在體育運(yùn)動(dòng)中，想要堅(jiān)持到最后靠的不僅僅是體力，還有耐力。當(dāng)你覺(jué)得自己已經(jīng)筋疲力盡時(shí)，不要想太多，堅(jiān)持下去，直到抵達(dá)終點(diǎn)。不管成績(jī)和名次如何，你都已經(jīng)獲得了屬于自己的那份成功。

Maybe it was because I was only seven years old， but my patience level was near zero. When my dad finally came around1） the bend of that Montauk road， the crowd cheered.

All the excitement， hyperactivity2） and frenzy3）， erupted out of me when my dad crossed the finish line. It really showed me how his hard work and effort paid off and it sparked my curiosity. I wondered whether a small boy of my size could ever achieve something like that. I longed to feel the accomplishment of finishing a triathlon4）.

The thing about triathlons is they are three sports—swimming， biking and running—done in one competition. I knew I could do all those sports separately， but the tricky part would be doing them all one after another. The very thought frightened me. I was a small kid； I had never had much experience in any of the three sports and to imagine doing all three at once sounded impossible. I found myself saying this out loud and my father overheard5） me. He encouraged me and said I could train with him any time. Nearly trembling with excitement and fear， I accepted the challenge.

Training with my dad turned out to be very challenging， but it was a great way to spend time with him. I think it is important to state that my father is extremely passionate about exercise. His devotion gets him out of the house and running， biking， or swimming， no matter how tired he is or whatever the weather.

So I agreed to train with him， and soon found out it was a big commitment. We would get up early for a morning jog， or go for a swim at the pool after school. I started to realize that my dad was competing not only with his fellow triathletes6） but also with himself， especially in a sport such as running. In running， it is mind over matter7）—I learned this watching my dad push himself despite the pain.

In endurance sports， optimism is necessary—the kind of optimism that enables you to ignore the next big hill and focus on the next small step. Each leg8） of the race keeps getting harder and harder， so to look at the next difficulty and take it on9） smiling is key. Given this is not my career， I try to keep it light and fun. Training sometimes feels arduous10）， but I never regretted getting out of bed and doing something. These are important lessons that my dad taught me.

After a few weeks of training， I was signed up for11） my first triathlon.

To begin the competition， I stood on the beach of a lake very nervously next to 200 grown men. It was 5：30 in the morning and I was up to12） my knees in cold water. Then I listened to the national anthem13）， making me feel like what I was doing was of national importance. I was out there， shivering with cold and nerves14） and lack of sleep， and someone fired a gun.

The gun disoriented15） me as I half waddled16）， half scampered17）， elbowing hairy man-arms for open water. Then I was off， swimming towards the impossibly distant buoy18） that marked my turn. I exited the half-mile swim and ran as fast as I could， barefoot and freezing， towards my bike. I fumbled19）， dripping wet， trying to mount it. Once on my bike， I found an exhilaration specific to cycling. Cycling is a natural activity for most people and time seemed to go by faster during this portion of the race.

I went through the transition zone20） again and switched to my running shoes. Another important part of triathlons is to transition as fast as possible， so tying my shoes quickly is something I had practiced many times before. Unlike a normal foot race， at the start of the run portion of the triathlon， my legs already felt like they were made of cement21）.

For me， the real competition began during the run， because now I could see each competitor as a target. No matter my position in the field， each racer was either chasing me or being chased. The running portion of the race boiled down to22） pain tolerance， and it was more mental than physical. One of my favorite quotes to keep from thinking about the burning feeling I had was "shut up， legs". This was a quote from Jens Voigt23）， the famous German cyclist.

Then I crossed the finish line. I took a breath. At first I was calm， but then began a celebration with the other finishers. I felt like I had just discovered a community with which I had something in common. It could be that we were all blissfully insane， but I think it was really that we were all happy to have the same desire： to finish and endure a difficult race. No matter what time or place each of us achieved， the sense of accomplishment was there for all of us.

Looking back， I remember the bony， impatient seven-year-old on that cold day in Montauk who thought he couldn&apos；t do it. Now， that same kid is not only a huge fan， but also a training partner.

也許是因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)我才七歲，可我的耐心值已幾近為零。當(dāng)爸爸的身影終于再次出現(xiàn)在蒙托克路的彎道處時(shí)，人群歡呼起來(lái)。

當(dāng)爸爸越過(guò)終點(diǎn)線(xiàn)的那一刻，所有的激動(dòng)、亢奮和狂喜都從我的內(nèi)心噴涌而出。這個(gè)場(chǎng)面讓我切實(shí)地看到他的辛苦和努力是如何獲得回報(bào)的，這激發(fā)了我的好奇心。我想知道我這樣個(gè)頭的小男孩有沒(méi)有可能取得一點(diǎn)那樣的成績(jī)。我渴望體驗(yàn)一下完成鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的那種成就感。

鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的特點(diǎn)是在一次比賽中要完成三個(gè)體育項(xiàng)目——游泳、騎自行車(chē)和跑步。我知道自己可以分別完成所有這些項(xiàng)目，但難就難在，要一個(gè)接一個(gè)地把它們都給完成。一想到這里，我就害怕了。我還是個(gè)小孩，對(duì)于這三個(gè)體育項(xiàng)目中的任何一項(xiàng)都未曾有過(guò)太多的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，一口氣完成所有這三項(xiàng)，光是想想似乎都不可能。我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己大聲說(shuō)出了內(nèi)心的想法，而爸爸無(wú)意中聽(tīng)到了。他鼓勵(lì)我，還說(shuō)我隨時(shí)都可以跟他一起訓(xùn)練。我既興奮又害怕，幾乎是顫抖著接受了這項(xiàng)挑戰(zhàn)。

結(jié)果證明，跟爸爸一起訓(xùn)練極富挑戰(zhàn)，不過(guò)這也是和他共度時(shí)光的一種很棒的方式。我覺(jué)得有必要說(shuō)明一下，我爸爸是一個(gè)對(duì)運(yùn)動(dòng)特別有熱情的人。對(duì)于運(yùn)動(dòng)的熱愛(ài)會(huì)讓他走出家門(mén)去跑步、騎行或是游泳，不管他有多累，無(wú)論天氣如何。

所以，我同意跟他一起訓(xùn)練，而且很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)這是一個(gè)很大的承諾。我們要早早起床進(jìn)行晨間慢跑，或是放學(xué)后去泳池游泳。我開(kāi)始意識(shí)到，爸爸不僅是在跟其他的鐵人三項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)員較量，也是在跟自己較量，尤其是在跑步這樣的運(yùn)動(dòng)中。跑步是一項(xiàng)精神勝于物質(zhì)的運(yùn)動(dòng)——看到爸爸不顧傷痛鞭策著自己繼續(xù)向前跑時(shí)，我認(rèn)識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)。

在耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)中，樂(lè)觀很必需，就是那種讓你能夠忽略下一個(gè)大坡而專(zhuān)注于下一小步的樂(lè)觀。比賽的每一段賽程都變得越來(lái)越艱難，所以微笑著直視下一個(gè)困難并且接受挑戰(zhàn)至關(guān)重要。鑒于我不是鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的專(zhuān)業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員，我盡量保持放松有趣的心態(tài)。訓(xùn)練有時(shí)讓人感覺(jué)很艱苦，但我從未后悔爬出被窩去進(jìn)行一些訓(xùn)練。這些都是我從爸爸那里學(xué)來(lái)的寶貴經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

訓(xùn)練了幾個(gè)星期后，爸爸給我報(bào)了名參加我的第一次鐵人三項(xiàng)賽。

比賽開(kāi)始前，我無(wú)比緊張地站在湖濱做準(zhǔn)備，身旁是200個(gè)成年男子。此時(shí)是凌晨5：30，冰冷的湖水沒(méi)到我的膝蓋。接下來(lái)我聽(tīng)了國(guó)歌，這讓我感覺(jué)自己正在做的事情對(duì)于國(guó)家意義重大。我站在湖水里，身子因?yàn)楹?、緊張和睡眠不足直發(fā)抖，這時(shí)，有人鳴響了發(fā)令槍。

槍聲使我失去了方向感，我半搖搖晃晃半連跑帶跳地往前走，用胳膊肘推開(kāi)那些男人汗毛濃密的胳膊，以獲得開(kāi)闊的水面。然后我就朝著屬于我的那個(gè)遠(yuǎn)得不可思議的折返浮標(biāo)游了出去。完成半英里的游泳賽段后，打著赤腳、已經(jīng)凍僵的我盡可能快地跑向了我的自行車(chē)。我渾身濕淋淋的，笨手笨腳地試圖騎上自行車(chē)。剛一騎上車(chē)，我就感到了騎自行車(chē)所特有的一種興奮。騎自行車(chē)對(duì)于大多數(shù)人而言是一項(xiàng)天然的運(yùn)動(dòng)，在這段賽程中，時(shí)間似乎也過(guò)得更快一些。

我又一次來(lái)到了轉(zhuǎn)換區(qū)，換上了自己的跑鞋。鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的另一個(gè)重要方面是要盡可能快地進(jìn)行項(xiàng)目轉(zhuǎn)換，所以我之前已經(jīng)練習(xí)了很多次快速系鞋帶這個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)。和普通的跑步比賽不同，鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的跑步比賽剛開(kāi)始，我就已經(jīng)感覺(jué)自己的雙腿像是水泥做的一般。

對(duì)我而言，真正的比賽從跑步賽段才開(kāi)始，因?yàn)榇藭r(shí)我可以將每一個(gè)選手都視作一個(gè)目標(biāo)。不論我身處賽場(chǎng)中的哪個(gè)位置，每個(gè)參賽者不是在追趕我就是在被我追趕。鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的跑步賽段歸根結(jié)底就是忍耐痛苦，與其說(shuō)這是身體上的考驗(yàn)，不如說(shuō)它是精神上的考驗(yàn)。身上那種火燒火燎的感覺(jué)只有那句格言“閉嘴，邁腿”才能讓我不去想，這句話(huà)是我最鐘愛(ài)的格言之一，是著名的德國(guó)自行車(chē)運(yùn)動(dòng)員延斯·福格特所說(shuō)的。

后來(lái)，我越過(guò)了終點(diǎn)線(xiàn)。我喘了一口氣。起初我還很平靜，但緊接著就跟其他到達(dá)終點(diǎn)的選手一起慶祝起來(lái)。我感覺(jué)自己似乎剛剛發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)群體，我和他們有著相同的愛(ài)好。我們可能都開(kāi)心死了，但我覺(jué)得我們真的都很開(kāi)心懷有那份同樣的渴望——堅(jiān)持去完成一次艱難的比賽。不論我們每一個(gè)人用多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間完成了比賽、名次如何，我們都獲得了成就感。

回望過(guò)去，我想起在蒙塔克那個(gè)寒冷的日子，那個(gè)骨瘦如柴又沒(méi)有耐心的七歲男孩認(rèn)為自己不可能完成鐵人三項(xiàng)賽。如今，還是這個(gè)孩子，他不但是鐵人三項(xiàng)賽的鐵桿粉絲，還是一位陪練。