Some questions!

[Jenny Lau]

1.But I was done running for the day.
Dose it mean I was too tired to run that day?
Here is the context:
One cold winter morning when I was 12, I was running around during recess. All of a sudden my chest felt tight and I couldn¡¯t take in any air. Kids gathered round me. ¡°Tom, you all right?¡± I put my hands on my knees. Resting seemed to help. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± I wheezed. But I was done running for the day.

2.I was losing weight, getting sick a lot.
Getting sick a lot here means often getting sick or sick seriously?
Here is the context for referrence:
But my workouts were off, right from the start of freshman year. I was losing weight, getting sick a lot. My dorm room was on the first floor. That fall, every time I opened the window, dust and crumbling leaves flew in. My allergies were worse than ever. But I kept showing up for practice. Finally, Coach sent me to an asthma and allergy specialist.

3.He handed me a generic "rescue" inhaler.
He put me on a series of inhalers.
What is an inhaler? Can you explain or if possible, paste a picture of an inhaler?

[Casiopea]

1. I can't run anymore today (He has asthma). I am not able to run anymore today.

2. Getting sick a great deal (Maybe serious, maybe not. We don't know)

3. Asthma inhaler

Click Here

[Jenny Lau]

Thank u very much for the answer. I am so sorry I make the replay so late, because I am quite busy theses days.
Here are some other sentences I can¡¯t understand in the same article, please help me!
1. To win gold I would have to swim the race of my life. And then some.
What does it mean by saying "swim the race of my life"? And then some what?
The context: I took a breath and climbed onto the starting block. This was the race I¡¯d trained my entire swimming career for. The finals of the 400-meter individual medley (IM) at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I was going up against the seven best IM swimmers in the world. One was my rival and former University of Michigan great, Eric Namesnik. To win gold I would have to swim the race of my life. And then some.

2. I breathed again¡ªas deeply as I could¡ªand blocked out the thousands of people in the stands.
What¡¯s the meaning of block out?
3.The hard part was getting here.
The context: I breathed again¡ªas deeply as I could¡ªand blocked out the thousands of people in the stands. The oxygen came slowly, as if I were sucking air through a straw. I have asthma, serious asthma. Also, an unusually narrow windpipe. Doctors say my condition limits me to about 10 percent of lung capacity. Meaning, I could breathe in only one-tenth the oxygen my competitors could. One-tenth. Imagine trying to keep up with a bunch of other race cars with a gas tank 10 times smaller. The hard part was getting here, I reminded myself. Now, for the final 400 meters.

[Casiopea]

1. To win gold I would have to swim the race of my life. And then some.

In order to win the race, I would have to do better, swim better than I have ever done before; I would have to beat the other swimmers; I would have to be the best swimmer there.

2. I breathed again¡ªas deeply as I could¡ªand blocked out the thousands of people in the stands.

ignore the crowd; make my mind clear; focus on the race; focus on winning; not allow the people around me to distract me from my goal.

3.The hard part was getting here.

The most difficult part of my journey, my goal, is not the race itself; it was the training; it's what I had to do in order to make it to the race. 8)

[Jenny Lau]

1. And then some.
Does it mean then I would swim some other race of my life, that is to say, win more important races?

2. The hard part was getting here.
I still cannot understand this sentence. Why the most difficult part of my journey is not the race itself? Why do you say it was the training?
To my understanding, according to the context, the most difficult part was to beat the other swimmers with a 10 percent of lung capacity. Is that right?

3. I was only 50 meters from my goal of taking what God had given me and winning with it. Nobody is going to beat you, I told myself.
"What God had given me" is what? What does the writer refer here? And "win with it", Win with what?

The context:With 50 meters to go, Eric led by three one-hundredths of a seconds-the tip of a finger. I was only 50 meters from my goal of taking what God had given me and winning with it. Nobody is going to beat you, I told myself.

And by the way, in America does a prep school mean a private primary school

[Casiopea]

[quote="Jenny Lau"]1. And then some.
To me it means, And (do) more (than just win); I would need to survive.

2. The hard part was getting here.
Oh, Right! Possibly, the hard part is making it to the finish line?

I have asthma, serious asthma. Also, an unusually narrow windpipe. Doctors say my condition limits me to about 10 percent of lung capacity. Meaning, I could breathe in only one-tenth the oxygen my competitors could. One-tenth. Imagine trying to keep up with a bunch of other race cars with a gas tank 10 times smaller. The hard part was getting here, I reminded myself. Now, for the final 400 meters.

3. taking what God had given me and winning with it.
The way I see it is like this: God has given him two things: 1) asthma and 2) the confidence and the belief in himself that he can do it.)

4. And by the way, in America does a prep school mean a private primary school.

Sorry. I am not sure about that. :(

[Francois]

To me it means, And (do) more (than just win); I would need to survive

I think it means that even swimming the race of his life may not be enough; he'll need to do even more than that if he wants to take the gold medal.

FRC

[Francois]

taking what God had given me and winning with it.

=> to successfully play the cards you're dealt.

FRC

[Jenny Lau]

1.Would someone from U.S. explain to me:
Does a prep school in America mean a private primary school?

2.Thank u for your help, Casiopea! About "The hard part was getting here", you agree with me? I mean the hardest thing is to win with a gas tank 10 times smaller.

3.And thank u, Francois. I think your explanation of "taking what God had given me and winning with it" is very good! I understand it now.

4.But to another sentence: To win gold I would have to swim the race of my life. And then some. I still don’t know what does "And some more" mean.
Give me more opinions and explanations, please!
I paste the context here again: I took a breath and climbed onto the starting block. This was the race I'd trained my entire swimming career for. The finals of the 400-meter individual medley (IM) at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. I was going up against the seven best IM swimmers in the world. One was my rival and former University of Michigan great, Eric Namesnik. To win gold I would have to swim the race of my life. And then some

[Casiopea]

[quote="Jenny Lau"]
You're welcome. :D

With regards to question 2, is the line 'to win with a gas tank 10 times smaller' part of the reading? If so, I missed that. Sorry. The line means, to overcome the odds. That is, if the swimmers he's competing with have a 'normal size gas tank (i.e. normal lung capacity)', and he does not--he has asthma, right?--then the race is going to be rather difficult for him to win.

With regards to question 4, he is competing against the 7 best swimmers in the world, so to win the race he would have to do his very best and then more than his very best. You see, his very best effort wouldn't win the race; he, having astma, would have to do better than the swimmers without astham. He would have to do his best plus more than his best to win.

All the best, :D