Goal 2 of 3 PASS: Faster than the 18 year olds, faster than ever.

 

This was a big day that I have been working towards for a long time.  In the end I met my goal of 100% on my PT test.  I was ready.  The only real challenge of the day was the weigh-in first thing in the morning.  I hopped on the scale and was exactly were I needed to be, 194 lbs.  If I would have come in heavy, I would have simply went and ran until the scale  read what I needed, but luckily that didn't happen.  

After the weigh-in it was time for push-ups.  40 was required, I did 50.  Then came crunches.  I needed 47 for max points, I got 52 in 60 seconds.  This is not an easy task and I can't imagine doing them much faster.  

The run was the last obstacle of the day and I needed to run 1.5 miles in less than 10:21.  I already knew I would make that time with no problem.  Three months ago I ran it 10:18 and a little over a month ago I made it in 9:41.  The new goal I had been training for was 9:36.  Why this time?  It happens to be the  time needed for an 18 year old Airman to get max points.  

I had the forethought to give my lap split times needed to my PT monitor who was nice enough to keep me posted on my time after every lap.  I started the first lap at almost a sprint and when I went past the monitor I heard him say "10" something.  I didn't know if that meant 10 seconds slow or 10 seconds fast so all I could do is keep it up till the next lap.  This time I heard him say "you're doing good, about 10 seconds ahead of time", Great news!  I kept on chugging.  Lap 3, lap, 4, and on lap 5 I slowed down a bit without realizing it.  For the last lap I kicked it into gear.  My legs wanted fly out from under me but my chest was burning and wanted to stop breathing.  As I rounded the last turn I just thought about all the preparation I had done for this run and how it was all coming down to these last 20 or so steps.  I dug deep, sprinted it out, and it was over.

 

After I crossed the finish line i kept running slowly for a cool down.  I was surprised to find that about half-way through lap I had already gotten my breath back.  It was like my body was saying "whew, that was a tough hill, glad it's over and we're ready for more."  It was a nice feeling. 

In the end my time was 9:27!  Once again the fastest I have ever ran and almost 10 seconds faster than the time needed for an 18 year old.  I said in an earlier post that not every day is a good training day.  Today was a good day.  Today was my day.