Waking up at the Crack of Dawn...

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... would have been wonderful. Instead, our night ended at 0330. Today was our first APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test). Fort Bragg is not a training installation, and AIT is sometimes hard-pressed for facilities. The only field available for the test was only available until sunrise.

After getting up, we did some stretching and light warming up in the company area. The stretches go something like this.

Drill Sergeant: "The neck rotation!"
Students (chorus): "BAM!"
[we move quickly to the start position and start when the DS begins counting]

That continues through a series of movement exercises: the neck rotation, the hip rotation (looks like you're doing hula hoops without the hoops), and the knee rotation.

Then begins the stretching

Drill Sergeant: "The overhead arm pull!"
Students (chorus): "Lead the way, Drill Sergeant, lead the way!"
Drill Sergeant: "Ready... streeeetch!"

Perhaps you're wondering why I detail our stretching routine. There's a good story about that yet to come. Hang in there, you'll enjoy it!

I hit the PT field with a sore throat, but still managed to hold my pushup and situp scores (to the exact numbers) and had my best 2 mile run yet - 15:45. For you 18 year olds out there that's not a very good time, but for a 39 year old it's a decent score. It gave me about 72 points in that event (plus or minus a bit). You need 60 points in each event to pass AIT.