Huffing and Puffing

So, my husband got an email yesterday calling for volunteers for a research project studying the effects of altitude. Each volunteer must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test here in Dallas (basically no altitude). Then, those volunteers get flown up to Colorado for the weekend where they perform the APFT again. Pretty basic, right?

Dave and I thought it would be fun to have a little weekend getaway so we applied for it. I looked up the standards for the APFT. Not too bad. I've been watching my dad train for these for my whole life so I know the drill. For a woman my age to BARELY pass, she would have to do 45 sit-ups, 17 push-ups, and run 2 miles in around 19:30. Easy peasy, right?

SO WRONG.

Dave had me practice last night just to get a baseline of where I was at. I can do crunches all day long but sit-ups are HARD! I was lucky to get in 20 measly ones. And then push-ups. This is too embarrassing...

Three.

Yep. Pretty awful. I mean, at least they were good push-ups. I know a good push-up when I see one. But only 3?!? It makes me cringe. How is that possible when I've been carrying around my chunk of a baby for almost a year? He is weighs as much as 3 bags of Kroger potatoes! Oh, well.

So, I have about 6 weeks to get awesomely in shape. I can do the run no problem. Running is my thing, but I am going to have to actually TRAIN for the rest. How ridiculous. This morning when I tried again I got 7 push-ups. That is an improvement already.

BUT being in shape makes me happy. Can you imagine how proud of myself I would be if I passed that test? That is something to smile over for sure. So here I go. I'll report back to you every now and then on Operation Superwoman.

Oh, thought I'd brag about my daddy for a bit while I am here. To get a perfect score on the APFT, a male would have to do 75 push-ups, 80 sit-ups, and run his 2 mile in 13:00 minutes. My dad always gets a perfect score. In fact, he blasts out 100 push-ups and 120 sit-ups during the 2 minute window. Wow. He's a stud huh? And he has only been beat at the run by one man. That was an 18 y/o black guy when my dad was approaching 50. And he even passed his test when he had broken his arm 6 weeks earlier. Yep, pretty awesome  : )

This is the only pic I have of my dad on the computer from his army days. He was about 40 in this pic and still whipping up on all the young ins ; )