What could be more timely the week after New Year's than a Look Back at 2013 post? Yes, we're ankle deep in January and Athletish has been slacking. Still, this was a hell of a year that deserves its due. I didn't finish 2013 the same person I started out as. Nope. 2012 marked the end to an important chapter of my life, and we all know change is SO much fun. Stuff was weird but I had the gym. The people, the routine, the ass-kicking, it was the perfect outlet for all the stuff bottling up in my "outside" life.

ZAP!

Some people describe their road to fitness as a journey, or a transformation. Mine felt like a transmogrification. In the world of Calvin and Hobbes, six-year-old Calvin invents the transmogrifier to give himself the ability to turn into anything in the world, instantly (results vary if a stuffed tiger is at the controls).

It happened when I participated in my first rowing (or anything) competition at CIRC in February. ZAP! I went from someone who enjoyed working out a few times a week to a girl with a purpose. More classes. Graduating to CrossFit. Embracing new opportunities even if they alarmed me (Stand Up Paddling and skiing, to name but a few).

And I kept that pace all year. Hell, I did something active 221 times this year, including 5 races/marathons.

But with each new accomplishment and worthy struggle, my subconscious had to be a dick and ask, "So am I a real athlete now?" I never saw the checklist but apparently my brain kept an exhaustive one that I hadn't a shot of satisfying. See: impostor syndrome, classic case.

Oh Yeah, The Truth About Transmogrification

Transmogrification may be the most genius invention of all time but it has one minor catch. Nobody can see the effects except for Calvin and Hobbes. While possibly a limiting factor market value-wise, it worked fine for Calvin: when he transmogrified himself into a tiger (because they're better humans) for a week, his parents found their human son's behavior baffling but that didn't stop him from living the tiger life.

Enter my ironic achievement: Even though I had transmogrified myself into an athlete the day I got serious about fitness, I was the only one who couldn't see the change.

The proof isn't in the numerous tests that make you physically and mentally stronger. It's not in the Nike Plus points or the score on the whiteboard. If you want to see an athlete, look at your dedication to keep going, keep trying, keep being scared but doing it anyway. 

Take a lesson from Calvin. You are a tiger if you believe you're one. Let's make it happen, 2014!