Running Section

Coach Marlon took Damian to the sidelines and set him down on the clean, smooth grass under a tree. The coach had no intention of taking him to the hospital as his protégé was simply exhausted and overexerted. Adequate rest and sugary liquids would have been the maximum help.

Coach Marlon signalled for his assistants to get the drinks that had been prepared when faced with this kind of situation. This kind of incident is bound to happen at least once a year when he forces his students to exceed their limits. It may seem cruel, but there is nothing wrong with this when they decide to join the basketball division at the same time under the care of a coach who has a strict character towards his players.

"Here, sir," Sherla said as she held out her hand with the drink.

"Thank you. Keep it coming."

In less than five minutes, Damian opened his eyes quickly and got up. But before he was fully awake, Sherla restrained him from making any rash decisions. His face looked confused as if his consciousness was not his own and was trying to understand what exactly happened when he was recently on the running track with his friends.

When he was thinking too hard, his head spontaneously started beating like a heart. He felt a tremendous dizziness whereas he shouldn't have done that when he just woke up from fainting.

"Don't get up yet. Sit down for a moment before Coach Marlon sees you. You know what he does when he sees his students acting out, right?"

Without replying, Damian simply nodded as he closed his eyes and massaged his head with both hands. Everything went by fast enough that he really didn't remember what made him move to this place. As a game fanatic, he had no idea if this was a 'teleportation disaster'.

"What happened to me? I suddenly lost my consciousness and am now down here." Damian did not display any confusion or other emotional turmoil. He was quite calm as the shade of the tree above him soothed his mind and heart in a matter of minutes.

"You fainted." Sherla replied, nonchalantly.

"Fainted? I've never even fainted since I was born. Don't try to lie to me."

"You're the one lying, you lying bastard. Your friend, Kein, told me that you're not the type of player who relies on speed or stamina. He also told me that you're a loser when it comes to training sessions like this."

Damian clenched his hands into fists, not expecting his friend to demean himself in front of a girl who didn't even recognise them.

"You are pushing your body for too long. When running, make sure you fulfil the fluids and oxygen flowing in your body. You're exhausted because you're not used to regulating the air in your body to keep it there and circulating."

"Really? Now I ask, how can a layman like me last long in a training session like this?"

Sherla sighed and got up from the spot. "It's simple. Practice often and learn how to manage your breathing while running. I can't teach you the first thing, but I can show you how you can manage your breathing while running."

"Good. Now teach me..."

"Not now. Not while we're still running under training hours. Take this, you need to get back to training as soon as possible." Sherla tossed the drink she had picked up from the cooler box. "Drink that and wait for ten minutes, then you can rejoin."

The girl walked towards the group of players who were still running their training under the observation of Coach Marlon.

***

This afternoon, they were doing a lot of training that focused on increasing the lungs' capacity to take in more air. Coach Marlon had selected several athletic sports for them including jogging, sprinting, hurdling, and middle distance running. These four can even knock down an athlete if done back-to-back without any time to catch their breath.

But Coach Marlon had already calculated how long it would take them to finish without giving anyone a break. Damian, who had fainted earlier, was treated the same but got a slightly longer rest period than his colleagues.

On the other hand, Kein could feel his chest about to explode if he trained like this every day. He had trouble regulating his breathing when he barely stopped running. The coach reckoned he was the one with the stamina advantage, so he was under more pressure than the others. Gilbert was the same, they almost had the same stamina and endurance.

His sweat continued to pour down relentlessly like rainwater falling after it had run off the roof. Even so, they showed no limitations from this afternoon's training and remained standing when some of their friends were already sitting or on their knees.

Kein confused himself because of the different endurance in each exercise. For example, sometimes he could keep up with basketball practice for four quarters without a break. But at other times, he has experienced sparring drills where after just one quarter, his legs are no longer able to walk and his chest expands and deflates very quickly. This is still a mystery to him as his spirits often go up and down due to his body's inconsistency in following different trainings.

At the end of the athletics training session, they did a sprint where each player would be counted on how long it took them to complete a hundred metres. Even though the players had almost reached the limit, this was the moment Sherla was looking forward to. From this exercise, she could judge who was the fastest because speed was also needed in deciding the enemy's counter-attack.

"Alright, I'll name the players who will be the first round in this sprint. Gilbert, Damian Sananta, Justin Carter, and Davies."

"What? Why do I have to be on the same round as them?" Damian immediately protested and was surprised to hear his name called and be the slowest player there.

The coach didn't say anything. Instead, he told them to get ready and the clock would start when he blew the whistle.

"Bastards. What do I have to do to beat them? He thinks I'm the fastest runner?"