Our First 5K我們的 第一次五千米賽跑

by Lisa M. Bartelt 楊舟

Unity is strength...When there is teamwork and collaboration1，

wonderful things can be achieved.

—Mattie Stepanek

團(tuán)結(jié)就是力量……在有團(tuán)隊(duì)合作的時(shí)候，美好的事情就可以實(shí)現(xiàn)。

——馬提·斯特帕尼克

I warned my husband that something crazy was about to come out of my mouth. “I think we need to run a 5K.”

我警告過我丈夫，我嘴里忍不住快要說出什么瘋狂的東西了?！拔矣X得我們要跑一次五千米賽跑。”

I was not a runner. I was a stay-at-home mom. With my husband in graduate school， and a toddler2 and a baby in the house， exercise hadnt been a priority3. Running was just about the last thing I ever thought I would do for fun.

我不是賽跑選手，我是一個(gè)全職媽媽。我的丈夫在讀研究生，屋里有一個(gè)剛學(xué)步的孩子和一個(gè)嬰兒，鍛煉并不是我的首要任務(wù)。跑步幾乎是我最不可能為了好玩而做的事情。

But it was an idea I hadnt been able to shake for a couple of days. A friend had posted something on Facebook about a program that would take people from no exercise to running a 5K in nine weeks， and I was interested in it.

但這是我?guī)滋煲詠矶紱]能動(dòng)搖的一個(gè)想法。一個(gè)朋友在Facebook（美國(guó)一個(gè)社交網(wǎng)站）上發(fā)布了一個(gè)計(jì)劃，可以讓人們?cè)诰胖軆?nèi)從不鍛煉到跑五千米，我對(duì)此很感興趣。

My husband， who had been to an army boot camp and served eight years in the reserves， was all in from the start. He started researching running gear4， jogging strollers5 and a 5K we could register for a few months later. Me？ Even though it was technically my idea， I was hesitant. In high school， one of the physical-education requirements was to run a mile-and-a-half every year. I always came in near last. I remembered how slow I was. I would sweat and feel like I was going to faint6 as my face turned deep shades of red. I had to walk part of the way. I was really in no shape to be running.

我的丈夫參加過一個(gè)軍隊(duì)新兵訓(xùn)練營(yíng)，并在預(yù)備役部隊(duì)服役八年，他從一開始就全力投入。他開始研究跑步裝備、慢跑嬰兒推車和幾個(gè)月后我們可以報(bào)名注冊(cè)的五千米賽跑。至于我呢？盡管嚴(yán)格來說這是我的主意，但我還是猶豫不決。在高中，體育教育的要求之一是每年跑一英里半（約2.4千米）。我總是跑在幾乎最后一個(gè)。我記得我有多慢。我會(huì)出汗，感覺自己快要暈倒了，同時(shí)臉變得很紅。我得走一段路。我真的不適合跑步。

Sometimes， I joked that the only time I would ever run after high school was if I needed to save my life. In a sense， I did. Our marriage was only three years old at this point and had been dealt a serious blow. While we both tried to keep our marriage together， it was going to take work. We needed a lot of help to repair our relationship， and for some reason I thought running would be part of the solution.

有時(shí)，我開玩笑說，高中畢業(yè)后我唯一會(huì)跑步的時(shí)候就是我要逃命的時(shí)候。從某種意義上說，確實(shí)是這樣。我們的婚姻到現(xiàn)在才三年，就已經(jīng)受到了嚴(yán)重的打擊。雖然我們都致力于維系我們的婚姻，但這需要努力。我們需要很多幫助來修復(fù)我們的關(guān)系，出于某種原因，我認(rèn)為跑步是解決辦法的一部分。

I was desperate7 enough to think that training for a 5K would be good for our marriage. For one， wed have to spend time together several days a week. We had registered for a 5K that was exactly nine weeks from when we started the training program， so we had to keep to a strict schedule. Happy time as a couple was something we lacked， what with two small kids and no family within 800 miles. During our training， we had a few offers from friends to watch the kids， but buying a jogging stroller was our guarantee8 that we wouldnt miss a workout.

我出于無奈，認(rèn)為訓(xùn)練五千米跑對(duì)我們的婚姻有好處。首先，我們一周有幾天的時(shí)間必須在一起。我們報(bào)名參加的五千米賽跑，正好在我們開始訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃的九周后，所以我們必須嚴(yán)格遵守時(shí)間表。作為一對(duì)夫婦，我們?nèi)鄙匍_心的時(shí)光，因?yàn)槲覀冇袃蓚€(gè)小孩，在八百英里（約1300千米）內(nèi)沒有家人。在我們訓(xùn)練的過程中，我們收到了一些朋友要來幫忙照看孩子的提議，但是買一輛慢跑嬰兒推車是我們不會(huì)錯(cuò)過鍛煉機(jī)會(huì)的保證。

Second， I needed to accomplish something difficult—to push myself beyond what was easy and comfortable. I wasnt sure if I could run a 5K or save my marriage， but I knew I couldnt do either if I didnt try. I hoped that training for my first-ever 5K would help me develop the kind of discipline9 and perseverance10 I would need to face difficulties of all kinds.

第二，我需要完成一件困難的事情——把自己推出安逸舒適區(qū)。我不確定我是否能跑五千米賽跑或者挽救我的婚姻，但我知道，如果不努力，就哪個(gè)也都做不到。我希望第一次參加五千米跑的訓(xùn)練能幫助我養(yǎng)成面對(duì)各種困難所需要的紀(jì)律和毅力。

Third， I wanted the physical act of striving toward a common goal to inspire us to do the same for our relationship. I wasnt sure which would be harder.

第三，我希望朝著一個(gè)共同的目標(biāo)來努力的行動(dòng)，能激勵(lì)我們?yōu)閮蓚€(gè)人的關(guān)系做同樣的努力。我不確定哪個(gè)更難做到。

Nothing dramatic happened in those nine weeks. I didnt lose a bunch of weight. Our marriage didnt improve better automatically11. But， week by week， we stuck to the plan and gave it our best effort.

在那九個(gè)星期里沒有發(fā)生什么戲劇性的事情。我沒有減掉很多體重，我們的婚姻并沒有自動(dòng)修復(fù)。但是，一周又一周，我們堅(jiān)持計(jì)劃，盡了最大的努力。

The morning of the race， I was up with the kids before dawn， as usual. Their grandparents came to town to watch them （and us） during the run. It was a cold November morning and I questioned our sanity12. This idea had always been crazy to me， but now that the reality of it had arrived. I was even more sure that this unconventional13 plan was not something normal people did.

賽跑的那天早上，我像往常一樣在黎明前和孩子們一起起床。他們的祖父母在比賽期間來鎮(zhèn)上看他們（和我們）。那是一個(gè)寒冷的十一月的早晨，我對(duì)我們的理智產(chǎn)生了懷疑。這個(gè)想法對(duì)我來說一直都是瘋狂的，但現(xiàn)在現(xiàn)實(shí)已經(jīng)到來，我更加確信這個(gè)非常規(guī)的計(jì)劃不是正常人能做出來的。

My body hummed with adrenaline14 and nervousness as we gathered with hundreds of runners at the start line. And then we were off—putting our training to the test on the actual race route. It was an emotional 36 minutes. The first mile passed quickly. The second mile dragged. We saw our kids a couple of times on the route， and I blinked back the tears. As we neared the end， people wed never met—fellow runners—shouted encouragement.

當(dāng)我們?cè)谄鹋芫€上同成百上千的參賽者聚集在一起時(shí)，我的身體充滿了腎上腺素和緊張不安。然后，我們出發(fā)了——到實(shí)際比賽路線中去檢驗(yàn)我們的訓(xùn)練成果。這是令人情緒激動(dòng)的36分鐘。首個(gè)一英里很快就跑過去了。第二個(gè)一英里是拖著步子完成的。我們?cè)诼飞蠋状慰吹搅宋覀兊暮⒆觽?，我眨了眨眼忍住了眼淚。當(dāng)我們接近終點(diǎn)時(shí)，與我們素昧平生的人——與我們同樣的跑步者——大聲叫嚷鼓勵(lì)著我們。

When the finish line came into view， my husband， who was slightly ahead of me， reached back toward me to take my hand. I couldnt hold back the tears any longer. That one gesture symbolized so much of what we had been through in the past months. After all that had happened， he was still reaching for me. We were still in it together.

當(dāng)終點(diǎn)線映入眼簾時(shí)，跑在我前面一點(diǎn)的丈夫，轉(zhuǎn)頭向我伸出手來握住了我的手。我再也忍不住眼淚了。那個(gè)手勢(shì)象征著我們過去幾個(gè)月所經(jīng)歷的一切。在這一切發(fā)生之后，他仍會(huì)朝我伸出手，我們還在一起。

We finished the race holding hands and sobbing15. Running a 5K hadnt made our marriage perfect， but it had changed something in us， something I hoped would last.

我們手拉著手流著淚完成了比賽。跑五千米賽跑并沒有讓我們的婚姻更完美，但它改變了我們之間的一些東西，我希望這將持續(xù)下去。

That was eight years ago. Were still married. Weve run a few 5Ks since then， and weve had more than a few difficulties in that time. But the lessons from that 5K remain. We make time for each other. We push ourselves to do and say what is difficult because we know it will be good for us. And we keep our goals in front of us， working together as a team.

那是八年前的事了，我們現(xiàn)在還在一起。從那時(shí)起，我們已經(jīng)跑了幾次五千米賽跑，并且在那期間遇到了不少問題。但那次五千米賽跑的經(jīng)驗(yàn)教訓(xùn)依然還在。我們?yōu)楸舜蓑v出時(shí)間。我們強(qiáng)迫自己去做困難的事情，去說難以說出口的話，因?yàn)槲覀冎肋@對(duì)我們有好處。我們把目標(biāo)擺在面前，就像一個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)一樣一起努力。

I cant say I love running yet， but I love how running makes me feel. Strong. Confident. Accomplished. All because I took a chance on a crazy-for-me idea.

我還是不能說我喜歡跑步，但我喜歡跑步帶給我的感覺：堅(jiān)強(qiáng)、自信、成就感。這都是因?yàn)槲遗鲞\(yùn)氣嘗試了個(gè)瘋狂的點(diǎn)子。

（英語原文選自：www.chickensoup.com）

【Notes】

1. collaboration [?????] n. 合作

2. toddler [?????] n. 學(xué)步的小孩

3. priority [?????] n. 優(yōu)先;優(yōu)先考慮的事

4. gear [?????] n. （用于特定活動(dòng)的）設(shè)備、服裝

5. stroller [?????] n. 折疊式嬰兒車

6. faint [?????] vi. 昏倒

7. desperate [?????] adj. 不顧一切的;令人絕望的

8. guarantee [?????] n. 保證

9. discipline [?????] n. 紀(jì)律

10. perseverance [?????] n. 堅(jiān)持不懈

11. automatically [?????] adv. 自動(dòng)地;無意識(shí)地

12. sanity [?????] n. 明智;頭腦清楚;精神健全

13. unconventional [?????] adj. 非常規(guī)的;不依慣例的

14. adrenaline [?????] n. 腎上腺素

15. sob [?????] v. 啜泣，嗚咽