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However, my first training weekend is this weekend, and although I know I'm not badly prepared (and hell, even if I were there ain't much time to change that...), it's still a bit scary.

Any general hints and tips?

Oh, and can someone tell me why it is that being up from 6am to 4am the following morning is so much more managable than merely getting up at 4am and coping with the rest of the day? And would ProPlus or similar help?

Can't really give you any help as regards what your doing. But I would say don't be nervous, especially when eating your breakfast..

Your going to go through with it, no matter the circumstances - set it in your mind that you've just got to do it, you know its going to come to an end!!

More importantly.. enjoy it.

More importantly.. enjoy it.

Hmmm, that's actually the bit that's trickiest, thinking about it. I don't tend to enjoy much that starts at 0400, frankly.

It's getting that balance between hopeless enthusiasm ("hey, this is going to be fun" - which means I'll get fed up when it's not) and doom-mongering ("this is going to be 48 hours of utter hell" - which I can't think is a very constructive attitude).

Chin up, embrace whats going to happen in the 48 hours to come. Then when ya get back, you can have a good chilled bevvie and relax.

You'll be fine.

I'll be fine.

I will be fine.

I. Will. Be. Fine.

Yes.

Fine.

Good.

Thank you

c'mon then, whats the news?

LOL, patience is a virtue!

Didn't get in the door until 9pm last night, and then spent an hour and a half eating a catching up on text messages.

Also, someone very inconsiderately had a birthday lunch today which chewed up a few hours...

Anyway, not bad - few aches and bruises, but policy seems to be in favour of positive feedback so far, and I didn't do anything conspicuously badly that I know about, just need to catch up on some sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Here we go again....

Yes, I'll post an update afterwards.

Survived. Still OK.

Wish I could learn to sleep better in those circs though - was shattered by Sunday lunch-time.

Freak-out time again!

I've been weirdly relaxed all week, for some reason I've suddenly gone into panic mode.

It's only two days. I will get through it. Nobody wants to fail me.

I will be fine.

Someone please calm me down!

It's only two days. I will get through it. Nobody wants to fail me.

Correct, you will find a few staff who are miserable a-holes and will try to fail people, most will be OK!

I will be fine

Of course you will.... remember to keep working at the fitness don't stop because you have reached a good level, also working at your learning techniques will be most useful to get the memory working etc

"Correct, you will find a few staff who are miserable a-holes and will try to fail people, most will be OK!"

Yeah. As long as the recruits are all on-side I figure it'll be OK.

"remember to keep working at the fitness don't stop because you have reached a good level"

Been bl**dy annoying the last few weeks, one virus-type thing after another, so I've had to go easy on training. Finally feeling healthy again. Time to get going on some hill reps I think...

Reached a good level, huh? Maybe for me, but some of the blokes on the course are a) blokes and b) 10 years younger than me. Long way to go before I can cope easily with their pace.

"also working at your learning techniques will be most useful to get the memory working etc"

Aye, aye - that's the easy bit IMO

I found sleeping gets easier after the first couple of weekends, and we had a couple of blokes on the course who must have given the local seismologist an aneurysm every time they got their heads down.

Also: absolutely hands-down THE No.1 most vital piece of barracks kit

Hello! How's all your stuff going?

Luckily the guy I tend to get paired up with for sleeping purposes (there must be a better way of wording that...) is fairly quiet - it's just a case of me lying down and then starting to worry about things. Deeply unproductive of course, but a hard habit to break. Hmmmm.

I try to be optimistic about it and think at least I'll be used to it when we're being allowed less time to sleep (ie the next couple of weekends).

Meantime there is this issue of how I inevitably get lost when let loose in a field with a compass, but hope springs eternal - maybe I'll finally get my head around it all this time around?

What level of fitness did you need to be upon embarking on the course?

I'm currently arranging visits to my local units.