Am I a Triathlete or do I Do Triathlons?

So sometimes I get to talking to someone and it comes up that I swim or bike or run- whatever the topic is.  And they ultimately say...are you a swimmer?  Or a runner or a cyclist.  And I usually say, "I do triathlons, so I swim, bike AND run."  I was thinking this morning, "why do I say it like that?"  If I ran all the time, I'd simply say I'm a runner.  Heather is a swimmer.  I have friends who are cyclists. Why can't I just say that I'm a triathlete?? I think it's because I don't really consider myself an athlete. Whenever someone asks me if I run, I tell them I do, but I'm really slow.  Same thing with swimming. "Yeah, I swim, but I'm really slow."  WHY DO I SAY IT LIKE THAT??!?!?!!??!  If a friend of mine said that, I'd smack them in the head (probably figuratively!) and tell them to stop putting themselves down.

 I am vowing right now to stop. It's probably self defeating.  I train.  I complete.  I finish all my races middle of the pack.  I recognize that I am average and I'll likely not make it to the top of the podium until I'm 80 and the I'm only one left on the podium.  I'm usually not competing against the rest of the field for time and place....I'm competing against myself on some goal I have set.  Sometimes it's a goal to beat a personal best on the run or bike.  Sometimes it's to maintain a certain attitude. For example, in my last Sprint triathlon (a short one), my goal was to swim aggressively, go all out on the bike, and try not to fall apart on the run. And I met all of them!   But rarely is it to beat a whole bunch of people.  I usually finish about the 40%-ile on the swim and 50-60%-ile on the bike and run.  So, apparently I'm not slow!  I'm about average.  So- I train and compete.  And I finish average.  I am not slow.  I don't "do" triathlons.

 I AM A TRIATHLETE.