Given the option, I always take the more difficult path.

I was going to write about this last night after work, but I thought a 20 hour day was long enough.

Yesterday I had the final step of my selection process. It included a physical as well as a fitness test.

The physical was what you'd expect it to be. Reading eye charts, testing for color blindness, hearing test, walk on your toes, walk on your heels, letting the doctor listen to your lungs, etc.

After all of that was completed, it was time to move on to the fitness test. The power plant has decided to use the YMCA 3 minute step test to evaluate your fitness level. Essentially you stand in front of a 12 inch box, step onto it with both feet, then step down to the floor with both feet. You have to stay with the rhythm of 96 beats per minute, equaling 24 up and down repetitions per minute. After doing this for 3 minutes you are allowed to rest for one minute and then your pulse is checked. For a male my age my pulse had to be between 101-106.

After completing the test my heart rate was 119. I failed the test and I was too far out of the range to complete a retest. In fact, they rechecked my pulse after about 3 minutes and it was still 119. My only remaining option was to complete a 1.5 mile run on a treadmill in 14 minutes or less. For active runners, this isn't a very hard test. I haven't run further than 100 feet since 2001 and I was very nervous about the situation.

I was sent to the waiting room to rest and relax and get my pulse back to normal resting rate. I spent about 20 minutes getting myself ready from a mental standpoint and got on the treadmill. As soon as they brought the treadmill up to speed I nearly panicked. I had spent the time to get mentally ready for the test, but I never stretched out. For whatever reason it totally slipped my mind. I had the nurse start the treadmill at the lowest possible passing speed, which it turns out was 6.5 miles per hour. I blew through the first 3/4 of a mile with relative ease but then my calves started to cramp up and things got progressively worse physically and mentally. Nine minutes into the test I was ready to quit. Everything seemed to be falling apart in front of me. I could visualize the job going down the drain. I had managed to pass everything up to this point and all I had to do was maintain the pace and push through to the end.

The biggest quality I learned during my time in the Army was that you find out that you can push your body a lot further than you'd think you can. Your mind will want to quit long before your body will. As I struggled to maintain the pace of the run that's what I started to think about. I knew I still had some left in the tank, I just needed to get rid of the negative thoughts my brain was screaming at me. I need some motivation to make it the final 5 minutes. What better to think about than money? This job means a $5/hr increase for me, it gives me a lot more options to do a lot more things for a financial point of view. It was the only motivation I needed. I got my running form back into shape, stretched my stride out just a little bit more, and got my breathing back into control. When I had two minutes left I started to feel the panic again because I could feel my body starting to fail on me. I've never been a strong runner, I haven't ran in 5 years and my body wasn't used to it at all.

Sheer willpower pushed me those final two minutes, and I passed the test. I cleared the final hurdle and for the first time in 2 or 3 years I felt a little pride in accomplishing something.

There was a funny (for me) moment during the physical examination that I want to share with you. The doctor that did the exam was a female. It occurred to me that I've had doctor's appointments with female doctors in the past, but I've never had to do the turn-and-cough with a female before. I was stripped down to a hospital gown and boxers and sitting in a cold room with this woman, and all I could think of was the Seinfeld "shrinkage!" episode. The doctor had remarked on how cold the room was and apologized a couple of times during the exam that I had to sit there half naked and freezing.

When the time came for the hernia check, the doctor blew on to her hands before fondling my nutties. I couldn't help but smile outwardly while noting that I just got a blowjob from a doctor.