ABF Mud Run 125-foot rope, my calves cramped so bad because of the cold water crossings just before the rope.  I do the underneath monkey crawl technique.  But that pressure on my heels and calves totally spazzed  my muscles.  So I had the brilliant idea to use the shin guards.  Problem solved.  I don't have the issue of burns because I knew better than to drag.  But honestly folks.  Some of the videos people sent me showed the "proper" technique as dragging the feet while doing all the work pulling with the arms.  Ouch.

The second reason I wear them is similar to the first.  Getting over the top of walls, especially towards the end of some races when I use the leg up technique, there is that compression again.  I have seen so many people cramp and fall off the wall when that happens.  Again, the shin guard totally prevents that from happening.

Are they an unfair advantage?  They certainly don't get in the way.  They are not a hindrance to me in any way.  I am an open class runner so I don't have to worry about the wrath of the elites.

This is an open question friends.  What are your thoughts?  What other gear do you see out there that is questionable?  I'd like to hear all sides.

I'd also like to see as many of you as possible on October 3 at ABF Mud Run where you can put your theories to the test.  ABF was voted one of the top ten small race venues in the country as well as one of the top 5 toughest obstacles by Outside magazine.

Race Review - PA Spartan Sprint Week #2

All races in my family are a family affair.  We support one another.  We show up, cheer, and most importantly, provide route support.  My youngest son Aaron gave me five at the top of Blue Mountain yesterday.  That was great.  My wife and other two sons were there as well laughing and taking pictures of the old man in the mud.  But they also take it seriously and when it's all over, out come the recovery drinks and food.

Because let's face it folks, OCR is a shock to the system no matter how well trained you are.  I've talked a lot about recovery so enough said for now.  What I want to tell you about is how much I love this course.

This is my third year running this location.  It is tough.  Just about every Spartan will tell you that.  This year, the course changed again and the first two miles were just about all straight up.  The initial run out of the gate was wide.  But that quickly transformed into a single-track through the woods the rest of the way up.  Rocky, exposed roots, downed limbs, trees, you name it, the natural obstructions were across every bit of this steep uphill and later downhill run.  This terrain is by far the hardest part of the course except one bit I'll mention later.

After two miles of uphill with only three easy obstacles along the way, you reach the top.  And your first water break.  Over the years I have noticed the Norm Koch strategy coming into play as each obstacle is placed with devious purpose.  The traverse wall is now always after a dip in the mud.  Maximum slippery.  What used to be a no-brainer simple obstacle is now a hold on for dear life.  I slipped and did my thirty burpees.

Thanks to a Super race the week before, a lot of new obstacles showed up for this race.  A short Tyrolean Traverse, a ring rig, a new swimming pond, and a ridiculously long back-to-back downhill then uphill barbed wire crawl.  For whatever reason, I became very nauseous during the swim.  Usually a powerful backstroke is very relaxing while gaining me a lot of time.  But I struggled out of the water not feeling too well.  That only got worse a short time later at the crawl where most people elect to roll.  After two rolls I was ready to blow.  And the wire was too low this year to bear crawl.  So I dragged myself.  This was after mile four where up until this point my time was really good.  But this two-hundred year death zone killed me.

So I decided to post that on FB and say Oh well, next year I will just burpee out of it.  No such thing.  It's a mandatory obstacle.  So I will spend the off season trying to figure out ways to do this without rolling or barfing.  Your suggestions are welcome.  Always improving, right?

If you'd like a comparison to Tuxedo, then I'll tell you that Palmerton is by far much harder.  It's the terrain.  But they are both incredibly fun races.  Which reminds me of my friends who ran both weekends, yes all three races.  And they had plenty of gas for more.  Incredible spirit, power, and ability.  My Mud Smear Award goes to fellow ABF team member Katie Crane Sidoli.  She smiles through it all and she's always ready for more.  Rumor has it she went for an eight-mile ruck this morning.  Wow.

Having family and friends on the course is wonderful.  It's a shame Spartan charges $20 for spectators.  I hope my family got their $80 worth.  I sure did as I got to hear their cheers, encouragement, and help along the way.  Blue Mountain is by far the best venue I know of for spectators to see a lot of the race from top to bottom.  You get to ride the ski lift up where fix or six obstacles are up-close for great photography.  The only downside to that yesterday morning was the mountaintop socked in with fog.  It cleared up later in the morning though.  Down at the bottom, access to probably ten obstacles is perfect for viewing and action shots.

Is it age or was it the killer crawl that knocked my percentages down this race?  I'm used to being in the top ten for age.  I dropped pretty hard to 25th percentile.  I blame it on that wire.  That gives me reason to train.  What other excuse can I offer?  My friend Charles "Jazz" Vassallo podiumed again with a first place finish for Master's Elite.  How many weeks in a row now buddy?  But even he asked in a FB post, "It's getting harder and harder.  What else can I do?"  I know he has all the support from his little girl and the entire Spartan community.

And you know what, we thrive on it.  One person posted yesterday that she had decided to end her life back in February.  But instead, she trained up for and did a Spartan.  And she found new life in a community of new-found friends/family who support her, encourage her, and help her find a purpose.  That's really what OCR is all about.

Us and Them

I mentioned to my wife this morning as I scanned through the Spartan PA results what I suspect many others may have been feeling.  I wish I was there.  I am signed up for the Sprint next week.  At the end of the season last year I planned to do yesterday's Super.  But in the meantime, I learned a few things.

As Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), "A man's got to know his limitations."  But that doesn't mean I have to like it.  I will always push the boundaries to find out what those limits are.  I watch in awe as my peers complete multiple laps of the Super, then do the Sprint the next day (and still podium!), and then do it all again a week later.  Honestly, this OCRMudmaster does one Sprint a month and I'm pretty spent.  Nevertheless, I am pretty happy about my numbers.  I just keep working harder to get better.

There's probably a fine line between excuses and limits.  Sometimes we need someone else to remind us of the difference.  Usually that's my wife.  Her preferred running distance is the half-marathon.  But she is slowly discovering that the 10K is probably her limit.  The deciding factors all come in during training.  Somewhere around the 8-mile mark, breakdowns start to occur.  Injuries.  Chronic issues.  Long-term bad stuff.  Stay below that threshold and everything is A-OK.  Perhaps if we spent a boatload on some sports trainer we could find out why.  But she and I do our things for fun, fitness, and life.

We don't concede such things easily and we're not happy about them, ever.  But we don't give up.  After about six miles of running, I start to have my own issues.  They all stem from injuries sustained long ago.  Things that did not heal well.  Cumulative micro-traumas.  Here's a good one.  I've told you plenty about my L-5 herniated disc.  Well I am so glad to hear that next week's Sprint will not include the log carry that they did at the Super.  I know for a fact that the log carry will probably set off my spine issue through repetitive compression.  No thanks.  I just don't do that obstacle.  My ABF buddy Brian has had five lower back surgeries.  He knows his limitations.  But he was on the course this weekend.  Oh yeah!

Never give up before you find that limit.  Push hard.  Work with a coach.  Pay attention to your body.  Dr. Kevin Gyrina, also an ABF'er and a chiropractor, always reminds us to do this.  I've learned a lot from him.  He is generous to dispense his knowledge and care on the course.  After all, if you want to be an athlete, then that's what you have to keep on doing.  You don't want to get sidelined because of an injury you could have prevented.

For every ten posts I saw this weekend on great races, times, and places, I saw one on injury.  Doing a Spartan is a battle on your body whether you are 20 or over 50 like me.  Serous micro-trauma has taken place.  Equally serious recovery is necessary.  That pre-existing micro-trauma can sometimes turn into injury if not allowed to recover.  Even in the most innocent ways.  Like the one post I saw about a guy who did multiple laps of Super yesterday.  Today he was just playing in the yard with his kids.  Broke his foot.

I think the best advice I can give on knowing and learning your limitations is to just to establish good recovery habits.  Take the day off.  Get a massage.  Foam roll.  Eat well.  Get a lot of sleep.  Just relax.  Unless you are a Navy SEAL in training, then by all means, continue to kick ass.  No one can stop you anyway.

The sky may be the limit for some, but mine is on the ground!

Hill Training for Flatlanders

Yesterday an FB friend posted a complaint about the Spartan World Championship taking place at altitude.  “It’s not fair for people who don’t live and train at altitude,” he said.  As a New Jersey flatlander, I have to take some exception.

Number one pal, read the other FB posts from fellow OCR athletes.  “No excuses!”

Second, here are my flatlander tips on training for altitude. 

I will tell you right up front that as an experienced altitude outdoorsman, there are three major factors to consider from the perspective of an OCR athlete.  Two are obvious – your legs and your lungs.  These two you can train for on flat land and do well at altitude.  I run the Tuxedo and Blue Mountain Spartans with just flatland training.  Some of the podium finishers this year at Tuxedo likewise are flatlanders.  So the advice I give you here is not just from some old guy, it comes from moneywinners like my good friend Charles “Jazz” Vassallo who lives and trains in flat as a sheetcake Brooklyn, NY.

The third, and not obvious factor in altitude training is air pressure.  As a flatlander, there is absolutely nothing you can do about this.  Running “mountains” like Tuxedo and Blue does not really involve this factor.  Get above tree line, say over 9000 feet out in the Rockies, and air pressure is a potential game changer.  This is the factor that can produce altitude sickness.  Not only is there less oxygen up there, but the air pressure delta also affects breathing, equilibrium (inner ear fluid balance), and bloodflow.  Wearing a flow restriction mask does not help you train for these factors.  Only training at altitude can help.  That’s why, for countries that can afford it, they send their Olympic athletes to at-altitude training centers.

That being said, there are a few things you can do on flat field training to help compensate for this last factor.  I’ll mention just one here then move on to the legs and lungs.  Train harder!  Higher intensity.  Way past your comfort zone for breathing.  Make your lungs and blood vessels as big and efficient as possible.  That is all.

I find the best flat land training for hills/mountains to be the tire drag.  Sled pushing is also good.  But sleds are expensive.  I made my own tire drag rig with a tire from the junk yard (free), an heavy gage extension cord (free), and a leather weight lifting belt (had it since I was seventeen).  Tie it up and get going.  Fast.  Long.  Hard.  Add weight.  Find little bumps and rises on wooded trails.  Make it tough.

Now mix it up with footwork.  Hills go up and down and sideways (the fall line).  So besides dragging your tire forwards, turn around and run backwards.  That simulates the downhill run and will burn your quads like you won’t believe.  Now turn to the right and the left to do sideways work.  Simulate that narrow single track trail running where you are constantly turning side to side, up and down.  Do foot crossovers in front and back.  Do shuffle steps.  Go fast, long, and hard, just like you do on the course.

Now for a little technique.  Some people complain that the tire drag hurts their back or core.  So posture is critical here.  The heavier your tire, the more you have to lean in to get moving.  The lean has to be straight body.  Don’t bend at the waist.  That’s where the lower back pain and core issues come in.  Just before you start your run, stand up straight and check your spinal alignment.  Then lean into your run by bending at your ankles.

Next, arm pumping.  Efficient uphill arm pumps have been shown to help improve speed.  So unlike flat or downhill runs where arm pumps can be full swings, do uphill pumps by making sure on the backstroke that your elbows do not pass your body.  On the forward stroke, your fist goes no higher than your chin. 

Finally, use your hips.  Hopefully you at-altitude trainers already know this trick from the ancient native Indians of the mountains.  You walk uphill like a catwalk model.  Swing those hips.  Boxers and martial artists know this too.  Throwing punches with the leading hip maximizes power by all that added mass moving forward.  So run from the hips, not the calves, not the knees, not the upper legs, but by swinging the legs forward using those big, powerful hips.  Rotation happens where the spine meets the hip bones.  So your upper body remains pointed uphill, arms pump in the same direction, but swing those hips to get the whole body moving up.  It is a tough technique to master.  It is best taught by folks who practice what is called chi-running.  Look it up here  Get the book on Amazon here.  Great stuff.

See you on the mountain.

Volunteer or Marshal? What the Future May Hold

Current industry practice uses volunteers to help run OCR events.  Current OCR events are mostly unregulated and unsanctioned.  Liability insurance is the biggest cost and plays a huge role in the lives of all OCR event sponsors.  It's all about risk versus payout potential in the event of something going very wrong on the course.  This post will focus on the specific aspect of three key areas that I believe will become tightly bound in the near future - volunteers (those actually at the obstacles), regulation/sanctioning of the sport, and insurance.

OCR started out wild and many would like it to stay forever wild.  But in the eyes of regulators and insurers, wild means risk.  Risk means cost.  While high cost can keep some of the more wild and risky events out of the game, cost is nonetheless unavoidable for those who remain.  While regulations and sanctioning bodies are surely on the horizon or in the works (think Olympic sport, enforced rules for failed obstacles, and personal equipment/clothing) they're not here yet.  In the meantime, event organizers want to keep costs down by any means possible.  That means that risk has to be managed and lowered in tangible ways, demonstrated through objective, empirical data.

Enough of the technical jargon.  If you want to reduce the risk of injury or death on a given obstacle, I see the following requirements on the horizon:

First, recognize that a large portion of OCR participants are first-timers.  They may be untrained both in fitness as well as on the peculiar mechanics and techniques of obstacles.  In other words, they may be physically and mentally unprepared to do an obstacle.  You can see how the risk factors rise, thereby increasing the likelihood for an injury.  Fact number one: this situation is uncontrollable in OCR as it exists today.  Anyone is allowed to race.  Everyone signs the waiver whether they read it and understand the risks or not.  In terms of risk management, this situation is what you call a "given".

Second, in a similar manner, OCR obstacle volunteers are also in many cases untrained in the mechanics and techniques of obstacles.  I have written about this many times.  However, unlike the race participants, I believe that the volunteer group can be effectively utilized in the reduction of risk on obstacles.  I believe that implementation of the process I am about to describe can result in two very important steps of progress in OCR.  First, through the reduction of risk, insurance costs can also go down.  Second, the process could naturally lead to the kinds of course regulation that many participants, organizers, and sanctioners would find attractive.  We all want the sport to grow.  Implemented and enforced safety through risk reduction activities can help to ensure our sports' future.

Third and finally, understand that when an injury happens on the course, at least two things can result.  First, we all come home with bumps, cuts, and bruises.  But many come home in much worse shape.  Broken bones, lacerations, concussions, and worse.  All too often, these are not reported.  They are left undocumented until the person goes to the doctor sometime later.  The medical journals and other literature indeed show a sharp incline in OCR-related injuries.  Funny things is, the insurance for the race does not pay for this stuff.  That's all on the individual.  

What really hits hard is the potential for catastrophic injuries on the course.  The more risky an obstacle, the higher the cost.  The insurance companies have studied the obstacles and determined the danger level of each.  If you have a lot of barbed wire crawls, electric shocks, ice baths, and other high risk obstacles like this, your insurance costs will rise accordingly.  Then there is the class of obstacles where technique is critical to success and remaining injury free.  Remember, insurance is based on potential.  Potential is partially based on historical data of actual injuries.  There are other factors as well.  But I want to focus  mostly in the injuries due to poor technique.

Because that is how the volunteer gets tied in.  Put a untrained racer on a difficult obstacle with an untrained volunteer and you have three ingredients of risk.  As I said earlier, the untrained racer is a given.  So is the difficult obstacle.  But an untrained volunteer element can be controlled.  And I think it should.

I reiterate this story for purposes of illustration.  On one particular course where I volunteered, there were two log hurdle obstacles.  I was on the second set, probably a mile or so from the first set.  Two racers approached, one in obvious pain.  The other was running full speed at the obstacle.  I stopped him politely and asked him how he was going to accomplish the hurdle.  I knew the warning signs here.  A trained racer knows running up to the log hurdle is the wrong technique.  I'll tell you why.  The first guy, the one in pain, told me he ran up to the first hurdle a mile before, and ended up exactly as I knew he would - flat on his back.  He was certain he broke a rib.  He walked the rest of the course.  But his buddy wanted to finish.  I wanted him to finish too, just not injured like his partner.  So I showed him the simple squat jump muscle up technique of the log hurdle.  He got right over.  His friend said, "I wish the volunteer had showed me that back there.  Then I wouldn't have gotten hurt."

A trained, actively engaging volunteer can help reduce the potential for injury on obstacles.  Reduce the potential, reduce the risk.  Reduce the risk, reduce the cost.  While that may mean one day that volunteers are paid course marshals, that cost could pale in comparison to that of insurance.  If you want an Olympic sport, those marshals are trained, paid, regulators.  They enforce the rules.  But unlike the Olympics, OCR marshals could and should provide reasonable and actual assistance to racers who present potential risk for injury.

There's a lot left unsaid here, many avenues to explore.  But I welcome your thoughts and responses.  Do you agree/disagree?  What direction do you see OCR taking in terms of risk reduction and cost?  Have at it.

Heat Advisory

Heat advisory and poor air quality warning the last two days in my part of the country.  That could make for rotten outdoor training and racing if you are not prepared.  What should you do?

As my good friend Charles Vassallo wrote yesterday, "Hydrate."  Just can't say it enough folks.  Drink lots of water.  The nice thing about water weight is it comes right off by the end of your workout or race.  Water burns easy.  So drink up.  Better to have a slight bulge around the midsection than passed out or cramped up.

My wife didn't want me to go out today.  93 degrees, humid, and smoggy best describe today.  I wanted to do a playground run.  We compromised.  My playgrounds and cabanas are all located on lakes.  Oh yeah.  I live in Medford Lakes.  We have twenty-two of them in our little two square mile boro.  Three of them are conveniently on my training circuit.  So I added them right in.

Lakes make great leg workouts.  The resistance is phenomenal.  You can adjust it by how deep you go.  Run forwards, backwards, sideways, leg over leg.  Then get down and do some flutter kicks.  And then, while your hands are good and wet and slick, get up on the beams and do some hangtime for extra grip strength training.

While everybody else is out playing volleyball or tending their little tykes in the shallow end, I made grand use of my natural surroundings.  At the same time, I stayed nice and cool in this otherwise too hot day.

The last two years I ran the PA Sprint at Blue Mountain in the late afternoon.  Both times were really hot.  If you've run a Spartan, you know water stations may be sparse on the course.  And sometimes they yell at you for taking a second cup!  But again, as my buddy Charles says, it's hardly worth it to carry a Camelback on a Sprint.  Just hydrate properly before and after the race, take what they hand out if you need it, and then, as I figured out at Tuxedo two weeks ago, I slowly suck on a Sports Bean.  That keeps the saliva flowing, my mouth moist, and my breathing passages open.  I double bag them and keep them in a SpiBelt.

Oh, and Medford Lakes also has this really cool event every August called Canoe Carnival.  Just another great use of the lake on a hot summer night.

Blind in one eye

My grandfather had a lot of sayings.  Whenever he couldn't find something, and then there it would be right in front of his face, he would say, "I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other."  I feel like that sometimes.  Maybe it was that kick in the face last week at Tuxedo.  Maybe it's my bionic eye (as my eye doctor likes to call my crystal lens replacement after cataract lens replacement).  But for the past few years I have been doing what I call "playground runs" for OCR training.  The equipment there can simulate a lot of obstacles.

I thought I had seen everything and used every possible playground object out there.  But after ABF Mud Run added "Black Ops" to their course last year, I needed to add beam traverse training.  Well wouldn't ya know that right next to my playgrounds were these gigantic wooden cabanas with exposed beams.  Perfect for me.  Been there all the time.  I even helped build some of them.  But until that race, I never used them except for shade.

Then it happened again in April.  ABF added two rigs to the course.  They sent me to the penalty box and I was not happy about that.  The bars were no problem.  But the chain grips got me.  So last night as I was trying to decide what to do on my run this morning, I chose the playground run.  Then it occurred to me that there was something I had missed, even though it had been there all the time.  Yep, I was blind in one eye and couldn't see out the other.  Swingsets!

I was almost ready to go to the hardware store and drop $5 a foot for chains to hang in my backyard gym.  Not gonna happen.  These playgrounds are loaded with chains on those swings.  Perfect.  And right in front of my face.

So now I'm thinking that I have to get ahead of the game.  What other obstacles have I not seen yet?  When will they pop up on some course and surprise me?  You see what I mean.  I need eyes in the back of my head.  I need eyes to see the future.  I need to see these obstacles and start training for them before they see me and gobble me up.  I hate to fail new obstacles on a course.

I know it's bound to happen.  My devious friend and obstacle designer Larry Cooper will see to it.  Oh well.  Keep training my friends.  Keep your eyes wide open.

2015 Spartan Sprint Tuxedo Race Re-Cap

The 8:15 wave took off to the usual fanfare and motivation.  But the smokebomb was missing.  And for that I give you my sincere thanks.  It was not an obstacle.  It was a toxic health hazard.  Following that huge plus, there were plenty more to come on this perfect morning for a race.

That blissful state was almost ruined at obstacle #3 when at the top, some guy accidently kicked me in the face, knocking my contact lens out.  That could have been terrible trouble navigating the single track without stereo vision.  Fortunately the lens was still there miraculously and moved back into place.  A DNF for something like that would have sucked.  I guess I would have walked but…who knows.

By far the toughest obstacle out there was the terrain.  The steep, rocky, uneven single track was very technical and extremely fun.  And there were miles of it.  I’m glad I was in an early wave so that I could run this at full pace, not stuck in mule pack lines of the nearly 6000 runners who competed.  I learned that lesson last year after suffering a 20 minute delay at the last obstacle just because I had to wait in line.

There were a few new obstacles I have not seen at Spartan.  The rig was a three-section apparatus with an incline bar, four rope knots, and a horizontal bar.  It was difficult given its strategic placement after a muddy barbed wire crawl making the grips almost non-existent.  The Z-Traverse was also tough given its slippery placement right after another barbed wire crawl.  Kudos for that.  I slipped on both of these, did my thirty burpees each, and powered on.  They were my only two fails for the day.  Lesson learned – train with wet, muddy gloves.  Seriously.  Maybe I could keep my hands out of the mud if I could roll through the wire like other people.  But I get horribly dizzy.  Any suggestions?

There were lots of volunteers out there and most were vocal and helpful.  Likewise, the photographers seemed well-engaged.  Unfortunately, and this is my only negative, the fan viewing area was limited to the bottom of the course.  No chair life rides to the top.  Still, it was nice to have a few encounters with my support team down there amid the cheering throngs.

I enjoyed seeing some of my friends out there, and thrilled especially to see Charles “Jazz” Vassallo podium twice in a row in the elite master’s division.  There’s over a decade of age between us though and given the profiles of yesterday’s top placers, I have to wonder why Spartan set their elite master’s age beginning at 40.  In running races, that age is typically 50.  Heck, the top male open division finisher came in at an elite pace and he was 55.  Spartan needs to recalibrate their brackets.

The obstacles were well built, well placed, and well manned.  Some of them, particularly the cargo webs, were almost too good.  They were so tight that they were more like climbing ladders.  Loosen them up like they used to be.  Make them tough and challenging again.

Put a catch net at the finish line too.  After the fire jump, the track was so steep I had a hard time stopping.  It was also very rocky with loose scree.  So it was tough to dig in and stop.  I flew right past the guy with my medal and the people with the scissors who wanted to snip my timing chip bracelet. 

I loved this race and was very well prepared for it.  The tire drags all winter long in flat South Jersey paid off.  I shall return next year.

Medford Lakes Memorial Day 5K Race Re-Cap

Aside from the true meaning of Memorial Day (never forget), three other great events also happened yesterday.  First, a re-cap of the Medford Lakes Memorial Day 5K.  Although this is a very old race, it has only become USATF-certified a few years ago.  This, along with the beautiful course through the lakes and forests of this little boro in South Jersey, attracts a very fast class of runner.  Of the 146 who participated, I’d estimate that better than 80% of them finished in the 20’s.  The returning #1 male winner regularly completes in the mid-teens.

But the real thrill yesterday was three-fold:  Two of my sons ran.  This was the first race for my eldest.  He and a friend completed in 32.  They are training for a 25-mile, 3-day hike of Devil’s Pass next month.  My youngest also ran it in 26.  I hope one day he’ll realize what a runner he could become with practice and coaching.  The other highlight was just the overall experience of the race directed by my wife.  She makes it look easy.  Maybe 146 runners sounds light.  But she also directs a race in November that attracts nearly 1000 runners.  Finally, a good friend and professional sports photographer Bob Mulholland contacted us at the last minute that he would be in town and wanted to shoot our race.  We were delighted to have him on the course and awards ceremony.  And it's always great to have South Jersey Race Timing on board.

www.medfordlakescolony.org/memorialdayrun.html

www.sjtiming.com

The second cool thing about yesterday was the OCR crowd on Facebook.  I see so many men and women running the Murph.  That was a great honor to a fallen hero.  Some folks did it at body weight while others wore a weighted vest from 10 to 40 pounds.  I saw times as hot as 38-minutes and none over an hour.  What fantastic effort.  I also saw some folks building backyard obstacles.  This is the caliber of athlete that we see more and more out on the course.  This sport is real and I love being a part of this gang.

The last thing was for me a huge deviation in training.  I got on my bicycle again after about three years off as I dove into OCR full time.  I switched from thousands of road miles a season to hundreds of trail miles.  But a minor injury has running to the sideline.  So why not pick up the bike to keep the cardio going?  Spartan Tuxedo is this weekend so riding the hills was the next best thing to running.

I hope you all enjoyed your extended weekend, trained hard, remembered in tears, thanked your local vets, and hugged a Gold Star mom.  Stay strong, brave, and humble.

Fear This

Sometimes recruiting newbies to OCR can be difficult.  One young lady assured me that she was a runner and was interested in doing her first mud run this season.  She asked me how to train up.  I told her to do "the Murph".  That was the last I heard from her.  Later she told me that it was just too intimidating.

What is there to fear about "the Murph"?  For those of you who don't know what it is, here ya go:

Run a mile.  Then do 100 pullups, 200 pushups, and 300 air squats.  Then run another mile.

I even explained to her how to break it down into doable chunks of 10-20-30 in series.  Then I noticed her funny look and explained how to break it down into easier moves by using resistance bands, knees, and all the other tricks that everyone can use to build up to it over time.  She was a no go.

Why did I suggest "the Murph" to a newbie?  Because, as I have mentioned many times before in this blog, those three moves are done repeatedly on the course.  The only change I would make is doing muscle ups instead of pushups.  Don't believe me?

8-foot military wall - squat jump then pullup then muscle up

Log hurdle - squat jump then muscle up

Warped wall - big jump then a pull up and a muscle up

Rope climb - lots of pull ups

Inverted wall - squat jump then pull up then muscle up

Destroyer (an ABF exclusive) - squat jump then pull up then muscle up

Shall I continue or do you get the idea?  Do "the Murph".  It will make most obstacles a breeze.

If the Glove Fits....

...or in my case, the glove.  I bought a pair of gloves for OCR.  A five-dollar pair I spotted at Bass Pro Shops.  Heck, I figure, if they stick to fish, they'll stick to anything.  Two problems people: First, they tended to slide off when traversing the beams.  And second, they did not stick at all on the rigs.  I don't know why.  But I was sure shocked to find out in the middle of a race two weeks ago.  I thought I had just slipped.  Nope.  Bad gloves.

Gloves need to fit.  So if the gloves fit, wear them.  They should be snug.  The grip material needs to grip hard but not stick stuck.  One guy told me today his gloves did that.  He could not release to get to the next hand hold.  The gloves need to drain.  They will get wet.  So don't try wearing full rubber gloves from under the kitchen sink.  I also learned that the glove should have a wrist wrap.  That will help to minimize the slippage problem like I had on the beam.

But here's another thing folks.  Equipment problems will be even bigger problems if you let them.  The slipping gloves became a distraction.  So during practice today that distraction helped cause me to drop off the obstacle.  No big deal today.  But on race day that would be a penalty - burpees or whatever.

So if the glove fits, then make sure it really fits.  Try out your equipment under extreme conditions like you will see on the course.  Don't wait until race day to find out the issues.

Today marked three weeks since the ABF Mud Run.  Two more weeks until the Spartan Sprint at Tuxedo.  Are you in full training mode?  I lost a whole week of training this week due to getting a late season flu and brutal allergies.  If I hit 80% today I was lucky.  Sometimes our human bodies don't perform the way they were designed.  Sickness, injury, and other things can often impede our success on the course.

But it's the only bodies we have.  So if they fit, wear them.  Just keep them as fit as possible at all times.  On the course today we learned a few other valuable lessons I want to share with you.  First we did some obstacles in the order we are used to doing them on the course.  Then we turned around and did them backwards order.  Mind-blowing.  I loved it.  Threw me out of the routine.  Took my mind off my recovery.  Change your workout routines.  Don't get comfortable.  You never know what will be around the corner.

I got to try out a lot of technique on the rigs today.  Some worked.  Some did not.  We spent a lot of time on the parallel bar teaching people to do a muscle up.  When I mentioned I had one of those in my backyard, one of the new guys was shocked.  Then he thought about it and said, "I gotta get me one of those!"  Lesson - make your backyard or your schoolyard playground your gym and practice the three basic OCR moves to perfection.  Pull up.  Muscle up.  Jump squat.  We practiced these over and over today.  I was not shocked at how few people understood much less were able to execute.  Mix everything else up but keep these three constant.  You will need them on almost every obstacle.

Having ABF Mud Run near my home is a blessing.  I get to work out on one of the best courses in the country almost any time I want to.  Some folks come from over two hours away to practice with us.  I was thrilled to see that probably half of the 30+ people there this morning were newbies.  That means growth.  Many of them were kids.  One kid in particular ran with the elite group.  He was a natural.  I hope he inspires his friends and family.  In addition to helping local charities, ABF exists for this reason as well, to help everybody be the most inspiring, most fit, and most fun in their lives.  ABF fits me like a glove.