Ok, so this title has very little to do with this post, other than it's the title of a cadence I listen to while running. (What can I say, it keeps my speed AND my motivation up...)
So, we had our winter PPT (Physical Proficiency Test, or something such...) this morning. I didn't pass, but I did a whole lot better than I expected. Especially considering I was slightly hurt--I messed up my calf on Monday, and the nurses messed my arm up when I tried to give blood (I have a HUGE bruise and my arm is pretty stiff)--and haven't been sleeping well all week.
The only event I didn't actually improve on is the 20 meter shuttle run, which has always been my nemesis. I got to level 7 or 7.5 (I wasn't really paying attention...) on that, which is the same as I got back in September. However, I improved pushups (just 35--I was hoping to get to 40), situps (68--I'm hoping to get to 75 next time), the standing long jump (193cm, with the passing score being 195--last semester I got around 180cm), and the agility run (17.9, with the passing score being 17.8--last semester I was above 19 seconds).
All in all, it gets me to 212 points, compared to 174 last semester. That's 38 points, or 22%. Pretty good, I'd say, though about 20 of those points came from the 1sec improvement on the agility run. Also, just getting a pass on the 20MSR will get me almost 20 more points, and both the long jump and the agility run will get me about 5-10 more points each. I intend to improve on the situps and pushups as well, so by next time (not the retest next week, though, sadly) I should pass everything AND pass on points.
It's a bit of a relief, because the new rules, though it's really fuzzy as to their application to those of us already in the middle of third year, state that you must pass a PPT in third and a PPT in fourth year, or show "marked improvement." I haven't passed, and I doubt I can make up 2 full levels on the beep test (20MSR) in six days, but if that's the only thing I have left to pass, coupled with a 20+% improvement, I think that'll be a good start.
Another thing that went fairly well today was that I got to have a short, informal, impromptu conversation with the Commandant. It was short and I was pretty nervous--talking to a General when you're a NCdt tends to do that to people--but it was good to know the top is listening, even if sometimes there's a bit of a communication problem between where I'm at and where he's at. Such is the nature of the beast, I guess, the head doesn't quite know what the hands are doing.
Anyway, I don't think I'll pass the next PPT, but I'm hoping that my improvements on every other area will allow me to focus on improving the run, and maybe even allow me to do stuff that will actually help me run a 20MSR, like sprints and intervals, vice running 5K (25laps) but having to slow down after the first K because I'm not a runner.
Ah well, here's to getting to that elusive 250!
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