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.