Go the Distance

IPPT for me is always just a matter of a few lousy centimetres.
This morning, I almost allowed a mere 5cm to do me in. And if I had covered another 5cm more, guess what? - it wld've been an additional hundred bucks into my bank account!

So unlike the rest who usually gripe abt the killer Chin-up station or the "life-sucking" 2.4km run, my stumbling block - ladies and gentlemen - is the supposedly "easy-enough-no-sweat" Standing Broad Jump.

But as bad as I am at it, I have my good days too. Those wld be occasions when I miraculously hit 2-2-something on my first try. Yes, that for me is a miracle!
Today however was just disastrous.
I don't know if it all boils down to me not having "jumped" for too long (the last time I sat for IPPT was in Aug 04), but I only managed 207cm on both my attempts. And even though I knew right after that it tranlated into an E, I didn't realised until I saw this table later on while we were waiting to start on our 2.4 that I needed at least a D at every station to pass. Which means, I may hv gotten As at all the other 5 stations including my 2.4 run but this E alone is enough to sink my whole ship.

GRADE	POINTS	SIT-UP (Rep)	STANDING BROAD (cm)	CHIN-UP (rep)	4X10M SHUTTLE RUN (sec)	2.4KM RUN (min:sec)
A	5	> 38	> 238	> 10	< 10.3	< 10.41
B	4	36 - 38	230 - 238	9 - 10	10.3 - 10.4	10:41 - 11:20
C	3	33 - 35	221 - 229	7 - 8	10.5 - 10.6	11:21 - 12:00
D	2	30 - 32	212 - 220	5 - 6	10.7 - 10.8	12:01 - 12:40
E	1	27 - 29	203 - 211	3 - 4	10.9 - 11.0	12:41 - 13:20

ORD DATE	STANDARD
	Pass	Incentive ($100)	Silver ($200)	Gold ($400)
After 1st April 1994	D + 15	D + 18	C + 21	A + 25 & < 9.30MIN for 2.4KM RUN

Thus I flew into a small panic.
No way as hell am I gonna pull myself out of bed at 6am and come back here again just to clear my SBJ, which was what the PTI originally suggested I do when I approached him (It's called a partial re-test where u sit for only the stations u failed) for another shot at it.

In my head, I was determined not to be busted by 5 lousy cm, which is just plain stupid. What more, I really doubt I can find the time before my birthday early next month to schedule a follow-up 'cos I was told it's gonna be crazy for us these next 2 weeks thanks to the GE.
So I pleaded more persistently with him until finally he reluctantly agreed to give me 2 more tries.

Not before long, I found myself back behind the marked red line again, this time feeling more pressured than ever. A voice in my head kept reminding me this was it - make or break - and failure was not an option. And with that I took my first leap.

203cm.

Whoops. That's 4cm less than my previous jump.

I looked away but from the corner of my eye, I caught a sneer on the PTI's face that seemed to suggest "eh brother, the idea is to land further".
Damn paiseh

Alright. Last chance now.

Focus.
Swing.
Look ahead.
Swing more...

And GO!

In that split second, I was almost certain it wasn't gg to be very much different.
But then came the moment of truth as I turned my gaze on the electronic panel.

2-1-6.
yes, unmistakably 216cm!

Oh my gosh!
I've made it!
WOOHOO!!!
Felt as if I'd broken some Olympic record or something! haha
Except that I was really more relieved than anything else.

Relieved that I've managed to get this out of the way at least for the next 3 weeks till I report back for my ICT which I'm quite sure will include sitting for yet another IPPT.
So in the meantime, I guess I shall hv to make an effort to do my tuck-jumps everyday.

Unless someone has some GummiBerry Juice to offer?