An Important Lesson

It was an early September day, cool and bright and just right for running, and I was in the first few miles of a 10 1/2 mile race over a course through steep, exhausting hills. Still, I felt rested and springy; despite the hills it was going to be a fine run.

• springy: returning quickly to the usual shape, after being pulled, pushed, crushed, etc. 有弹性的，有弹力的，轻快的，矫健的。

Just ahead of me was Peggy Mimno, a teacher from Mount Kisco, New York. She too was running easily, moving along efficiently at my speed. The pace felt comfortable, so I decided to stay where I was; why bother concentrating on pace when she was such a nice pacesetter for me? I would overtake her later on when she tired.

• pacesetter: the person or animal that establishes the speed in a race, or a person or organization that is an example for others by being successful. 领跑人，领跑动物；带头人，标兵。

So I was running closely behind her. The course headed north for five miles, wandered west for a hilly mile, the turned south again along a winding road. The race was getting tougher. We had four miles left and already it was beginning to be real work. I was breathing hard, and my legs were beginning to stiffen.

• tough: difficult to do or to deal with. 困难的；棘手的。

Peggy overtook a young male runner. Apparently she knew him, for the exchanged a few cheerful words as she passed him. Their exchange worried me. You don't chat during a race unless you are feeling good, and Peggy plainly was. There was still a noticeable bounce in her stride, but whatever springiness I had once possessed had long since left me.

Still, I was close enough to overtake her if she tired, so I didn't give up hope completely. We were approaching a long, punishing hill now and it would be the test. We were a mile from the finish line, so whatever happened on the hill would almost certainly determine who crossed it first.

• punishing: very difficult and making you feel tired. 繁重的，使人疲惫不堪的，累人的。

As I move up the hill, working hard, my attention wandered for a few minutes. When I looked up Peggy was moving away - first five yards, then ten, then more. Finally it was clear that there was no hope of catching here. She beat me decisively.

• wander: If your mind or your thoughts wander, you stop thinking about the subject that you should be giving your attention to and start thinking about other matters. 走神；开小差。

There is an important lesson in that race. Much of what you read about running makes a sharp distinction between the sexes. Women are assumed to be weaker, slower and not nearly as skilled athletically. Yet as Peggy Mimno so clearly demonstrated, the similarities between male and female runners are more important than the differences.