Run, run, run just as fast as you can...
This morning I went running with my trainer. I am really proud of myself because I finished the whole two miles. That's the first time I have run that far. I did it in 22:00. That is not a particularly good time, but it is not totally horrible. It would be 58 points. That is good enough graduate from Basic Training, but not good enough to start Officer Candidate School (I need 60 points which would be 21:42). My goal is to be able to do the run in 18:06 which is 85 points.
The best way to look at it is like a standard grading system. 85 points is like a solid "B". If you know me, you know that I don't like to be anywhere below a "B" in anything. I would like to be at that point before I start OCS. I do not know how realistic it is for me to shave 4 minutes off my run by then. I used to be a really fast runner, but never at a distance.
So now that I said what my results were, I would like to express other mitigating factors. One factor is that it was not on a track, but rather a trail with rocks and tree roots, mud pits and wet leaves. Another is that the course is not perfectly flat. We ran at Vrelo Bosne which is a really beautiful park. The third factor is that this is Sarajevo. Sarajevo is 1708 feet above sea level. Ft. Benning Georgia is only 310 feet above sea level. And last, because of the terrain, I didn't have the best form because I couldn't run with my head up. I would also like to complain for my Florida relatives that it was only 40 degrees Fahrenheit, a warm day in NY, I know, but quite cold for me.
After I ran the two miles I had to do two sets each of 15 push-ups, 15 bent-over rows, 15 bicep curls, and 15 dips, then we turned around and "jogged" back. Jogging at my trainers pace honestly felt no different than running. I should have timed myself.