You play like you practice

As I drove back home from Savannah last Saturday afternoon after going through the CPAT practice a couple of times; I was dirty, sweaty, smelly, banged up, and tired as hell. And I absolutely loved it.

I was the first to go through it when they finished setting up about 45 minutes or so after I got there, and it was pretty much just myself and the firefighters out there at that point. So I had plenty of pressure, being the sole object of their scrutiny as I went through. All I wanted was just to finish the damned thing, and hopefully do it within the allotted 10 minutes and 20 seconds because let’s face it: Captain America I am not.

And finish I did. With over a minute to spare too. I’m a champion!

And knowing that I’d be fine even if I did it in that same amount of time every time through, I still wanted to do it better and faster. “I can do it faster”, I told my reader (the guy who accompanied me reading the instructions for each portion). What kind of idiot says that?

So I waited around for about a half an hour while a couple of other people went through the course, hoping to build up my energy again for another run at it because: 1. I’m retarded, 2. to make the trip worth it, and 3. I love that kind of shit. Time came for another go at it, and again I all I really wanted was to make sure I completed it in time, especially since I had already done it once. Plus I had some added incentive to not hurl in the middle of the course, as one of the Chiefs was out there with a video camera. “Candidate #37? Oh yeah! That’s the guy that barfed all over Randy the mannequin!”

This time out? I smoked my original time by almost 30 seconds.

Don’t know how the hell that happened. Guess it’s because I’d already been through it and knew the tricks for everything. But still, both I and my reader were pretty damned impressed. And for some unfathomable reason, the first words out of my mouth were “I can do it faster.” Seriously? Goddamnit…

But no more for me that day. 2 brutal/fun ass whippings were enough. It was time to go and take a nap. And then get really drunk.

I guess it’s fine if I want to continue to try and improve on my time during the practices, but I just have to remember to do everything properly and under time so I don’t get disqualified for something stupid.

I just can’t wait to go at it again this Saturday.

D