213.6 - When Do You Become An Athlete?

Weight - 213.6
Weight Lost - 21.8 lb. in 50 days

Total Calories Eaten - 1680
Today's MFD calorie allowance - 2397 for a 2 lb loss/week rate
MFD occupation activity level - Moderate Activity
HWHL or Trainer Momma calorie allowance - 1586 for a 2 lb loss/week rate at 218 pounds
Total MFD Exercise/Activity Calories Earned - 1014
MFD Calorie Balance - 717 left to eat at 2lb loss/week rate
MFD Weight Loss Rate Today - 3.4 lb loss/week
HWHL Points Today - 36 (419 total this session) I blew a lot of things today, like my fruits and veggies, and I just munched a cookie right at bedtime, but I made up for it by posting and by exercising 90 minutes today!!
Exercise - 24 min. of laps in the pool, 1/2 mile, and 60 min of Zumba class, 6 min of steps (I ran back and forth to the rec center 3 times today, it's a big facility, plus a ton of running up and down the stairs all day with the kids, etc., so I gave myself 6 min of steps to cap off the 24 min of swimming)

Okay, so I had this goal to get up at 5am and swim. Sooooo didn't happen. But I did get up later and go. I ran out of time to do a mile, but I did my fastest swimming stroke, called freestyle or crawl, so I did a half-mile in 24 minutes. I might try and see if I can do a mile tomorrow.

I just posted on HWHL:

Merriam Webster defines athlete as "a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina." I've been getting in pretty good shape, but I don't think I'm an "athlete" yet. Not by a long shot. To me, athlete implies not just physical fitness, but also participation in some kind of competition. But how often, and what kind?

I was thinking about this as I was swimming laps today. I did 1/2 mile in 24 minutes. A mile, 5280 feet, is 1609.344 meters, so a 1/2 mile is about 800 meters. The women's Olympic record for 800 meters is 8:14.10. Yeah, I'm super-slow in comparison. Should I set a goal of a 12-minute half-mile? Could I be an athlete then?

What are your thoughts? What makes an athlete?