Title says it all. Next year, I’ll be graduating from law school and will be taking the July Bar Exam. I’d also like to do an Ironman, but I don’t want to have it get in the way of my prep. Am I going to be limited to early/late season races, or is it possible to juggle the two? Ideally, I’d do Ironman US Champs next year, but with the August race date it seems particularly problematic…
I’d love some input from anyone who has tried to do anything remotely similar. Thanks!
And yes, before the jokes start, despite the handle I am not yet a lawyer.
My girlfriend recently did an IM while taking two of the 4 CPA tests. I haven’t compared the two, but I know they are both said to be quite difficult. She did this while working as an auditor at a fairly large CPA firm, during tax season, so she was pretty busy. I do not know your personal situation or starting base as far as training. We have no kids, and she was starting with a good base, but I think if you want to do both there is no reason why you couldn’t.
Oh, also she is a recreational athlete and was not competing for a top spot, she is a solid MOPer, so that may be taken into account as well.
Whatever you decide, best of luck on your bar exam.
You can easily do it. Studying for the bar is difficult, but not as hard as having a normal job. You won’t study 8 hours a day. Just get the multistate book and work all the questions.
Judging by your handle I’m assuming you’re a Georgetown student. You should have no problem doing an IM while studying for the bar. A 2-3 hour training session in the middle of the day will be a nice break from studying, anyhow.
Seriously? I worked 40+ hours per week while preparing for the bar exam and I am dumb as shit. Hell, I went to law school after graduating from Purdue School of Engineering b/c I wasn’t smart enough to be an engineer, so, I looked for something easy. You should be chastised mercilessly if you are unable to train for an Ironman and pass the bar.
If you juggle, make sure that you don’t race until at least a few weeks after the exam. You can fit in training but the exam is mentally exhausting. Give yourself a few weeks after to recover mentally. I raced the week after the bar and was a disaster, completely mentally done.
It also depends which bar you’re taking… not all are equal…
If you juggle, make sure that you don’t race until at least a few weeks after the exam. You can fit in training but the exam is mentally exhausting. Give yourself a few weeks after to recover mentally. I raced the week after the bar and was a disaster, completely mentally done.
It also depends which bar you’re taking… not all are equal…
Obviously, you did not drink enough. See, studying law is like doing math: the more you do, the more brain cells you generate. When you cram for the bar, you generate too many brain cells, which compact in your head and cause fatigue. Drinking kills brain cells. But, the weak ones die first. So, if you drink HEAVILY, and I mean you really give it, you can balance it out. You do not suffer from head swelling, you kill the weak brain cells, and, overall, you end up smarter.
Thanks for all the responses guys. Yes, I go to GULC and I’ll be taking the NY bar exam. I’m actually surprised by how positive the reaction has been. I had assumed that the idea of an ironman anywhere near the bar exam would be completely idiotic.
Would taking an official bar review course affect the calculus? That would put me in class all day plus whatever studying I’d do outside the course.
I figured that with 3L being a relatively light year, I could build a massive base during the academic year so that it wouldn’t be a huge problem if I tone it down during the final weeks before the bar exam.
I’ve taken two different bar exams since 2006 (one after I finished my JD, the next when I got a job in a different state with no reciprocity), but both were in “easy” states, i.e., MBE plus a couple of additional state specific areas of law for the essays. I think I could have managed IM training, but it would have required some careful scheduling. I really think the answer depends on the jurisdiction, and if you’re someone who can force yourself to sit down and study when necessary. If you’re taking a really tough bar, like California, it will be pretty hard. You will have to show up for BarBri and actually study when you tell yourself you will study.
All day? Do they offer all day bar prep classes now? Really?
Check it again. I took a bar review course and it was 3 hours (maybe 4) per day for 3 weeks. Seriously, I worked 40+ hours per week at my law firm and that was simply b/c they paid me based on billable hours and I like money. I smoked the bar exam and was WAY over prepared for it.
My recommendation is to take a review course. The reason being, it teaches you how to take the bar exam. Look, the material is not difficult. You are going to Georgetown for gawd’s sake, so, you obviously have brains. You know (or will know) the material. The reason the bar exam is difficult is b/c it is filled with “trick” questions. The bar review courses show you how to handle the bar questions. It also tells you the areas on which you should focus.
Take the review course. Train in the afternoon. Study a bit more at night. You will REALLY appreciate the mental break and being physically active will make you more mentally sharp. At least that is what works for me with my current practice.
BarBri is only half a day. They make it pretty damn easy to pass the test. Go to BarBri every day, go home, train, then review some flash cards while watching the tour.
Thanks all. Really helpful advice. I hadn’t looked into the intricacies of bar review and had just been relying on what I’d heard from people. Half-day courses seem tailor-made for tri training since it’d give me the perfect study break before I do some review of my own.
Which bar are you taking? How good a law student were you? Have you taken all/most of the multistate/essay subjects? Most importantly, how many times are you willing to take the bar? If you are taking California or New York I would caution against preparing for IM and the bar exam simultaneously. As another poster wrote, not all bar exams are equal. However, if you are taking a bar exam where the pass rate is upwards of 85-90% then IM might be a possibility. If you were top 10% at a T15 you probably have the skills to rely on and will have more free time. In contrast, if you were more of a mediocre student or went to a second tier school you might want to focus on the bar. Another important factor to consider is whether you will be refreshing yourself with the multistate/essay subjects or will have to learn them from scratch. Haven’t taken evidence, wills & trusts, con crim pro… pretty difficult to learn a number of new subjects while building your run for a marathon. Finally, having to take the bar multiple times is something to avoid at all costs. You don’t want to have to explain to a hiring partner that while you didn’t pass the bar your first time as a consolidation prize you almost qualified for IM Hawaii!
FWIW I took both the CPA and bar exam in a difficult state. Working, studying for the CPA exam, and mild/moderate training is possible (see above post). However, at least in my opinion and experience the bar exam was much more difficult than the CPA exam. Working while taking the bar exam should be avoided at all costs. Most people I knew that failed were working. Passing on your first try should be your main and only goal. My advice for the bar is to do exactly what BarBri or whatever prep company you choose to go with. If BarBri recommends IM training while studying for the bar then be my guest. Barbri preparation exercises and classes took me 55-65 hours a week. I had ~ one hour a day to run/exercise.
In summary, it’s better to over prepare for the bar and pass than try to attempt both and fail. Good luck!
I would not do it.
Specially with the NY bar exam. I took the California one, which is supposed to be among the most difficult to pass, and I could not have kept the training load required to do an IM. True, I exercised about 2 hours everyday while I prepped, but that is not enough for an ironman. The last 3 weeks before the exam, after barbri sends you home, I spent every available hour I had prepping for the test. Trust me, you only want to take this once.
Also, take this into account. When you ask people on this site what they used to run in high school, 99% will say 4 minute miles. We all know that is not true.
Why expect them to give you a different response if you ask about the bar exam? I’m sure they will all say they finished in the top %10 of their class too.
Granted if you are taking the Florida, Oregon or Iowa’s bar examination, then you pretty much don’t even need to prep if you took the subjects in law school. NY, CA, and a couple others are a different story.
I’m with BayAreaUser, my wife is an attorney here in California and had to live and breath the BAR while studying for it. It will partly depend on what state you are studying in but if CA good luck, it’s supposedly one of the most difficult in the nation.
I exercised about 2 hours everyday while I prep, but that is not enough for an ironman.
Good luck.
you gotta be kidding me. i did IMCDA let year on 6 hrs a week. 14 hrs a week would’ve been ideal. You and the OP sound like typical 3Ls. Just relax.
All you gotta do is pass the bar, not ace it.
Perhaps I was not clear. I’m not taking about 2 hours of quality exercise. I was referring to a 2 hour window I had to exercise. That meant, from the moment I left Barbri until I started studying again (including shower, decompressing, eating lunch etc). So about 1 hour to run and/or swim, another hour to shower, eat, relax. Cycling was out of the question for all of July.
JChapATX, Which Bar did you take?
To the OP, I would listen to the advice of those who have taken the NY exam or similar degree of difficulty. CPAs or other Bar examinations are simply not comparable.
Good luck
don’t do it, you need to study. for some reason all the people on st dont want you to secure your future as a lawyer…get your priorities straight and don’t unnecessarily overload your schedule. get the exam done, then worry about athletic endeavors. the bar exam isnt easy and the people who fail are the ones who underestimate it.
