i am an athlete??

I have NEVER been an ATHLETE. NO ONE has ever said"Katie? oh yeah, she's the athletic type". If you have known me longer than the last three years you are probably even laughing at the idea of me being an athlete!


Don't get me wrong - I really like sports. I have thought of myself as athletic-- sort of. I even played some sports in High School. Ok, Ok, I WAS on the C-Team for Basketball, and I spent more time running lines after practice for goofing off than I did playing time in the games. And I also played Soccer, but that was just a social outlet to hang out with my friends and a place where I could throw elbows and trip people without getting in trouble! (only if you call a million yellow cards and more time doing sit ups after practice for goofing off - NOT getting in trouble!!) I think we get the picture here. I was not trying to get in shape. I wasn't even trying to win. I was just having FUN.

I have always KNOWN I was not Athlete. Mostly for obvious reasons:

I am the weakest female on the planet. (lifting a cantaloupe at the store sounds like hard work) I do NOT think a Pony Tail is a HAIR STYLE. (I feel stressed out just writing that sentence!) I agree with Stacy and Clinton that Gym Shoes/Clothes belong IN the GYM and not out to lunch with your friends.

ok, just had to throw in their pic so you know it is NOT just ME making up these rules! :)


Anyways, I was never the type to just throw on some shorts and a t-shirt and go to practice. I feel all Icky if I try to mix Adidas and Nike! (and you KNOW true athletes wear "whatever FEELS COMFORTABLE" -- who's heard of such a thing??) I'd rather drink a Diet Coke than a Powerade. I am not a natural at slapping other girls' sweaty butts and saying things like "good game". (although I do think that is funny to do when I have the opportunity!) I don't Look Good with NO MAKEUP - in fact I still wear lip gloss and mascara to the gym. I don't go to Sports Authority for fun. And I obviously do NOT HAVE the BODY of an ATHLETE. (you know, like muscles and shoulders and flat abs) I have been fine with all of this.

i am who i am and i am happy with that.

But STRANGE things have been happening lately. It all began a few weeks ago- on my run. I was out to do 6 miles and ended up running a few miles on a trail with other joggers. I ran past another runner on the trail and then saw him again at the end of the trail when I was stopped to stretch. I heard him saying to ANOTHER ATHLETE "Good Run today, Huh?" I was happy for him and his fellow athlete to enjoy a "Good Run" together when I realized no one was responding to him. I looked around and realized I was the only one there. HE WAS TALKING TO ME! Granted, my hair WAS in a Pony Tail and I was wearing dorky running shoes which is usually a dead give away that someone is athletic, but hadn't he SEEN me on the trail?! Didn't he know who he was talking to?? At first I thought it was small talk. You know "nice day today" stuff. But he continued to talk about how "Good it FELT to finally be out for a GOOD RUN!" What?! That sounds like REAL "gu" drinking, "cliff bar" loving, spandex wearing Athlete Talk! I came home BEAMING! I had FOOLED an actual ATHLETE (I know this by his wearing an Underarmer shirt that did not match his Brooks spandex - oh yeah, and the fact that he was WEARING SPANDEX!) into thinking I WAS A FELLOW ATHLETE! I couldn't believe it. It must have been the pony tail, or maybe the shoes, or maybe my mascara and lip gloss had worn off during the run. Whatever it was - SOMEONE THOUGHT I WAS AN ATHLETE. I, however, knew myself too well to fall for that.

But then TODAY an even STRANGER and UNDENIABLE THING HAPPENED. I was out running. I was nervous to run because I have been having knee problems lately and I did not want to hurt it more than it already is. I took off, and about a mile in I noticed something STRANGE: I was NOT BREATHING HARD. In fact I had to stop to cross a busy street and my breath was NORMAL!! What?? Something must be wrong. I went ANOTHER MILE and STILL NO PANTING! What was happening to me?? I FELT GOOD! I felt like I had just stepped outside and could run all day! I kept going. By my third mile something ELSE HAPPENED. I noticed something ODD about my legs and feet. They seemed to be MOVING on THEIR OWN. I was not WILLING them forward, or sludging along- my legs were RUNNING by THEMSELVES. Now I am confused and shocked. I have heard of this HAPPENING BEFORE... but where? to whom? WHO was this happening to? oh yeah, ATHLETES! Suddenly I noticed a fluidity in my stride I had never felt before! There was no Thumping like and Elephant, or Struggling like a Walrus. My mind was not consumed in how I would get one foot ahead of the other - AGAIN. My lungs weren't screaming out for air or panting like a dog. I WAS RUNNING. The kind of run I have HEARD about. The kind of RUN an ATHLETE DOES!!!


i don't know what will happen tomorrow. i don't know if i will gracefully glide along for miles at a time or if i will slink back into the choppy, sloppy, akward run i have always had. what i DO know -- is that TODAY i am an athlete. (I STILL WILL NOT WEAR A SPORTS BRA AS EVERYDAY ATTIRE)