After waking up, Ihan lightly exercised and ate breakfast. Then, after getting plenty of rest, he came out to the gymnasium. The junior athletes were already all gathered. The coach had arrived as well, and spotting Ihan walking up from behind, asked in a loud voice.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Today, we'll be doing interval training."
At the coach's words, the expressions of the twenty athletes stiffened.
"Interval training?"
"That's right. The competition is not far off, so this will be the last interval training session."
At the coach's words that this was the final training, everyone nodded. Interval training was an excellent method for an athlete's growth. But because the process was so grueling, it was also a training regimen they greatly dreaded.
"Everyone, follow me."
"Yes!"
The coach left the gymnasium and began running slowly on the road.
"First, we loosen up."
The coach intended to raise their body temperature by running like this for about 30 minutes.
"Thirty minutes. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Thirty minutes. It was a word embedded in everyone's ears. It was not a significant amount of time, but now it weighed heavily upon them. Because they knew the hellish pain that would begin once those 30 minutes passed.
"Beginning!"
"Yes!"
"The first sprint distance is 500 meters!"
The coach shouted loudly and kicked off the ground.
*Pat.*
Behind him, the twenty athletes quickly followed. However, the coach's running speed was still increasing. Faster than now, faster than that, he shot forward.
"If anyone takes over 70 seconds, know that you won't get lunch today!"
At the coach's words, the athletes gritted their teeth. To run 500 meters in 70 seconds meant they had to run 100 meters in 14 seconds. For a sprinter, it wasn't that fast a speed, but the interval training had only just begun. The ordeal of having to maintain 14 seconds per 100 meters from the very start was merely a preview of how difficult the training to come would be.
Almost there.
Ihan, who had been running, slowed his pace. At the same time, the coach running ahead shouted loudly and reduced his speed.
"Slow!"
The athletes who had cleared the 500 meters in the late 60 seconds regulated their ragged breathing. After running about 150 meters in that state, the athletes' breathing stabilized slightly. Then,
the coach picked up speed again.
*Pat.*
The athlete directly behind the coach gritted his teeth once more and increased his speed to chase the coach's back. The athletes behind him saw this and held their breath one after another.
"Hup!"
They put strength into their entire bodies and kicked off the ground.
"Hoo."
Ihan had already checked the coach running ahead and was increasing his speed from the very back. Once his pace rose above a certain point, his heart began pounding violently. To fill the insufficient oxygen, his breathing quickened, and the muscles he had trained until now began protesting with pain bit by bit.
"Slow!"
Before anyone knew it, the coach who had run 500 meters reduced his speed again.
"Hah, hah."
No matter how much they endured difficult training on a regular basis, interval training remained an ordeal for them. It was a hellish training that never became familiar no matter how many times they experienced it.
"Fast!"
*Pat.*
The time to regulate their breathing was tight, and in contrast, the time their breathing grew ragged increased bit by bit. At first, they ran 500 meters and rested for 150 meters, but now they ran 700 meters and rested for 100 meters. Thus, bit by bit, the distance they ran fast increased, and the distance they ran slowly
decreased. That small difference brought both ecstasy and despair.
"Heok, heok."
It was the return of rest time. For this moment alone, they were steeped in ecstasy. The fact that they were not running fast was maddeningly joyful. But because they knew the rest time was short, the athletes feared the coming hell. Now, perhaps because even the coach was exhausted, he didn't give a signal.
*Pat.*
The coach too exhaled ragged breaths and kicked off the ground. Clenching his teeth, he had leaped into hell to train the athletes. Now, there was no coach and no athlete. They were all merely weak humans writhing in agony. But the time they spent together wasn't long.
*Thud.*
Someone stopped walking and fell to their knees. Not an ounce of strength remained in their body; they wore an expression of being unable to move another step and merely avoided the gaze of a colleague brushing past them. The pupils of the remaining athletes watching him shook greatly.
I, too... I want to stop, too. It was a strand of temptation lodged in everyone's heart. However, the three athletes competing in the Olympics had not yet succumbed to that temptation. Those three were An Onho running directly behind the coach, Yeounjae in the middle, and Ihan at the very back. At least they were still somewhat composed.
*Sweuk.*
The speed decreased once more. And before long, the pace quickened. That endlessly repeating
grueling training lasted over two hours. More than half the athletes had dropped out midway, and only five people had managed to keep up until the end.
"Res-rest."
The coach too exhaled rough breaths and collapsed onto the ground. Even if the grim reaper came and told him to get up, it would have been impossible. Though he was the coach, he had run just as fiercely. Of the five men who had kept pace with such a coach, four sat on the ground. They merely hung their heads and exhaled ragged breaths. Only one person, Ihan, did not sit.
"Heok, heok."
He too had surpassed his limits, but he couldn't sit down here. He had to loosen his ruined muscles through stretching. Otherwise, the results of the training would be cut in half.
"Haa..."
Ihan, who had raised his head and taken a few deep breaths, began to slowly move his body. It was excruciating enough to kill him, but a smile lingered on Ihan's lips. It was something he always felt, but the pounding of his heart while running was the most intense pleasure in the world. After running, the heartbeat he felt while resting was the most euphoric delight in the world. Unable to quit that highly addictive drug, Ihan had run until now and would continue running in the future.
*Sweuk.*
His body wouldn't listen. His body, heavy as if weighed down by thousands of pounds, wouldn't easily permit even stretching. But Ihan endured the pain his muscles screamed out and continued stretching until all the junior athletes who had fallen behind arrived.
The hellish training was finally over. The twenty athletes who had proudly finished the final training camp returned to their original nests, each with their own thoughts. However, the three athletes participating in this Olympics remained in the gymnasium.
"Good work, everyone."
"You worked harder, Coach."
An Onho answered with a smile. The coach looked at An Onho, his eyes flickering for a moment, but soon nodded with a serene smile.
"Yes. Before departing for China, you must undergo the final test tomorrow. The doping test results will come out, and basic physical examinations will be conducted. So make sure to get plenty of rest today and adjust your condition."
"Yes."
"Good. Dismissed!"
After the coach's words, the two people excluding Ihan left the gymnasium.
"Good work today."
"Ihan."
"Yes."
"The team representative made a conditional contract with you, but don't give up completely because of that."
"..."
Ihan stared intently at the coach.
"Run until the end."
The coach already knew. It was only natural. Training regimens must have been handed down so that Ihan could fully carry out his role as a pacemaker. But the coach hadn't separately put Ihan through such training. Just that alone meant Ihan owed him a great debt.
"Thank you."
Words could no longer express it. Now, in order to repay the debt, it was his turn to show through action. Ihan turned his back and left the gymnasium. The shoulders of his receding figure looked even heavier today.
The next day. The three people gathered early in the morning at the meeting spot spotted the head coach approaching from afar. The head coach drew near, stopped in place, and looked them over.
"As you already know, Onho is the ace. In order to lead such an Onho, Ihan, the pacemaker, will be competing together at the Olympics. Though he overcame his injury, I judged that completing a distance exceeding 42 kilometers would be too much. However, I thought that perhaps 30 kilometers might be possible, so I indulged in a bit of greed. You know this, right?"
The head coach stopped speaking, looking at Ihan last. Ihan couldn't help but nod at such a coach.
"Good. During the competition, Ihan will be in the lead at the start. Onho and Yeounjae, follow behind Ihan while conserving your stamina."
"Yes!"
"Let's go. Once the physical examinations are done, the doping test results will come out."
The three followed the head coach. Upon entering the building, they saw many machines beyond the transparent glass. But the head coach didn't stop, and the athletes walked while glancing at the machines. The head coach, who had been walking for some time, opened a door and stepped inside.
*Creak.*
Bright light seeped through the crack.
"Here."
Upon entering, there were over ten people. They stood beside their respective machines, holding pens and documents in their hands. Then, someone stepped forward.
"You've arrived."
"Yes. Please take care of us."
"Haha, don't worry. It's just a simple test."
The respective values obtained now would be delivered to the announcers and commentators. They would also be sent to the International Olympic Committee, which oversees the Olympics, helping them gauge the athletes' abilities.
"Now then, please come this way first."
Following the guide's words, the three stood before a single apparatus. It was a test they often took, so it wasn't particularly unfamiliar. But the guide explained calmly, as always.
"This machine measures VO2 max, that is, maximal oxygen uptake."
Understanding maximal oxygen uptake is the core for bringing out maximum performance in endurance training centered on running or in competition records.
"At the same time, lactate threshold is also measured, so please get on this treadmill and run. The training intensity will go up one level at a time. And the measurement will end at the point where you pass your VO2 max."
The three naturally got onto the treadmills. And they attached stickers to various parts of their bodies.
"Now then, the starting intensity is level three."
When the guide spoke, the woman standing beside him pressed a button.
*Beep.*
The treadmills each of the three were standing on slowly began to move. The number on the display reached 10.