Please read what a student recently
wrote regarding the stress exercises
in my bootcamp

"I  just wanted to tell you how I passed, just to let you know why 
Heinz’ stress-training is so important:
At my first try I had a fantastic day (but I failed), everything 
worked well, afterwards I thought was that stresstraining really 
necessary? I think for my first try not, I would have needed it, 
when something unexpected would have happened.

This time it was vice versa, I passed, but:

At 5:00 in the morning I woke up with a headache and thought, 
no, not this day! I took some Aspirin, but it didn’t help very 
much.

So when I  got my Lab I realized, that I could not concentrate 
very well: I was not able  to connect the single tasks, so I 
decided to do it step by step (thats not the best solution, 
because you have to change sometimes some old tasks, 
because of their relation to the task you are working with).

Then I got my next shock: I could not configure the simplest 
tasks, I always forgot some command, or I couldn’t remember 
some commands; that’s pretty unusual for me because I’m 
very good in memorizing. This time I only knew on which page 
and in which line I would find the command in my “black book”, 
but that was all, I couldn’t remember it!

As an example: OSPF didn’t work over a Point-toPoint link, so 
after 10 minutes I decided: ok do it suboptimal, use NBMA and 
it worked.

So was the whole day, I had to debug each protocol, because I 
always forgot something..... (following surpressed)......

So half of my time I was troubleshooting my own faults. Then 
there were blackouts, as Heinz described them: I stared at the 
screen for minutes, because I couldn’t remember a command 
which I knew, that I knew it!And you are not able to do 
anything else!!!! 

There I was saved by a precaution I took: (I’m 
not recommending it, but for me it’s working) I’m drinking each 
hour 1 bottle of water (1/2 liter), so I had to go to the toilet 
pretty often. So when I got stuck in some sort of blackout, I 
was saved by the need to go to the toilet!

3 times I came back with an idea and could proceed.

So I  finished just in time and had no idea if I had passed or 
not; and the proctor must have thougt: this guy must be crazy, 
not configuring one single task right, but after troubleshouting 
finding all gaps and traps.

After finishing the lab one guy asked the proctor, when he 
would get his score-report and was told, that he would get a 
mail at night, when he passed whith his CCIE number or one 
which tells him where on CCO to look up his score-report.

So I checked my mail at 21:00, at 3:30 next morning: still 
nothing (I had to go downstairs to the hotel reception since I 
didn’t bring my notebook with me)

At 5:00 I got my mail:” Your CCIE lab score report is available 
on the web.  The report will show your performance in each 
section for the CCIE Lab.”

So I thought that I had failed.

I even considered not looking up my score-report, but going to 
bed again, but then I decided to print it out and to look at it 
later.
To my surprise it said not fail, put pass!
So if you get the same mail: it doesn’t mean anything, look for 
your score-report!

Good luck to all who are next"