Walt Disney world, Orlando, Florida. The happiest place on Earth? Maybe. The happiest marathon ever? Not exactly.

I have to admit that I didn’t train properly for this marathon, but the worst part was that I under-estimated how cruel the sun of the Sunshine State could be. Not as advertised or hoped we would have an average 40-50 degrees temperature in January, in fact, on Sunday January 7th, the marathon race day, runners had to run under almost 80 degrees and extreme humidity.

I stopped at every water stop and replenished myself with as much liquid as I could acquire; I ate some banana; I greeted to Mickey Mouse and seven dwarfs. I tried my best, but the weather defeated me and my legs almost failed me. I was happy at least when the race started with amazing fireworks; I was happy at least for the first half of the marathon when the sun wasn’t able to force my eyes shut and I managed to maintain my training pace. Then, my respiratory and perspiration rate skyrocketed along with the temperature. I believed that I saw steam coming out of the pavement. I was even convinced that the smile of the evil step-mother of Snow White was sincere. No wonder desperate desert travelers see mirages.

At least I reached the finish line with four hours, forty-six minutes, and thirty-eight seconds of struggle – all because of Mickey Mouse. The cute, golden, Mickey Mouse finish medal allured me more than the first apple did to Adam and Eve.

Here is the whole story:

For almost eight years, I’ve been living in the States, but not until this spring did I develop symptoms of allergies. It was a running nose in March and last week a clogged nose joined. I have problems breathing freely and my mouth hates to multi-task.

The whole situation becomes more absurd when I go climbing, “Are you breathing?” says the climbing instructor, and when I try to cross an eddy line in my kayak, “Don’t hold your breath!” say my experienced boating friends. I so much want to perform unobstructed inhales and exhales, yet I still hold my breath when I undergo abrupt movements or when I experience tough transitions.

Isn’t breathing the most natural thing? Not necessarily. Chinese Kung-fu masters ask their pupils to learn how to breathe before they learn any strokes, and the same thing happens in Yoga philosophy. In many aerobic sports – running, swimming, etc – people ask how they should breathe all the time, because breathing helps to develop rhythm and rhythm brings out endurance.

However, I had never imagined that one day I would have to constantly remind myself to breathe. It is almost as difficult as telling myself to relax when I just jump in a new sport. Both climbing and kayaking require balance, smoothness and elegance. I have heard so many climbers and kayakers use “grace” to refer to their beloved sports, and I will not hesitate to use that word if I know I can breathe better than naturally.

I always believe that a sport looks beautiful if you do it right. While my symptoms trigger my desire to breathe, I’ll just have to step further to keep working on that. I’ll keep monitoring myself as long as it needs to: If I hold my breath, I interrupt the continuity of a sport and disturb its momentum. And the end result? The beauty of the sport will be suffocated.

I enjoyed this marathon. It was like a festival which attracted almost two thousand marathon participants. We ran under the sunshine, towards the wind, with the seagulls, and along the beaches.

Most importantly, I finished it. I thought that I would have dropped out at some point, because one of my tendons or ligaments between my right hamstring and calf was over-stretched, and I had to cut down my training. But, I kept running; so many people were there running with me, I never had to feel lonely. So many spectators were lining up, waiting for me to pass them in order to give me an encouraging clap. So many volunteers were cheering me on, asking me to stay motivated. Therefore, I kept running and because I knew, at the finish line, somebody was waiting for me.

I learned how to in-line skate pretty much on my own: I bought a pair of in-line skates and I took them to the riverfront and skated. I was quite nervous the first two runs and almost ripped somebody’s top off when I followed him going downhill. Shortly after that I started to feel quite good on skates since I had no ambition on those 4-wheel things other than driving forward.

As a thunderstorm always comes in when you least expect it, God likes to pick a rough time to show you life is in fact cruel. I participated in one of the Landskaters’ Tuesday-night city skates and that was when my confidence faced one of the most severe challenges. I had a hard time following the skate and many times I was so close to being swept away by the sweeper.

A lot of projects are carried out everyday, ranging from neglectable teeth brushing in the morning to a large-scale business takeover. In order to achieve success, we plan our projects carefully step-be-step, and implement them cautiously and consistently. In other words, we want to make sure we are always in control.

When we exercise, we want to be in control too. Not only does it maximize the effect of a workout, but also it minimizes the probability of sport-related injuries.

從來不知道什麼叫累，我總認為「不為也，非不能也」。

週末連續兩天的滑雪課程，每天在雪上練習約六個小時。除了初學乍練以外，這滑雪通常讓人維持著，懸空坐著國王的新椅子的姿勢，大大考驗股四頭肌。

週一醒來，全身酸痛，除了大腿肌肉僵硬以外，屁股邊、腿上摔著的地方，也此起彼落的哀聲大作。我想，這正常，每次新學種運動，總是這樣的，等肌肉習慣了之後就好了。很自然地取消當天應做的訓練項目，跑步以及游泳。也把和攀岩繩伴的約會順延到第二天。

〈訓練腹部的肌肉〉

忘記從哪一本書讀到過，所謂fitness包括三部分：endurance、strength、和flexibility。一般來說，設計自己的訓練課程的時候，最好三者兼顧，有事半功倍、減少運動傷害的好處；換句話說，基本上也就是兼顧有氧運動、重訓和伸展運動。

在重訓方面，個人覺得又以腹部和下背部的肌肉訓練最為重要，以我從事的運動來舉例：譬如說划獨木舟，划槳的時候，就是靠腹部和下背部，旋轉帶動肩膀和手臂划槳的。而跑步避免運動傷害很重要的一點，就是抬頭挺胸，身體打直，也因此腹部和下背部肌肉的支撐效果不容忽視。

我訓練這兩部分肌肉所做的運動，以腹部來說，我會平躺在地上，雙腿伸直併攏，一起抬高約二十到三十度，感覺到腹部有在使力支撐，等到累了再放下，休息約三十秒，再重複一次，總共做三次。

至於下背部，我會將做重訓的adjustable bench調成將近九十度，人站在bench上，雙足固定在bench底部和背部交接的地方，下腹部大約抵在bench背部的頂端附近，雙手交叉抱在胸前，彎下身子，以下背部的力量將上半身舉起直到全身打直，慢慢地，做十次，休息30到40秒，再做十次，總共做三個十次。如果強度不夠，雙手可以加持啞鈴。

在雜誌上看到一些訓練腹部肌肉的運動，感覺上像是仰臥起坐的變形，可供參考：
（建議訓練量是每個單項做兩個十次）

一、
平躺，膝蓋彎曲。雙足固定卡在重物之下（或請人幫忙按住雙足）。雙手交叉抱在胸前，下巴內縮。以腹部的力量將上半身撐起，直到上半身和地面成九十度，維持約一秒，躺下。

二、
和一的不同，這個運動加入旋轉的動作。十指交叉放在頭後面，以手肘尖端的方向作引導，撐起上半身時，以右手手肘瞄準左膝的方向帶動身體的旋轉，下一次則是左手手肘瞄準右膝的方向。

三、
平躺，雙足併攏，雙手往後延伸，抓住一個固定物。將雙膝舉起貼到胸前，再慢慢將雙膝往天花板的方向抬高，直到不能繼續抬高為止，放下。

〈好玩的馬拉松〉

本期的雜誌除了列出2006年美國境內的馬拉松比賽，還做了一篇專題報導，列出他們選出的幾個有趣的馬拉松。

其中一個引起我注意，打算2007去跑的馬拉松，是在佛州的Walt Disney World Marathon，為什麼呢？因為完成獎牌是一隻米老鼠。搞不好是所有馬拉松完成獎牌中，最可愛的一個吧。

另外，美國最老牌的Boston馬拉松，搞不好我這輩子都沒辦法參加的馬拉松。要參加這個馬拉松，先必須通過資格考驗，以我的年紀來說，我要跑進三小時40分才可以參賽，這這這，對我實在太難了，嗚嗚。

不過，我可以想辦法去參加大拜拜似的紐約馬拉松，這個馬拉松超級多人跑的，所以報名了還不代表就可以去跑。報名者必須參加抽籤，幸運者才可以去參賽。不過如果今年沒抽到，主辦單位會自動把你加到下一年的名單中，並提高你下一年的抽中機率，如果三年都沒抽中，第四年不抽籤直接讓你去跑了。

圖：Sunfish Pond

我運動，為的是走更長的路，爬更高的山，看更遠的風景，所以我鍛鍊我自己，想要變得更強。

最早期，我僅不過是慢跑而已。漸漸地我騎腳踏車上下學，也慢慢添購一些啞鈴、心跳表等等的訓練器材。可若是硬要挑出一個鍛鍊項目中，最喜愛的一項？我會毫不遲疑的說：游泳。

我很晚很晚才學會游泳，第一次可以游完25公尺，我恐怕也已經25歲了。很多美國朋友聽說我才學會游泳不過幾年，莫不瞪大眼睛說：「台灣不是一個島國嗎？」他們以為台灣的孩子們，沒事就會像電影中的希臘居民，天生對海水有深深的愛戀。

小時候其實是有機會學會游泳的。那時候不知道為什麼，媽媽沒有堅持要我們小孩子們上什麼才藝班，但是卻要求我們認真學英文和學游泳。偏偏我從沒喜歡過英文又怕水，終於體會媽媽的深意，還是在遠離故土、踏上異鄉之後了。

當時還是小學生的我，報名了游泳班，和其他十幾個小朋友共用一個教練。記得的只有：不停的打水、超擁擠的游泳池、還有一點都沒有耐心的教練。別的小朋友都很開心，我卻總覺得不管漂向那裡都會撞倒人，更別說心裡總嘀咕教練偏愛那些進度快的孩子了。

有一年，跟著兩個大人和一個童年玩伴到游泳池去玩水，我是真的去玩水，玩伴卻早就四式全都精通，小朋友愛玩，突然他就不由分說地把我整個人壓到池底，我掙扎好久，浮出水面已經是哭紅了眼睛。不用說，他早就被大人罵到臭頭，而我對水又更增一層恐懼。

剛上高一時，聽說過一個沒有證實過的謠言，說是：「若不會游泳，就不能畢業。」誰知道鬼使神差地，游泳池在我高一下那年打掉重建，在我畢業之後才建好，我那時候常常問自己：「這到底是幸還是不幸？」

終於又報名了游泳課，還是自己給自己找了一個很可笑的理由。我看著鏡子，對自己說：「你這麼愛玩，難道不知道地球上百分之七十以上都是水嗎？你不會覺得很可惜嗎？」可笑歸可笑，我是真的覺得很可惜。很幸運的，一個教練只需要指導四個學生，也對學生們相當地有耐心。

一開始，我只有在每週上課的時候，到游泳池報到。漸漸地我發現，為什麼同班同學都持續地進步，只有我在原地打轉？於是我規定自己每天都得到游泳池，練習一個鐘頭。並且決定先只專心練好一種泳式。雖然自由式是四式當中最有效率的泳式，可我還是選了容易上手、換氣不容易吃水的蛙式。

天天游、天天游，從朋友嘲笑我姿勢難看當中，我也終於可以從一次游25公尺到1600公尺，這大概花了我一年的時間。這一年中，除了逐漸增大距離，我建立了自信。在那一陣子不會游泳的過往歲月，我偶而會夢見我從高空中墜入海水中，慌張地無以復加，突然發現居然在水底我也可以像在岸上一般地呼吸。自從我學會游泳之後，就再也沒有做過類似的夢。

建立了自信之後，我懂得在水中放鬆自己，可以放慢節奏，讓身體去感覺手腳的推動以及水的反作用力的關係。放鬆和感覺，幾乎是我學習任何運動，教練跟我耳提面命的首要原則。有趣的是，除非我對自己有一定的自信，要不然真的很難做到真正的放鬆；而到了真正可以放鬆的時候，才不覺得地好笑地說，如果早可以放鬆，事情不是簡單多了嗎？

可是，對一個初學者來說，誰不怕被水嗆到？誰不怕翻船？誰不怕摔倒在冰涼的雪地上？可是不管做什麼運動，一定要放鬆，才會有最佳表現。當我分享我的學習心得給其他的初學者的時候，我總是會說，每一件事都有瓶頸，一旦過了那一點，馬上就會海闊天空，只要相信自己可以，堅持下去，那麼成就感排山倒海而來的那一瞬間，是指日可待的。

建立了對自我的自信，我開始可以對我自己的技巧加以分析。我一向是喜歡分析的人，因為我相信不管是什麼現象，背後一定有一個合理的解釋。不可能沒有解釋，只有不知道該怎麼解釋。我照著書本，這幾個星期專心分析我的手，下幾個星期專心分析我的腳，再來是夾水，再來是手肘，一點一點的進步中。

好一陣子，游泳生涯沒有什麼新的刺激，直到我報名參加個人首次的三項運動。蛙式是真的很慢，大家都游自由式，我事後翻閱了一下比賽記錄，我游泳的成績在約五百個參賽者當中，是倒數的，於是我又進了游泳班。

由於有游泳的經驗，不用克服對水的陌生感，我新學了不少東西。自由式的換氣終於不再吃水，也不再猛打水弄得自己疲累不堪。最神奇的經驗是，我居然學了蝶式，還游了將近20公尺，我一直以為我這輩子大概不會像海豚一樣在水裡跳來跳去了，而游蝶式的感覺真奇妙，奇妙到我現在都還不知道該怎麼去分析。

目前游自由式游不到50公尺就得休息，但我的目標是要游到1600公尺。目前我使用自由式和蛙式交叉游的方式，舉例來說，游一趟自由式，游三趟蛙式，總里程數為800公尺，等身體習慣之後，再慢慢加大游自由式的比例。我希望等那一天我可以游1600公尺的時候，再去挑戰一次三項運動。

圖：sniper作品，合歡北峰看奇萊北峰

As a runner, I own two pairs of running shoes. I also learned that I get to shop for a new pair when I have accumulated 500 ~ 600 miles on my current pair. However, with today’s manufacturing technique, at the time my shoes are ready to retire, they will still look quite in shape. So, here is the dilemma: Running injuries or green Earth?

Luckily, retired running shoes can be recycled, and this is a cool thing that Nike does. Right now they run their “Reuse-a-shoe” program in the US, UK, Australia and Japan. From their site I found out one of the drop-off location in Philadelphia is City Sports which I visit quite often. I also called just now to confirm it.

My two pairs of running shoes have registered 180 and 258 miles respectively. Although it will take another several months for me to take action, it’s nice to know what to do with them, because it will make my new shoes shopping more pleasant.

At mile 24, the last aid station, a cup of Gatorade was handed to me. Orange flavor, great, just happened to be my favorite. All the volunteers at the aid station played another role as a cheerleader, “come on, you can finish it; you got ONLY 2 miles to go.” I felt like I could see those pom-poms flying in the sky.

“2 miles. What a surprising short distance! Should be ridiculously a piece of cake.” Apparently, my mind game didn’t work; my legs for sure understood that these weren’t any 2 miles that had a fresh start; these were the last 2 miles of a marathon. And I am telling you, I was exhausted.

I grabbed a handful of pretzels and a cup of water. Not only was I tired, but I was starving. The pretzels were not tasty anymore, they were soaked because of the rain, and my mind was softened as well, not being able to play tough. As I was counting each pretzel I chewed, I was counting each step I walked. Right, I was walking, and I walked for almost a mile. Once you start to walk for an extended time, you are doomed. If not because I knew that at the finish line, somebody was waiting for me, I couldn’t have raised my knee again.

Mile 26. My husband started to run right next to me, and together we finished my longest 0.2 miles. 5 hours 12 minutes 21 seconds; I was expecting to finish this within five hours when I finished the first half within 2 hours and 20 minutes, but I should still feel proud, right? After all, this was my first marathon. I limped around because of the blister at my right little toe growing since mile 15 or so, having this complicated mixed feelings of proudness and disappointment.

The first two days after the marathon, my sore legs kept sending me flashbacks. The more I recalled the memories of the marathon, the better I realized my disappointment was simply nonsense. I made a commitment of 26.2 miles, and I fulfilled it. Fast or slow pace, it was a respectful effort. Never have to mention that during the process, I had nice running weather, pleasant scenery, and cheerful people. I learned a lot and I have grown more confidence to ensure the next marathon will be even nicer. “Next marathon?” you might ask. Yes, you didn’t hear me wrong; I am addicted.

上個禮拜天，完成了第一個馬拉松，貨真價實的 26.2 miles。

其實大概剛開始練跑的時候，就有想過要嘗試，也確確實實地練習了好一段時日，後來因為冬天下雪找到藉口，開始曠日廢時。終於又恢復練習，還是因為寄出一份報名表（加上報名費），這下找到督促自己的藉口。不過練習的過程中，也不是挺老實的，居然最後在參賽之前，跑過最長的距離也不過20 miles而已。離終點線還有6.2 miles 的距離。

本來想真的不行，就跑半馬好了。沒想到跑完半馬，感覺身體很輕很舒服，不知不覺地繼續跑下去。跑了 15 miles ，右腳指開始覺得不太對，我心知是長水泡了。水泡是跑者的大敵，練習的時候，我從來沒有長過水泡，只是馬拉松當天，一直下著小雨，有時候也會踩過泥濘的地面，潮濕的鞋襪大大提升長水泡的機率。可是身上並沒有準備另一雙乾燥的襪子，也只好認份地跑下去。

前23 miles，平均還可以維持在11分鐘跑完1 mile的情況。可惜，慢慢地，訓練量不足果然開始反映到實際的比賽上了。雖然很多人說，馬拉松跑過第20 mile，就開始是心理戰了，不過練跑從沒跑過馬拉松的長度，真的很難不懷疑自己，一有疑慮，那麼這個心理戰也不用玩了。

於是從第24 mile開始，拖著疲憊的身軀大約走了1 mile。跑馬拉松的時候，跑個1、2 miles，適當地走個30秒或者是一分鐘，其實是有益無害的。不過走了將近1 mile，又是在賽程相當後段的地方開始走，是相當不妙的。當時又開始繼續跑起來，真的是花了相當大的力氣說服自己。

通過終點線的時候，心情很複雜。一方面為了完成而高興，一方面為了成績而不滿意。賽後慢慢地回憶，才切切實實地開始為自己感到驕傲。

跑馬拉松其實沒有像我想像中的那麼無聊。除了義工以外，當地的街坊鄰居都為每個跑者加油喝采。帶著獎牌，走到那裡就有人跟你道聲恭喜。賽後還有專業人員幫忙按摩。是個非常有趣的經驗。也因此，我很確定我會繼續跑下去。