34: When I was a girl of 10, I joined the school cross-country team and practiced twice a week, on the 1,8-km course I'd never really run before and I thought the course would be easy. It was a real shock I ran out of breath within the first few minutes. I never realized how tiring running could be but I didn’t t think about giving up.    Over time, I did get a little bit faster. However, I was really slow. In races, I would finish close to last. I'd always have to stop more than once, especially in the longer races, which were 2. 5 to 2. 8 km. After every race, I'd go home and cry. But I still didn't stop running, holding onto that picture of crossing the finishing line and finally doing well.   Then one of my friends joined the team, too. She could run easily and even came in the 18th in a big race! I felt so slow and my confidence(自信) was lower than ever. I became so nervous when I thought of the races that I wanted to give up badly.Still. I refund to. Finally. I realized that the reason I was so nervous was that I was always worried that I wasn't ready for them. So a few weeks before the next 2. 8-km race. I practiced running almost 3 km every day. which helped me improve my pace.When the time came for the big race, all that practicing really paid off. I stopped only once and my pace was so much better.          I realized that I’d finally gotten happiness with running. But the funny thing was. It didn't come from doing better, Instead, it came from the fact that I had tried harder and never given up.