I Am An Athlete

I have made a decision.

I'm not just a runner.

I'm a freakin ATHLETE.

There, I said it.


You have to understand though that I have never considered myself athletic. I hated gym class in school. My gym teacher mocked me in front of the class because I couldn't do a cartwheel. I also remember her mocking me over my running. I've never done any sports whatsoever. I had always wanted to try martial arts growing up but never did because I was too insecure, afraid of being made fun of like in school, etc. I always thought of athletes as those perfectly toned, in shape people you see on the Olympics or who play professional sports. They're not only in shape, but very coordinated people (that ain't me! LOL)

Me, athletic? Yeah, right.

Now I am 38 years old, doing mixed martial arts, running, and hopping over obstacles caked in mud (for FUN!). My MMA instructor saw one of my photos from a mud run and said "Mags, you look downright athletic!" It was really weird hearing him say that and I sort of laughed it off because me and the word "athlete" don't seem to go together. I have always been afraid to refer to myself as that word because I didn't want people laughing at me. I don't think I even realized how much of an impact that gym teacher's negativity had on me until just recently. My other MMA instructor recently said to me that he wants people who come to our class to learn about themselves and discover what they're really capable of. I've been in this class a year and a half and I really have discovered a lot about who I am and what I can do. I had "friends" try to talk me out of MMA, mud runs, running, etc because I'm getting older and I even had someone say, "Enjoy it now because once menopause hits you won't be able to do any of that stuff anymore."

Anyway, tonight I was mulling it over: all the negative comments I got growing up (I was also bullied throughout my childhood), all the crap I get now (you think once you reach adulthood people would grow up...they don't, LOL) all of the positivity I receive in groups like this as well as the folks at MMA and at the gym, and all of the stuff I find myself doing now that I never would have dreamed of doing in my 20s. I finally decided to stop putting myself down. That's exactly what I was doing when I laughed off being called athletic. Anytime you shy away from positive comments, you are in essence, putting yourself down. And it needs to stop.

So I decided tonight. I am AN ATHLETE. There, I said it. I may not be an Olympian with a gold medal. I may not play professional sports (bot boy would I like their money! LOL). But I also don't have those 40+ pounds weighing me down anymore. I train with people of varying levels: white belts, black belts, marathon runners, 5k runners, people who just started walking for exercise, etc. These people constantly push me to my limits and then some, even yelling at me sometimes: "Don't stop! Keep going!" They have helped me to see just what I am capable of. And I am loving it! Sadly, many of them believe in me more than I believe in myself. That is something I want to work on.

While all those naysayers are sitting around getting old and fat and waiting to die, I'm embracing my active lifestyle. I love being active and getting out there and hopefully inspiring others along the way. And if people want to mock me for calling myself an athlete, let them. I've decided that when people spew negativity, it says a lot more about them than me.

"I may not be where I want to be...but thank God I'm not where I was!" - Joyce Meyer