PT Test

For those who don't know (you know, those imaginary people that I imagine read this blog, or even know about it), I have been in the Army Reserves for almost 11 years now (actually, one month from Sunday will be 11 years), and have passed the physical training test a total of... 2 times. Ok, maybe 3.

The first time was at the end of Basic Training where you HAVE to pass to graduate. I may have passed about 3 years after that (again, it was so long ago, I'm not really sure if I ever did). And the third (possibly only second) time I passed was a few years ago (2007? Maybe?) and even then, I didn't REALLY pass... I missed the run time by about 20-30 seconds, so they gave me the extra seconds so I'd have a "GO" on my record.

Now, the nice thing about getting older in the Army is that one's standards gets less rigorous. Not by much, I'll grant you that, but it is awfully exciting to be able to say that you're in the next age bracket when it comes to how much you have to do. When I started, being in the age group 17-21, I had to run 2 miles in 18:54, do 19 push ups in 2 minutes, and 53 sit ups in 2 minutes. Now that I'm in the 27-31 age bracket, I get a whopping 20:30 to run 2 miles, have to do 17 push ups and only 45 sit ups.

That may not seem like it makes a huge difference, but trust me, it does. At least mentally.

Now that my unit is under a new command, they have been buckling down on our paperwork (hah), and our personnel files. Which means they have uploaded all the important stuff to the "system." Which means they (the people in charge) actually SEE who has been passing or failing PT tests. If you fail, your record gets "flagged." That's bad. Once you are flagged, you have a certain amount of time in which to retake the PT test, and pass. Or else.

Or else what, you ask? Well, for one, you can be kicked out of the army for not upholding the physical standards. That doesn't seem so bad for me, seeing as how this isn't really a career choice. BUT, they can also take back any awarded bonuses. By signing the contract, one is 'promising' to abide by all USAR standards, PT being one of them. Fail PT, and you may have to pay back that awesome re-enlistment bonus you got 3 years ago (and by "you" I really mean "me").  I have been working hard. I do NOT want to have to pay back $15,000 to the military, of which I only saw about $11K after it got taxed. That money is gone, as are my old student loans that it paid off.

For the past 2 days (today included) I have run the 2-mile within a passing time. Today just barely, but it was still passing! I have also been regularly knocking out 45 sit ups in a 2 minute time frame with no problems. Push ups I've never had a problem with, though I did practice those as well.

This is getting a little long, so I'll try to wrap this up.  The PT test is tomorrow, Saturday the 24th. I consider myself "on track" for passing. The only problem is having to get up at the ass-crack of dawn to go take it. I've been running about 4 hours after I wake up, after I've had breakfast, finished my coffee, worked a bit, etc. and THEN gone out. This cannot happen tomorrow morning unless I wake up at midnight and pretend that 5AM is really noon. SO, we shall see what happens.

I am confident, for once, about the sit up portion. I really do think I can pass that. The run, though I did run it under 20:30 the past 2 days, is another story. I am really going to have to push myself and ignore the fact that my legs will be tired. And the fact that I have a legion of blisters on my left heel.