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RAF Fitness Test
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Oh I'm not worried about the injuries, everything I've got is temporary or my doctor hasn't diagnosed it because of my application!
I said above why I didn't start running earlier. Only knew three weeks ago that I was actually applying so quickly!
I would rearrange it if I could, but the date is arranged, straight after my medical on the same day. I'm not going to mess them around. I figure on the day adrenaline might kick in, and I might just be able to reach some extra reserves from somewhere and do it.
I think the RAF would rather have someone that tries their best, fails, then tries again and passes, than someone that believes they can't do it in the first place.
Or they may prefer to have somebody injury - free who is going to be able to devote themselves to their job and not cost time and money to fix. I'm not trying to be nasty but IMHO it would be better to delay the test and attempt it fit and free of injury rather than hurt yourself more seriously.
Your doctor is not helping you by not documenting an injury - although it will help you enter the Forces what about once you are in? There would be nothing more demoralising than being back-coursed in training through injury, or more demoralising for others in your trade group who end up deploying more often or losing leave as you are not graded fit through injury.
My tendonitus should be sorted within the next six weeks, long before I go in. Not a problem.
Both are temporary problems.
My circumstances dictate that I must get in this summer, or else I don't know what I'm going to do for work... So this is a must to pass!
admittedly I did my fitness test over 20 years ago but it was certainly achievable with a quick wave goodbye of your comfort zone, is it def on a treddie ??
all changed since National Service then ...
timescales aside ... work on what you can change and not what you cant, if the date is set in stone then you have got a few weeks of heavy work ahead and then a certain element of physical training when you get to Halton for your basic and its quite hilly there (2 mins from me) so you need to be mindful of what you are going to be like after pushing yourself for the next 3 weeks and how you will continue after that and into the basic training.
I do appreciate your desire to get into the RAF, however I would really consider being fully fit first. Will tendonitits that you say you have had for ten years stand up to basic training and throughout a career where PT is routine without being at first treated and properly rehabilitated? I see a lot of people (in the forces - not RAF - and part of the medical chain myself) who take this sort of approach albeit for good reasons and end up with permanent injuries and sometimes medical discharge after basic. The added bonus of entering basic as fit as you are ever going to be is that the physical side becomes something that you don't have to worry about, you will be less exhausted and more able to concentrate on other aspects of training.
I don't see that the option of sorting it out once in as being that good - you are perfectly correct that you can be medically downgraded and inuries sorted that way, but please consider again those that may end up with more duties or an extra tour somewhere like Iraq as you are unfit to deploy.
Sorry it seems like a rant, I really do not want to discourage you from joining as you are obviously keen, I just would not like to see things go wrong for you due to not being physically prepared.
Go for it then - just grit your teeth and you'll acheive your run time
And give running a chance....once you're fit you might find that you even like it
Good Luck!!
Trying it on the treddie on Saturday, so we'll see how it goes!
And I do think I could like it, if I was just running for fun, and not having to run in a time. Or if it was a social thing, but I'm WAY to slow to join a club!
Sounds like a mental block to me, you are obviously fit enough for other sports and you can do the distance/ time outside. I suspect you are altering your running form on the treadie and using you muscles in slightly different ways. Maybe try running short strides for the pace, and when you feel it in your legs switch to a lengthened stride or take a few bouncy strides to ease the pressure.
Try to feel your natural running form, treadmills are actually longer than most people realise you don't need to be cramped up under the bar at the front.
Try some visualisation the night before, see yourself in the test, see the read out as it kicks over the numbers, 400m 800m 1200m and so on,
Make sure you understand your pace properly, and then keep re calculating it.
I tend to target fractions of the disctance, so one tenth gone, one fifth gone, quarter done third half etc and check my pace. Most importantly keep calm and focussed, never allow a moments doubt to creep in you can run and hold the pace if you believe*
*Might get about 10% better performance out of you, if you are close to achieving then your mental strength will get you through.
Good Luck!
Gargamel, that's great advice. Thank you. I'm entirely sure it is just a mental block on the treadmill. The previous gym I went to had a bank of TV's in front, and the treddies were behind everything else, so you could people watch them and the people in the aerobics studio next door. Combined with an iPod I didn't seem to get so bored.
Now the treddie in this new gym is in front of a mirror, and I get to see everything I'm doing wrong. Not to mention my thighs wobbling with every step... I try to watch people behind me in the mirror, but it makes me feel a bit nauseus sometimes!
I do the distance thing too, but find now that I'm running on the "better" treddies in this gym, they're set to miles rather than km, so those distances just don't tick over quite as quickly! I'm hoping Lance Armstrong whispering sweet nothings in my ear is going to help me out now!
I'm doing a session saturday in my personal trainers gym where he works, and I think with someone there focussing me I should be alright. I'll report back on my findings!
About the stride thing, I think alot of my problem is to do with this. Because I wear a jumpers knee strap it restricts how far I can bend my knee, so my stride isn't quite so long as without. Perhaps it could be slowing me down a bit, since my stride used to quite a bit bouncier, like you describe. What I do now is more what I'd call jogging rather than running, but I don't really know the technical terms!
I just keep repeating the mantra "It'll be alright on the day..."!
Charlotte, reading your posts on this forum I think your mantra of "It'll be alright on the day..." is more than true. You seem to really want it, so when you get to the day, the adrenaline, plus the fact that you've obvisouly got a good level of fitness to fall back on means, I think, you'll fly through.
Treadmills are really boring, and I never like ones infront of mirror where I watch my face getting progressively redder and I look increasingly crazy (!). For me, doing a short fast run like your going to do, I would try and really concentrate on the first couple of minutes on my technique and making sure I feel comfortable, once you've got that your mind can wander off to any of the distraction techniques your using. Breaking everything into fractions as posted somewhere above is a great way, I also count to 100 three times when it's hurting, think of old Leicester City players (this is a quite specific distraction technique, you would have to have some knowledge of old Leicester City players, which you may not have!).
Once your through the majority of it, it will just be a case of girtting your teeth and watching the distance go by. Probably with about 2-3 mins to go. You mentioned Lance Armstrong, and if I'm hating the run, I do think of him, and the stuff he put himself through and some of the things in his autobiography, bit soppy I know.
Finally, make sure there's going to be no surprises on the day. You've said you have to run 1.5 miles, but is that on any incline etc etc. Fail to prepare and all that.
Good luck mate, you'll do fine.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Thomas.
I'm not sure what running techniques there are to concentrate on in the first few minutes? I just put one foot in front of the other, I don't know what else I should be doing! My Dad always used to say something about this; "They teach you to swim properly, but no one ever teaches you to run". Being a swimming teacher myself, I'm sure that there are loads of techniques and things that I should be watching out for when running, but I'm not really sure what they are...
Count to 100, yup, I'll try that when the going gets tough. Another good one. All these techniques are giving me a really good armoury to get through! I know everyone here properbly thinks "Jeez, it's only 1.5m..." but it's really hard for me! I'll have a think of the Leyton Orient players, my dad used to take me to watch them as a kid!
What you said about Lance Armstrong, really rings true with me. My on/off boyfriend is currently undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer so it's a subject very, very close to my heart. I wish I had half the determination he does! He's in the RAF already as an Officer, so he's definatly my inspiration for getting in!
No incline on the treadmil, so that's all good. 1.5mile run, followed quickly by 1 min sit ups and 1 min press ups. No sweat. =D
I just looked at my letter again, I've got three day passes for the fitness first gym I'm going to be tested at. Anyone think it's worth going down and having a quick run on their treadmil? Or are all treaddies created equal?
I wondered if there'd be an incline on the tready. That's a way of dropping the required standards without appearing to do so! In my day (back around Meldy's sort of time) you did the run on a pot-holed, windy runway at RAF Swinderby.
Very best of luck. If you are in reasonable general shape, you really ought to be able to make that time with a bit of determination, I'm sure you will. I would do some sessions before then where you do a mile at just a bit quicker than your target pace, rest for a few minutes, and then repeat (as many times as you can manage). Rest every other day.
Very best of luck.
I'm actually at RAF Halton a week Saturday, playing at an open day they're having. I don't suppose you'll be there then?
I might actually be there at the open day! It's my Mums birthday and she said she'd like to go... Mostly because I refuse to let her drop me off on the day that I actually go, a bit like first day at school! I'm 23... I can drive myself to my first day at work! She's very dissapointed though that I'm not letting her go to parents day!
What are you playing?
Cool! Don't sell it, will you, even if you're not playing at the moment.
I'm really a tenor player, and I've had to borrow my sister-in-law's alto, which is not much cop. I sold my alto and baritone when I stopped.
I'm a tenor player too, but I could never afford one so I used to rent a tenor from school and practice on the alto.
Used to rent a double bass, really want to buy my own one of them too! Don't think I'll be able to play while I'm sharing room for 18 months though...
Charlotte - not had chance to skim this thread but I've got the general gist (although it seems to have become a brass/woodwind instrument chat recently - incidentally, I'm a former trumpet and cornet player). I was in the army for 5 years (as a musician) and fundamentally, what the services want is someone who gives their best effort. I'd have thought that even if you don't run fast enough on the dreadmill in the allotted time, if you give it your best shot, they'll have you!
I remember trying to climb a rope for my army physical test........ couldn't do it but pulled myself half way up, much to the hilarity of the instructors. I didn't stop trying and they seemed to appreciate that!