Yes, in less than 24 hours, I will be sitting down to take the LSAT. In my efforts to not freak the Fu%! out, I thought I’d take a moment to blog. Seeing as the lsat is a test of mental endurance and confidence, I am grateful for my marathon training and general commitment to physical fitness. However, my training schedule has NOT been grateful of my pre-test practice and anxiety. The last few weeks have been a major impediment to my training, in terms of increasing mileage, improving time, fueling properly, and keeping up my strength- and cross- training. I feel like I have turned to mush! Also, while running helps me release some of the added stress this upcoming test has brought on, the extra stress has caused me to have some of my worst runs ever!! Yesterday, my endurance was shot. However, in keeping with my mantra of “You are stronger than these emotions”, I allowed myself to mix some walking into my run. Instead of getting frustrated, I added a couple miles to my walk-run to focus on keeping my mileage up rather than consistent pace. Then, I also added a set of 1oometer sprints to my workout. I really liked being able to run as fast as I could for just a short period of time. My endurance may have been shot yesterday, but I certainly had some nervous energy pent up and ready to push me through sprints. I might have to go do some more of them this afternoon.
The last few weeks have also allowed me to experience how stress wreaks havoc on my body. Apparently, I am one of the best emotional eaters on this planet. No joke. I have found myself eating all kinds of sugary, carby snacks and treats that usually never make it past my lips. Not at all out of restriction, but because I simply do not crave junk food. I train hard and my body wants quality nutrients. Enter supreme stress and anxiety, and my body’s desire for nutritious fuel gets overloaded with alien-cravings for carbs of all kinds, but preferably of the high sugar variety.
And now, on the day before my test, I am thinking about how important it is for me to eat nutritiously today and to not overeat tonight in order to keep my mind clear and focused. YET, why not keep this in mind at all times – -throughout the weeks of studying that have preceded today? Throughout any time of increased stress in my life? From this experience, I think I am learning that I need to pay attention to my stress levels and be especially mindful of what I am eating in times of increased stress. Since stress will be an undeniable aspect of life, I think I need to get a better grip on stress management — focusing on how stress can either wreck your diet or your diet can wreck your stress. I know that eating right can help reduce stress, while poor eating habits can simply add more stress to an increased stress load. Things to think about tomorrow….
