1 . When my dad finally finished the triathlon（铁人三项）in Montauk, the crowd cheered. It showed me how his hard work paid off and it_______my curiosity. I wondered whether a small boy of my size could_______something like that. I found myself_______this out loud and my father overheard me. He_______me and said I could train with him.

Training with my dad turned out to be very______.We would get up early for a morning jog, or go for a swim in the pool after school. After a few weeks of_______, I signed up for my first triathlon. Before the competition, I nervously waited for the_______.When someone fired the gun, I was_______, swimming towards the distant buoy（浮标）that marked my turn. I_______the half-mile swim and ran towards my bike. I was dripping wet, trying to________it. Once on my bike, I experienced an excitement specific to________. I went through the transition zone（转换区）again and________my running shoes. At the start of the run part of the triathlon, my________already felt like they were made of cement（水泥）.

For me, the real competition began during the run,________now I could see each competitor as a target. No matter my________in the field, each racer was either following me or being followed. The run part of the race boiled down to________tolerance. "Shut up, legs", one of my favorite quotes, kept me from________the burning feeling. Then I crossed the finish line. I took a breath and then began a(n)________with the other finishers. The sense of accomplishment was there for all of us.

Looking back, I________the small boy on that day in Montauk who thought he couldn't________it. Now, that same boy is not only a huge fan, but also a training partner.

2 . My dance came at last. Our school was going to hold a sports meeting. I knew what it_______to me, so I got up very early to prepare for it. I_______running and jumping. When I was _______，I_______myself of my promise and went on.

As the time approached, I felt quite_______. On the first day I_______fourth in the 1500m race, but I was far from_______because what I wanted most was the highlight of the sports meeting—the 250×8 relay race. I would run the last leg for my team.

With a shot, the race began. All the students were_______for their team. The competition was so_______that I began to feel nervous. Before my turn came, my team was__________the others. Even worse, I almost dropped the stick when I was trying to__________it.

__________after that, there was nothing in my mind except to run as fast as possible. Just when I was approaching the finish line, my strength__________. Then my promise came to my mind again and__________me on. To my__________, I was the first to cross the finish line!

__________, I had proved to myself and those who had often laughed at me that I am not__________at all! My classmates greeted me warmly and I hugged them tightly. I had won the prize as well as their__________.

From the sports meeting, I learnt that sometimes things are not so difficult as they__________to be. Just try your best without fear and you might be surprised at the__________.

3 . Running for a Dream

I will never forget that November day．It was hotter than normal．This was the ________ my father and I had waited so long for，because we had been working towards this race for three years．Dozens of familiar faces from church and school flashed across my view．They had come ________me．I saw worry and ________on my father's face．Then the race began!

For the first two and a half miles．I felt________．I had never before been so ready for something．The weeks leading up to the race were filled with controlled________and a strict diet．My friends hadn't seen me in weeks，but they understood the _______required to make my dream a reality．As in all of my races，I didn't _______ out in the front，I loved the pleasure of passing people as my strength overtook their premature speed．

Then without warning，my strength began to decrease．Neck and neck with one of my greatest competitors，I ________see the finish line．I had begun the final dash into_______when my knees became weak and my legs gave way．Nothing I could do would make them _______ weight．

I watched as runners rushed by me．________ I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed．I had to finish the race．However，my legs hurt badly．With all of the ________ left in me，I got on my hands and knees and crawled （爬），inch by inch，across the finish line．Voices，both ________ and familiar，cheered me on．They gave me the courage to keep ________until the very end．

The doctors were there in seconds，but my eyes searched the crowd for him．There was only one person I wanted to ________to．I whispered，"I'm so sorry，Dad，I'm so sorry I ________you．"He looked at me，saying，"You could never disappoint me．Sometimes these things just ________．All that matters is that you did your best．"

"But we worked so ________．What about our dream？"He reached over for my hand and said，"Don't you know that you are my dream and it has come true？"

It wasn't long before my running shoes were back on，marking a________path for my journey，I learned that all of the miles，the tears，the sweat，and the pain my dad and I experienced together were not for a________．What I realized，though，was that to him，I was the greatest prize he had ever won．