Unit 137 Gear up for the competitionUnit 137 准备面对竞赛Certain physical activities,such as running,offer competitive events that can help you improve your performance."I was running off and on for a number of years,but I didn't really become serious about it until I signed up for my first race,"recalls Lou Stanton,a Chicago stockbroker,"It was just a little three-miler,but it was so much fun that I got hooked.Today,I run a lot faster,a lot stronger and a lot more regularly."有些运动，例如跑步，会提供可以增进你运动表现的各种竞赛。芝加哥一位名叫路.史坦登的股票经纪人回忆道：“我一直断断续续地跑步跑了好几年，但是直到我报告参加第一次赛跑时我对这次运动才很认真。虽然那只是短短三英里的赛程，但却是非常好玩，结果我就上瘾了。现在，我跑得更快、更有力，也更有规律了。”