Despite what Dr. Spencer said, Pierce sure felt less than special at the moment. She checked the distance she’d run so far on the treadmill. Only ten miles? she thought. I have another five miles to go!
Her breath came in short puffs; she brushed back a wisp of hair in her eye. Her sneakers slapped the belt rolling beneath her feet.
“Pierce, run lighter,” instructed Rick. “Get into the rhythm. Step softly, swing your arms more—don’t tense up your shoulders. Increase your strides per minute.”
She made the adjustments and increased her turnover rate, the treadmill speeding up to match her pace. Four more miles left. The faster you run, the faster you can get over this.
“Increase your stride length,” said Rick.
“I…thought…you…told…me…to…increase…turnover…rate,” Pierce panted out each word.
Her steps faltered, the effort expanded to talk disrupting the breathing pattern she had established.
“Yeah, but you’ve traded in turnover rate for stride length—you’re not in high heels, for heaven’s sake! Stop mincing along and extend a bit.”
You try running fifteen miles at a seven-minute per mile pace, Pierce thought. Though to be honest, she was pretty sure Trainer Rick could do that. Nevertheless, she lengthened her steps while maintaining the same cadence. Two miles to go.
“Finish strong, finish strong!”
Her lungs felt like it was exploding and her heart felt like it was pumping into overdrive. Her legs burned and sweat dripped into her vision.
“Stay strong!” Trainer Rick bellowed.
Way to attract attention, Pierce thought. She sprinted the last mile and slowed down to a walk.
Rick recorded her results and said, “Keep on walking and don’t stop moving for another ten minutes. Don’t forget to stretch and grab a drink afterwards.”
“What are we doing this evening?” Pierce asked.
She had an hour long break followed by a lesson with Dr. Spencer before lunch. After lunch, she was meeting with Dr. Claries before wrapping up the day with one more session with Rick; Dr. Spencer had scheduled her day to be full from morning till evening.
“Senses,” said Rick. “We’ll be working with your hearing.”
Pierce wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but didn’t ask.
“See you later. I have another batch of recruits to whip into shape.” Trainer Rick walked off to a group of guys waiting for him by a water fountain.
Having fully recovered, Pierce asked Indigo, “Did Rick send you my results?”
“Yeah.”
“Can I see them?”
“After you finish your cool down.”
Pierce rolled her eyes; he was such a rule stickler. Nonetheless, she complied and stretched out her quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Then she chugged down the chocolate milk Indigo had bought from the vending machine. She wiped the frothy milk mustache off her face and said, “Results?”
