I'm an athlete ... no really, I am.

I recently started walking again for exercise after a minor leg injury (stress reaction/bone bruise/1 week away from a femoral stress fracture) had me on the bench for about a month and a half. When I sustained said leg injury I told people I was now a "real athlete". They laughed at me! Can you believe it?

I'm here to defend my use of the term "athlete". Dictionary.com defines athlete as:

"A person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requireing physical skill."

I'll immediately take "gifted" out of the equation. There's no question that I'm not gifted in sports. However, I am trained in exercises involving physical agility, stamina AND strength. In November 2010 I signed up for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. For those of you unfamiliar with the event it is a two day walk that raises money and awareness for breast cancer - it's a great cause. How long was the walk, you ask? 39.3 miles. We walked 26.2 miles (a marathon) on day one and 13.1 miles (half marathon) on day two. I trained for 6 months to get myself ready for this walk. On event weekend, I walked all 39.3 miles - up and down hills, on make-shift paths, carrying my own supplies and water. Where I come from that's pretty darn athletic.

On top of all that, I started practing yoga in the spring. There are many, many types of yoga - some more physical than others. My Hatha yoga practice is a happy medium. We focus a lot on breathing and strengthening. During my first class, we were holding the plank pose (see a picture here) and my muscles started shaking from exersion. I had to take a break because I couldn't hold myself up the whole time. Each class I went to made me a little stronger and soon I was able to hold the pose without feeling like my muscles were going to jump out of my skin. Yoga has helped me develop flexibilty and strength, which according to the above definition makes an athlete. If you still don't believe me check this out. The goal is to hold this for 5 minutes. I'm no where near this inversion yet, but come on! That's hardcore!

What I'm trying to say is I may not be Becks or Michael Jordan, but at least I get up and move. And I'm stronger and healthier because of it. I am an athlete.