In the end, four hours and 29 minutes after I ’ d started, I staggered ( 摇摇晃晃地走 ) out of the water and was greeted with a smile and a “well done” from the race organizer.I glanced back over my shoulder toward the water and noticed that there were a small handful of swimmers who were still to finish, behind me, out of a field of around 300 swimmers. But it didn ’ t matter. I was just relieved, proud and happy to finish. As I drove away, my thoughts turned to my next long race of the season and how much I was looking forward to it, my fears of coming last gently receding ( 渐渐远去 ) . 10. What does the underlined sentence mean in the first paragraph?