What is it about obstacles that makes them so tough? Obviously there is the physical aspect. Some require sheer brute strength. But others are just downright scary and intimidating. Usually they involve height or water or both. When the fear factor is introduced, the physical can become almost impossible. How many racers have you seen freeze at the base of an obstacle in absolute fear? Happens all the time. Here's my advice and technique for overcoming one of the most difficult obstacles on the course - the voice of fear in your head.
Fear is very real. I know. I have experienced it. I watch those videos of people who bungee jump from bridges over water. No way. Cold sweat. Great height and water are a no go combo for me. But take one of them away and I am fine. Bungee jump over solid ground? No problem. Swim across great expanses? Sure. Just no high dives thank you. Now I'm sure some devil will put this nasty twosome on a course just to get me.
The first key to getting fear out of the way is to turn this emotional reaction into a physical reality that works in your favor. One common obstacle that racers are afraid of is the stump jump. These are logs stuck in the ground a few feet high, spaced apart. You step or jump from one to the next, landing your feet on a rather small target. It's scary because it's high off the ground. Really? It's only maybe three feet up. Right. That doesn't help.
What's the difference between those stumps and stepping across the same level pavers in your garden? Three vertical feet. Nothing else. But that height factor introduces a threat factor in our brains before we even ascend the first stump. "What if I fall." How do you get rid of that and take the first step up?
Start by practicing on the level garden pavers. Do it just like you would on the course. Stand up straight. Lock your core. Step from one to the next like you are doing lunges. And most important of all, look ahead at your foot target and nothing else. Learn to fix your gaze on where your foot will land. Do not look where your foot will travel during the transition over empty space.
The human eye to brain connection is a fascinating thing. In the darkness, the eyes will always zero in on even the faintest light source. The body will react in turn by automatically following that light. The same holds for heights. The eye/brain, automatically looks for a stable foothold. The head and body follow. "Oh, the firm ground is down there?" Well there you go, straight down to a failed obstacle. Fix your eyes on the little target.
It helps to get in the zone here. For these kinds of obstacles, I can honestly say that my eye training is so good that I literally see nothing else. Call it tunnel vision. It's great in these kinds of situations. Terrible in tactical situations where full-circle awareness is needed. That's a different kind of training altogether. Go to SEAL camp for that.
So start with the pavers on level ground. Then move up to bricks. Gradually increase the height of your footholds until you have perfected your eye to brain to feet coordination. Then you have successfully transformed an emotional obstacle into just another aspect of a physical obstacle. And that my friends you can beat every time.
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