Chapter 77: The Upcoming Training Will Be Tough
The next day, as she walked toward the academy's training field, Kitasan Black still faintly heard Makoto's words from the night before echoing in her mind.
When she'd heard those words, she suddenly felt as though her trainer had changed somehow.
She couldn't quite put it into words—perhaps it was a sense of closeness, of clarity, as if he'd come into sharper focus.
From their very first meeting up to now, she'd always been aware of Makoto's age.
Because of formalization, Umamusume' development didn't match that of humans, but by human standards, she was probably only a few years younger than him.
Yet despite the small age gap, every time they interacted, she always felt her trainer seemed much older.
Sometimes she even got the illusion that the young man before her wasn't eighteen or nineteen at all, but someone in his twenties or thirties—or even older and more mature.
But last night, for the first time, she sensed a youthful energy from him.
It was the same kind of energy she'd felt from the youngest disciples her grandfather or father had taken on—each one blessed with extraordinary musical talent, carrying themselves with a constant air of vibrant confidence.
It was probably because of this aura that she now felt closer to her trainer, his face and figure more vivid in her mind.
So… what was going on here?
Stepping into the training field, she saw Makoto as usual with his shoulder bag—only now, he also carried a large backpack, like a travel pack. This made her think again about the change in him, before she quickly shook her head.
Whatever it was, her trainer now had a dream—a dream born because of her. That meant she had to work even harder!
Feeling motivated, she ran toward him.
"Trainer! Let me carry that for you!"
When Kitasan Black called out, Makoto looked up to see his Umamusume running over.
"No need, we'll get to this stuff later."
He patted the large backpack behind him, set it down, and pulled a tablet and a stack of notes from his shoulder bag. Glancing around, he pointed to the steps at the edge of the training field.
"Same as before—let's review the Spring Stakes first, then we'll start training."
"Got it!"
From her pocket, Kitasan Black pulled out a small notebook and a carrot-shaped ballpoint pen, answering with serious enthusiasm.
This review of the Spring Stakes was different from the last two—especially now that they had the "training through racing" plan in place.
This G2-grade event was on a much higher level, with far more details to consider, and Kitasan Black's performance in it was also a kind of culmination of her progress so far.
Before moving forward with new training, the first step was to explain the theory behind it all, combining it with the experience she'd already accumulated.
Some of the upcoming training content also needed to be introduced.
Last night, Daiwa Scarlet and the others had agreed to participate in the practice races, so the coming training would naturally include preparations for both those races and the Satsuki Shō.
As he explained, Makoto kept an eye on how well Kitasan Black was absorbing the information, and soon he found himself nodding inwardly.
His Umamusume was no longer the rookie who'd just debuted.
Through classes, training, and racing, she had unknowingly learned and grown a great deal.
Compared to before, when she listened and took notes with single-minded focus, now she didn't just receive information passively—she also asked plenty of questions.
From her notes and her questions, it was clear she understood most of what he taught and was thinking it through on her own.
She was even coming to her own conclusions.
"—So if I'm going to use a 'Slow Front Runner' as my main running style from now on, then sprint training is going to be a crucial part of my regimen."
With her carrot pen pressed to her lips like she was nibbling a real carrot, Kitasan Black said thoughtfully,
"That makes sense…"
"At the Spring Stakes, it did feel like that—the opponents behind me were sticking really close. Several times I thought they were about to overtake me."
"If they had been just a bit faster in their final sprints, I might have lost."
Hearing this, Makoto nodded in satisfaction.
"You're not wrong, that could have happened."
"In fact, REAL STEEL's closing kick is very strong."
"It's just that, in my opinion, her trainer hasn't fully decided on her running style and race tactics yet. That's why some details in the Spring Stakes weren't handled in the optimal way."
"But you—even three months before the race—had more or less settled on your running style. That's our advantage."
"Still, it's not just REAL STEEL. In the upcoming Satsuki Shō, you'll be facing opponents with even stronger finishes."
"For example, Satono Crown and Duramente."
"And before the race, they'll definitely train with those finishes in mind. Their strengths will be better displayed, which means our lead won't be as big."
"That's why, even if you can't match their final burst for now, an improved sprint will still give you enough of a gap at the finish line to win this G1."
While analyzing Kitasan Black's weaknesses and her opponents' strengths, Makoto didn't seem worried.
This was a problem he'd noticed from the very beginning of his coaching.
Because of issues with controlling her own body, Kitasan Black had always been a bit hesitant in the final sprint, never really letting herself run full out. In previous races, she relied on a longer sprint to gradually build speed and secure a distance advantage.
After more than three months of consistent work, her bones, muscles, and ligaments had improved to a certain level. Now, special sprint training would be no problem.
"Slow Front Runner running style… needs specialized sprint training…"
Muttering Makoto's explanation to herself, Kitasan Black jotted it down in her little notebook with her carrot-shaped pen. After thinking for a moment, she asked:
"We've done sprint training before. But what you're talking about now—it's a different kind of training, right?"
"Smart."
Makoto smiled and gestured as he explained.
"I'm preparing a 'parachute sprint training' regimen for you. It's not exactly new—it's been around for twenty or thirty years—but it seems most other trainers don't use it much."
"This method can effectively boost your explosive power and sprinting ability. Along the way, your lower-body strength will also improve significantly."
"But just training the lower body isn't enough—if your upper-body strength is comparatively weak, your balance will actually become a problem."
"So, the upcoming training will be more tiring. You should be mentally prepared."
To Kitasan Black, the "tiring" part didn't sound like a big deal.
Over the past few months, while diligently completing all sorts of training, she had also chatted with classmates and friends in her class and dorm about their own training.
After a simple comparison, she realized that her own training load was slightly higher, lasting an extra one or two hours.
She considered this natural.
She had heard from Makoto early on that her physical potential was excellent but not yet fully utilized. If she wanted to win races, she had no choice but to work harder than others.
After months of this, she could handle each training session with ease and even have energy left over afterward.
She had always hoped Makoto would increase her workload a bit—so now that her wish had come true, she felt more excited than worried.
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