I. Am. Athlete.

I was looking at some paperwork I have for the upcoming Surf City race and it kept referring to "athletes." Athletes must do this, athletes must do that. Not "participants", not "entrants" or even "competitors"...but ATHLETES. I had to sit and think about that for a minute. I'm an athlete? I went and looked up the word, just because I'm a geek like that. Here's what American Heritage dictionary said:

Athlete: noun A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports.

I definitely do not have NATURAL traits, but acquired I can possibly agree with. I just never really framed myself in that light. Athlete!! Nine months ago I would not ever have believed someone would be using the word "athelete" in a sentence referring to ME! Okay...enough waxing about my astonished realization.

I did a 4-mile dreadmill run today and I'm mostly posting just to say that the new shoelace configuration is totally awesome. NO foot pain whatsoever. What a huge relief!

This week is peak week for me in training. Last time I was at peak week, I felt like I was really pushing hard and I was exhausted. This time, I actually feel really good. I have some trepidation about my (supposed to be) 15 miler this weekend, but as long as I remember to break the run down into manageable parts and focus only on what is directly in front of me (one step, one stride, one breath at a time!) I know I can do it. I'll let you know how it goes!