My First Marathon (马拉松)
A month before my first marathon, one of my knees was hurt and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I decided to go ahead.
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher asked us to run laps and then hit a ball. I didn't do either well. He later told me that I was "not athletic(运动的)".
The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a fight against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the fight against my own body and mind.
The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating (流汗) all over, but ready to face the challenge.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces became undone. So I stopped to tie them again. Not the start I wanted!
At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"
By mile 17, I became out of breath and my knee hurt badly. Though feeling very painful, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.
By mile 21, I was quite hungry and thirsty!
As I drew closer to mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my cost on running.
I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in the first place had.
Decide to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".
