在體育運動中，想要堅持到最后靠的不僅僅是體力，還有耐力。當你覺得自己已經(jīng)筋疲力盡時，不要想太多，堅持下去，直到抵達終點。不管成績和名次如何，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.

也許是因為當時我才七歲，可我的耐心值已幾近為零。當爸爸的身影終于再次出現(xiàn)在蒙托克路的彎道處時，人群歡呼起來。

當爸爸越過終點線的那一刻，所有的激動、亢奮和狂喜都從我的內(nèi)心噴涌而出。這個場面讓我切實地看到他的辛苦和努力是如何獲得回報的，這激發(fā)了我的好奇心。我想知道我這樣個頭的小男孩有沒有可能取得一點那樣的成績。我渴望體驗一下完成鐵人三項賽的那種成就感。

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

結(jié)果證明，跟爸爸一起訓練極富挑戰(zhàn)，不過這也是和他共度時光的一種很棒的方式。我覺得有必要說明一下，我爸爸是一個對運動特別有熱情的人。對于運動的熱愛會讓他走出家門去跑步、騎行或是游泳，不管他有多累，無論天氣如何。

所以，我同意跟他一起訓練，而且很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)這是一個很大的承諾。我們要早早起床進行晨間慢跑，或是放學后去泳池游泳。我開始意識到，爸爸不僅是在跟其他的鐵人三項運動員較量，也是在跟自己較量，尤其是在跑步這樣的運動中。跑步是一項精神勝于物質(zhì)的運動——看到爸爸不顧傷痛鞭策著自己繼續(xù)向前跑時，我認識到了這一點。

在耐力運動中，樂觀很必需，就是那種讓你能夠忽略下一個大坡而專注于下一小步的樂觀。比賽的每一段賽程都變得越來越艱難，所以微笑著直視下一個困難并且接受挑戰(zhàn)至關(guān)重要。鑒于我不是鐵人三項賽的專業(yè)運動員，我盡量保持放松有趣的心態(tài)。訓練有時讓人感覺很艱苦，但我從未后悔爬出被窩去進行一些訓練。這些都是我從爸爸那里學來的寶貴經(jīng)驗。

訓練了幾個星期后，爸爸給我報了名參加我的第一次鐵人三項賽。

比賽開始前，我無比緊張地站在湖濱做準備，身旁是200個成年男子。此時是凌晨5：30，冰冷的湖水沒到我的膝蓋。接下來我聽了國歌，這讓我感覺自己正在做的事情對于國家意義重大。我站在湖水里，身子因為寒冷、緊張和睡眠不足直發(fā)抖，這時，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，用胳膊肘推開那些男人汗毛濃密的胳膊，以獲得開闊的水面。然后我就朝著屬于我的那個遠得不可思議的折返浮標游了出去。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。我渾身濕淋淋的，笨手笨腳地試圖騎上自行車。剛一騎上車，我就感到了騎自行車所特有的一種興奮。騎自行車對于大多數(shù)人而言是一項天然的運動，在這段賽程中，時間似乎也過得更快一些。

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

對我而言，真正的比賽從跑步賽段才開始，因為此時我可以將每一個選手都視作一個目標。不論我身處賽場中的哪個位置，每個參賽者不是在追趕我就是在被我追趕。鐵人三項賽的跑步賽段歸根結(jié)底就是忍耐痛苦，與其說這是身體上的考驗，不如說它是精神上的考驗。身上那種火燒火燎的感覺只有那句格言“閉嘴，邁腿”才能讓我不去想，這句話是我最鐘愛的格言之一，是著名的德國自行車運動員延斯·福格特所說的。

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

回望過去，我想起在蒙塔克那個寒冷的日子，那個骨瘦如柴又沒有耐心的七歲男孩認為自己不可能完成鐵人三項賽。如今，還是這個孩子，他不但是鐵人三項賽的鐵桿粉絲，還是一位陪練。