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How I won the 2002 Nova USA obstacle course
By Wendy McCaffrey
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Part I: Training Your Brain
I'm certainly not the best athlete on the field. I'm not the fastest, not the strongest, not the most agile or flexible.
The day before obstacle course training at my first fitness camp, we ran agility drills and sprints on the grass. In every heat I straggled behind everyone else. All fifty girls at camp beat me in the 50-yard dash.
So how come the next day I blew everyone away by outrunning the next-closest competitor by at least five seconds on the obstacle course?
I believe it's because my greatest asset on the course is mental strength. Genetically, I'm an athletic disaster. I don't think anyone in my family has participated in sports for over five generations. However, we are a very clever and logical family.
My body may not work as well as everyone else's, but I make up for it with brainpower.
Let me try to explain: in an obstacle course, you must combine speed, agility and strength to move through a series of apparatuses in the quickest time. You can use your power to barrel through the obstacles, or you can use your speed and agility to hustle through them, but if you don't combine all three of those elements with some mental strategy you will not succeed.
Your toughest obstacle: Transitions
The toughest obstacle in any course is the transition space between the different pieces of equipment. That means the short sprints in between the cargo net and wall, or between the water carry and the over-unders. Or the places where the course makes a sharp turn and you have to immediately drop your center of gravity and pick up some heavy object to drag it.
The key to succeeding on the course is to not only nail every obstacle, but to key in on the spaces between the obstacles.
I'll explain later how to train your body for the transitions. But first, let's train your brain.
Step One: Know your course
The two main obstacle course competitions for fitness competitors are the Nova --formerly known as the Galaxy -- and the Women's Tri-Fitness. Lori Ann Lloyd, a former Galaxy gal, also runs a series of obstacle course races from her training camp in Florida.
You can get a preview of the courses at their websites: galaxycompetition and womenstri-fitness.
Most obstacle courses will consist of a 15-foot cargo net and a 10-foot rope wall. They also usually include over-unders, hurdles and short sprints. They may contain heavy object drags or carries, monkey bars, rope grids or tires, balance beams, and even crawling on the ground.
Each competition is a little different. Even within the Nova Fitness Federation, the courses can change from year to year and even from show to show. The best way for you to begin preparing is to find out which obstacles will be in your competition and - very important - in what order those obstacles will appear.
As I mentioned, sometimes they may throw you a loop and toss in a new obstacle, or switch the order of the course on you. But for the most part, it's good to have as close an approximation as possible of what your actual course will look like.
Here's why:
Step Two: Picture yourself running the course
The fancy word is "visualization." I learned how to use this technique for the first time when I was 10 years old. For two summers my dad tried to teach me how to water ski. I just could never get the hang of popping out of the water and standing on those two slippery boards.
So for the entire winter before my tenth summer, I closed my eyes before I went to sleep every night and envisioned myself floating up out of the water and onto those skis. I pictured myself skiing in perfect form: arms held perfectly straight, body leaning back, knees slightly bent, big beaming grin on my face.
When summer came, I put on my skis and the first time I yelled "Hit it!" to Mom driving the boat, I popped out of the water like a cork and skied three times around the lake without falling. I even jumped the wake a few times.
My parents were amazed.
Over the years I've used the technique many times: in showing horses, performing on stage in singing and piano, and learning how to downhill ski.
Now here's how you apply it to the obstacle course. First, memorize the order of the obstacles. Then close your eyes and picture yourself running the course. Hit every obstacle perfectly in your mind every time. You can even hold a stopwatch in your hand and time your "mental run."
Example: when I practice the wall in my mind, I know I will hit the wall with my right leg and grab the rope with my right hand above the third knot. I know that next I will bring my left leg up the wall and rapidly fire my hands left-over-right up the rope. I know that my third move will be to fling my right leg over the top of the wall, grabbing the top board with both hands and vaulting off to land on both feet with knees bent.
Now when I hit the wall in person I don't have to think about my technique. My mind already knows it and instructs my body what to do. You should know exactly how you're going to hit each obstacle before you get to the course. Don't decide the day of the show how you're going to get over the wall.
I run my course two or three times a night in my mind before I go to sleep. I also do it sometimes just sitting at a traffic light or when my wind wanders off during a particularly boring committee meeting at work (don't tell my boss!)
Visualizing can also be a great motivator while you're doing your treadmill workout (we'll discuss your treadmill workout more in part II of this series). You can imagine yourself running up a mountain or, if you have a more playful imagination, chasing down a criminal to save the world. It keeps your mind occupied away from the fact that you're actually stuck indoors on an electric machine.
Step 2-1/2: Make flashcards
This goes along with visualizing. I have flashcards with one tip for each obstacle. With the wall, it's "pull close" because I tend to lean too far backwards. For the rope grid, it's "pocket to chin" to remind me to pump my arms from my hips to my chin. On the water carry, it's "lunge forward" because I need to get low to place the jugs on the line.
After you memorize your flashcards and practice your tips while you're running the course in your mind, they will eventually seep into your brain and become automatic thoughts when you're actually on the course.
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Step three: Practice meditating
I know some of you are going to skip this section because you think meditation is way to out there for you. Meditation isn't only for hippies and tree-huggers; it's a great technique for any athlete.
At my last fitness show, I saw girls who were so agitated backstage before the swimwear round that their hands were shaking. I watched them work themselves up so badly with nerves before the obstacle course that they were exhausted by the time they took the starting line.
I showed this technique to one of the newcomers this year. I took her to a quiet corner of the competitors' area and had her sit cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed. Then I talked her gently through a series of yoga-breathing exercises (yes, in through the nose, out through the mouth, just like the karate kid). I had her zero her mind on one body part at a time and told her to just focus on that part - say, her ankles - until she felt them start to tingle.
After 10 minutes of working through her entire body, she was completely at ease and her tensed muscles had relaxed. She said she never would have gotten through the obstacle course without that exercise.
The mediation exercise I led her through brought her mind and body onto the same track. You can easily learn this technique. There are many ways to do it. Take a yoga class, or buy a meditation tape or CD and practice it quietly on your own.
I recommend Ali MacGraw's Yoga Mind and Body video. For meditation, read Dr. Jon Kabat-Zin's book Wherever You Go, There You Are and buy his companion book-on-tape set, Mindfulness Meditation.
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 Ali MacGraw: Yoga Mind & Body
 
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
 
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation in Everyday Life (2 Cassettes)
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Step Four: Your practice run
Before every obstacle course contest you'll have a chance to run through the course a few times. Usually you get just 15 or 20 minutes and the course is crowded with other girls.
Do not interact with them, chitchat or offer advice. This is a time you need to be selfish and focus on your own body and mind. You can watch the other girls and see where they make mistakes or use good strategies if you want.
I use my practice time in a variety of ways. I get to know the quirks of the course - sometimes the knots in the rope wall may be higher or lower than I'm used to, or the cargo net may have a little sag to it. One of the water jugs may be lighter than the other.
I also practice the transitions between each obstacle. If I know I have four steps between the cargo net and the wall, then I know I need to take off from the net on my right foot so I can launch myself off my left foot at the base of the wall.
By knowing your footing ahead of time, you'll avoid having to do what Lori Ann Lloyd calls a "step-de-do" before an obstacle. Those cute little numbers can slow you way down.
At a recent Nova show, a surprise obstacle cropped up: four flat boards in a staggered pattern after the balance beam. The boards were in a different pattern for each of the two lanes, so I learned quickly that I'd have to take off on either my left or right foot depending on which lane I was in.
Since I knew I'd probably never remember which foot I needed to take off with, I positioned a friend outside the course right by the beam so he could yell "Right foot! Right foot!" at me while I ran.
Once I've run through all of the transitions, I do one entire run-through of the course. Then I stop. You don't want to overdo it and tire out your mind or body during the warm-up.
Step Five: Looking one obstacle ahead
OK, I'm finally getting to the good stuff: running the obstacle course.
If you don't have an obstacle course to practice on - and let's face it, most of us don't - you can still practice getting from obstacle to obstacle. As I mentioned earlier, this transitioning is the toughest part of running the course and it separates the top 10 from the rest of the pack.
Here's how I do it: I always look ahead. My mind is always one obstacle ahead of my body. When my body is coming down the cargo net, my mind is already thinking ahead to how I'm going to get over the wall.
When you're climbing the wall, don't look down at your feet. Look up at the top of the wall. On the over-unders, don't look at the floor; look at the next hurdle.
The best analogy I can give is in downhill skiing. For those of you who don't ski or snowboard, this lesson may be lost on you. When you a "tree run," you don't look at the trees. You look at the spaces between the trees. If you look at the trees, you're going to crash into them! (been there, ouch).
When you ski moguls (hard mounds of snow), you don't look at the mogul you're on top of; you look at least one or two moguls ahead and plan your route down the mountain. The sport moves so fast that if you don't look ahead, one tricky mogul is going to sneak up on you and flip you over on your back (been there too, double ouch).
You can practice by setting up your own mini course using whatever you can find. Be creative. Go out to the playground or track and set up a couple of jumps, a series of cones you have to weave through, some tennis balls you have to stoop and pick up, stairs to run up and down, or even drop and do push-ups. Run your course, focusing on moving really fast between your obstacles.
Step Six: Block out most of the world
… but not all of it. You need to learn how to distinguish the voices you need to hear from the distracting voices you don't need. There will be a lot of cheering and confusion going around you. Some contests play techno music while you're running the course. I always listen for Pete, my boyfriend: he shouts at me, "Drive, drive, drive," which reminds me to sprint fast between every obstacle. He also shouts out instructions at me, such as "right foot" or "high knees."
You also need to listen to your lane judges. They will tell you if you committed a penalty and need to repeat an obstacle. If you ignore or don't hear to lane judge, you could be disqualified from your run.
In some races, you will have another girl running next to you in the other lane. You must learn to block her out, as well. Don't worry about what she's doing or whether she's on your tail or far ahead of you. The o-course is mainly a race of you against the course, not you against other people.
This doesn't mean isolate yourself in a corner and never speak to anybody. Half the fun of competing is getting to know the other competitors and the audience. I always crack a lot of jokes because it relaxes me and everybody else. I watch the other girls and cheer them on. I want everybody to do her absolute very best, even if it means she is going to beat my time.
For me, the obstacle course is all about being the best that I can be, not about being the best that there is.
Good luck, and may the course be with you (OK, that was corny. Sorry).
wendymccaffrey.com
Email Wendy
Look for "Part II: Training your Body" coming soon.
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