What does it mean to be in good shape?

Holy smokes I’m sore!  With a new resolve to venture into the world of triathlons, I decided to get my but into the pool.  For the past month I’ve been doing many other activities besides running:  spin class, rowing, yoga, and the elliptical machine.  I haven’t started swimming, though, until last night.

I’m so intimidated by the pool for some strange reason.  Everytime I think about trying to swim some laps I chicken out.  Maybe that’s because I never learned the front crawl or maybe it’s because I know that I really stink at swimming.  Whatever the reason, I’ve avoided the pool. 

Last night I was persuaded to get into the water.  I kept thinking, “But I really don’t want to.  I’ll just go run on the treadmill or do a spin class.”  Finally, I reluctantly dragged my carcase into the pool.  Grabbing the kickboard and a pair of flippers, I was persuaded to do 10 laps of kicking across the pool.  Being a slight bit wacko, I decided to do 12. 

Wow!  What a great workout!  I could feel new quad muscles working and my abs lengthening.  Today, my body is sore but in a good way.

So, how does a person determine fitness level?  Are you in good shape if you can run 50+ miles per week?  Or are you in shape if you run fewer miles but do a lot of other sports?  A tricky question, for sure, but one I’d like to discuss.  Thoughts?