ReFitYOU

I am an athlete

I had a powerful realization last night.

I hit the gym for a 2 mile run. Nothing fancy, I wasn’t even gonna push myself. I’m trucking along and this older woman next to me commented that she really wished she could run like me. Imagine my astonishment. I think I’m a terrible runner and with a half marathon looming just two months away, I’m starting to freak out about it. We chatted for a bit and I told her that I started running 30 seconds at a time and built from there.

She then went off with her trainer and continued thinking. What is an “athlete”? Am I an “athlete”? What makes an “athlete”? I came home and actually looked it up. According to Dictionary.com, an “athlete” is someone who trains for a sport. It says nothing about being “good” or “the fastest” or “the best” or “the skinniest”.

I’m training for a sporting event, therefore, by default, I am an athlete. I have never seen myself that way. Once I took all the judgement out, my world became so much lighter, and I could actually say – I am an athlete.