Jeff: Not dumb questions. I'm agin racking the slide, exactly for the "as you train..." idea.
I thumb-cock for practice at trigger and sight control, more of a precision-in-aiming deal. I'll the cocked-and-locked when coming out of a holster, belt or pocket at speed with my 1911.
One routine which worked well for me in IPSC was to stand behind my couch, aiming at a talking head on the TV. Beginning with cocked hammer, empty chamber (check twice!) and one or two rounds in the mag, I'd say "Bang!", do a speed-reload, and then drop the hammer. Over and over. Your target time is one second from "Bang" to "click".
For live fire, I work on multiple targets at different ranges. I'll stand and shoot, or walk and draw and crouch and shoot, whatever. I'll reverse the order and mix it all up. Out of the holster. Off the table. Sometimes all singles, sometimes double-tap and reload.
My only constant is "Front sight, Bang!" In real life, what else could be constant?
FWIW, Art