My first 'excellent'

I took my fit test today. Despite being sick the last two weeks with a nasty cold I decided to push through it and I'm glad I did. It amazes me how the word 'test' can cause panic among most- myself included. I've been preparing for this exact test since November 2009, yet my nerves had my stomach turning, my palms sweating and my whole body shaking (I could blame that on the cold, but I know it was nerves).

I love the saying 'practice makes perfect.' It is so true. There was one other young lady testing with me and she told me how much she hated push-ups. When her office would do them during the day she would run and hide. She tried to say she was often too busy to do them. I told her about my training plan and that it only took me 2 minutes a day to do them. I could confidently tell her that with minimal daily preparation I was confident I'd meet my minimum number. Sadly she didn't pass her push-ups, but she now knows what she needs to do...and running and hiding isn't the answer.

This was my best fit test score ever. 96.4- an excellent. My waist measured at 31 (and by the way- I found out there is no more BMI score, just the waist measurement); I did 25 push-ups (woohoo!), 45 sit-ups and completed my run in 12:11. The run still isn't quite where I want it to be. I'm certain I can get it down to 11:45, but for not being able to breathe very well I'll accept that time today.

I'm taking two weeks off for vacation and an inspection and then I'm getting right back on the horse. You can't rest on your laurels even for a moment. Besides feeling healthy, fit and strong is so much better than the alternative- and that's a feeling I intend to keep well past the high of an excellent PT score.

The sun continues to shine...

Its been a minute since I last blogged. I went home on leave, found 3 of the 8 pounds that I lost and, thankfully, lost them again. I'm trying to stay focus as I near the date for my test. I'm due in October but I think I'll shoot for a couple of days earlier - since there's so much going on over the OCT timeframe. My eating habits remain on course. Still trying to consume as much fruit as possible for breakfast (this is really a chore... have you ever eaten a bag of grapes for breakfast, then went for a 4 mile run? There's a reason I stay inside on the treadmill - close to the latrine!!); a healthy lunch and fruit or small salad for dinner. I've lost an additional 1.5 lbs (in addition to the 3 that were found...). I'd like to lose another 5 or so to reach my ideal weight. By the way, not only am I now breathing in my blues, I actually have room for comfort... ahhhh!

Till next time!!

Sweet success!

I ran my first 10K (6.2 miles) this past weekend at the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. My goal was to do it in under an hour. Unfortunately I was sick with some type of crud last week--chest congestion, sore throat and body aches, but with some NyQuil, 5-Hour Energy shots and lots of peer pressure (thanks Chris Woofter!) I ran it anyway. Amazingly I felt great on Saturday morning during the run and completed the race in 56:06! I actually finished 15th out of a 123 in my age category! There is no better feeling than a sense of accomplishment. I have worked 11 months to get to this point. It didn't happen overnight, but it feels great to be this healthy and fit. I'm thinking the Army 10-miler is in my future for 2011, but I have to get past my fit to fight test later this week before I turn my focus on something else:-)

Motivated people motivate me

I'm not sure if it's the weather here lately or the fact that a number of people are going to fit test this weekend, but I've really been inspired lately by some motivated Airmen. First, our operations group commander just ran her first race ever at age 50. Her smile as she came across the finish line said it all! "I've accomplished something and I feel great!" The other inspiration came from one of our maintenance folks. He shot a few short videos to help people know about the proper form and techniques for doing pushups, situps and overall training. He looks terrific! I'd love to have arms as defined as his. Thanks to all this training and motivation I've actually pushed my test date up to this month-- that and the fact that I'm due to test in early October anyway. Well time to do a few pushups of my own now! (and you can find pictures and videos at the 916th Air Refueling Wing Fan page on Facebook)

1st Race of the Year

Ran the Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon Relay today! 6.55 miles and shaved 17 seconds off last years time! I also started doing the 100 pushup challenge. I was skeptical but just after a few days I'm stronger and doing more correctly!!! I'm officially in training for a 1/2 marathon this winter at Disney!