I Feel Like an Animal

At what point can you actually call yourself an athlete? Do you have to win races, place in your age group, do two-a-days everyday? Or, is constant determination and practice enough to achieve the coveted self-proclamation of "athlete." I think I got the answer I wanted on this morning's training run when I needed it most. We were doing fartleks around the Town Lake Trail. It's sad and comforting that we know every dip, crevise, crack and hill on that trail. It's also a private treasure to run on the trail long before the sun has hit the horizon. The plan was to run the first two miles slow, fartlek for 3 1/2 miles (2 min fast/1 min slow) and then cool down for a total run of 7 miles. I started my warmup with Amy, Anne, Dave and others who are also running Boston. The rest of the Gazelles were doing the same workout, but at a prescribed slower pace. By the end of the warmup, I had caught up with Thon who proved to be my inspiration and rabbit this morning. A couple of fartlek repeats go by and out of nowhere Thon says, "This workout makes me feel like an animal." And there it was. Oddly enough, it was at a moment of self-doubt. I didn't think I could hold the fartlek pace for 3 more miles. Whether we're being chased or the ones who are doing the chasing, we're all animals. The heavy breathing, the stealth legs, the quick turnover to maximize speed, the sense of panic when you know it's time to speed up again...Animals. I turned it into a chase and kept within 5-10 yards of Anne, Amy and Thon. After nine repeats and 3 1/2 miles of fartleks, they determined that it was enough. I was exhausted, but hungry for one more. Today, I was an animal. From now on, I'm also officially an athlete.

Funny for the Day: One of my clients called and complained about their commercial. He eventually sent me an email telling me that he sold 5 necklaces today because of that radio spot. :-)

Nutrition:

5:15am Whole wheat bread with peanut butter and 1/2 banana (this is a pattern). Bottle of water after my run.

9:30am 1 1/2 cups of Kashi Go Lean Crunch and Uncle Sam's combined, 1/2 banana, couple of cups of coffee...2 bottles of water.

11:30am Body For Life protein drink

1:15pm Chicken/asparagus/shrimp in a brown sauce with 1/4 cup rice, wonton soup, diet coke

4:00pm Irrational Craving and subsequent purchase of a small Sonic orange cream slush. (I apparently needed some sugar)

5:00pm Fresca

7:45pm Dinner Salad with Salsa, shrimp enchilada, grilled fish taco from Wahoos (new restaurant in Austin)...Diet coke

***Too many sodas today and not enough water!!***