The Next Big Thing

It's finally sinking in that I'm done with law school. The biggest difference that I've noticed is how I no longer wake up with these intense feelings of panic and dread in the middle of the night, and I actually get up in the morning not hating 90% of the things I have to do during the day. Yes, I still have bar prep, but the whole "learning things that are given to you in a way that makes sense" thing is much more agreeable to me than the whole "let's try to bore everyone to tears while simultaneously confusing the hell out of them" that was my day-to-day existence during the school year.

Definitely makes you want to try it, no? I can say with a good degree of certainty that it was a pretty unpleasant experience. Nonetheless, finishing was a great accomplishment for me, and I am definitely a better person because of it.

One great thing I've discovered? The bar prep lectures are all on video, and the lecturers are pretty entertaining. Which means they make great material to watch while I ride the exercise bike in the mornings. Yes, I watch pre-recorded lectures while riding the bike, and I actually enjoy it. I am a sick person.

But that's not my point. My point is that, after a six-week hiatus, in which three of those weeks were spent doing not a single iota of physical activity, I finally ran again on Saturday. 1.7 whole miles. At about an 11:15 pace, which, for me, isn't all that bad. On Wednesday I'm seeing a Podiatrist to get my foot checked out, and if all looks good (fingers crossed that it does - I have had no pain since my run on Saturday) I can start building back up slowly and start training for my fall goal half marathon, which is officially the Hartford Half Marathon in October, with Emily (and Alyssa, and Kari who are doing the full marathon).

I'm not sure what my goal is for the half, although a PR would be nice (so like 2:19 or better), and I have a really solid training plan in place that should get me there. I have a feeling, based on the workouts I had last week, that I'm going to spend the next few months raising the bar on the level of fatigue my body is comfortable tolerating, and probably won't see much of an improvement speed-wise until the race. I say this because I had some great workouts last week on the bike and strength-training, and I feel a little tired today, but in an "I can push through this because it means my body is getting stronger" kind of way. It's a little bit exciting. I've been running now for almost a year, and am starting to feel comfortable knowing what I can do and what is good for me and then using that information to push myself safely and productively.

I'm really excited for this training cycle, even if I'm exhausted for the entirety of it, and don't see any results until the end, because I have a good feeling that I'll see some great results come October. Because, in a way, that's exactly how it was with law school.