Saying something about reciting pi was, of course, a joke. Reciting pi is purely a memory trick — it doesn't really help with mental training for athletics. Kitahara's requirements for Oguri Cap and Super Creek were essentially the same, just slightly different in form.
The day after the weighted equipment arrived, Oguri Cap put on that "tactical suit"-like outfit and began training at an even higher intensity.
While Oguri Cap was putting on the weighted gear with Belno Light's help, Kitahara handed her a Bluetooth earpiece designed for Uma Musume.
Uma Musumes' ears are on top of their heads, so they don't use over-ear headphones; generally, it's wired or clip-on types. The one Kitahara gave her was a clip-on.
"Here, take this, Oguri Cap."
Oguri Cap blinked as she took the Bluetooth earpiece. "This is…?"
"Just clip it to your ear. It's an earphone," Kitahara gestured, then took out his own phone. "While you train, I'll play some race videos. You'll just listen to the audio."
"I told you about 'imagery training' before, right? Back then I had you watch other horse girls to imagine, but you need stronger races to imagine now."
"So what I'm going to play are G-level races. Imagine you're in them — starting from the very outermost gate — and in that situation, picture how you would win."
"As usual, you'll write down the whole process after training. I'll check it… oh, by the way—"
Kitahara suddenly looked troubled.
"No asking Light to write it for you," he sighed, pointing at Belno Light
Oguri Cap wasn't good at theoretical study — she was a natural-born field runner.
Once on the track, once she heard concrete instructions about how to run, she reacted faster than anyone.
But put her in front of theory, and she'd instantly get sleepy.
It had happened multiple times — her theory class teacher would awkwardly come to Kitahara and say Oguri Cap's recent test results weren't great, hoping that as her trainer he could supervise her a bit.
What could I do? It's not like I haven't tried. But sometimes Light can't stand it and just helps her write some of the assignments. What can I do?
I've already apologized, said so many nice words, even treated the teachers to multiple meals.
"No asking Light to help…"
Oguri Cap instantly made a troubled face, glanced nervously at Kitahara, scratched her head, and then looked hesitantly toward Belno light.
Light, meanwhile, was slotting tungsten-alloy weight plates into Oguri Cap's waist compartments.
Hearing Kitahara's helplessness, she quietly stuck out her tongue, and now seeing Oguri Cap's pleading look, she too felt helpless.
"Don't look at me like that, Oguri."
After finishing the waist weights, she bent down to add weight to the legs. "If Mr. Kitahara says so, he must have his reasons."
"He usually doesn't pay special attention to your grades, even finds ways to tutor you in ways you can understand."
"So if he's emphasizing this now, just do it… If you don't understand something, you can ask me, I'll help as best I can."
Oguri Cap still looked uneasy. "I see…"
Seeing that, Light bit her lip, then looked at Kitahara.
"Mr. Kitahara, is there no other way? Asking Oguri to write things down — it's a bit hard for her…"
Kitahara didn't like it either, but "imagery training" was a key link — there could be no compromises.
It wasn't stubbornness. This was simply what professional training required.
In theory, the brain can't always judge the information it receives with 100% accuracy. Sometimes it mistakenly substitutes a "new situation" with a more familiar "old situation" — basically "taking shortcuts," or in professional terms, a subconscious cognitive error.
The brain itself can't detect the subconscious — but if you write it out, you can catch it.
Written words are the objective carriers of thought. Whatever you write in one go reflects what's really happening in your brain. So by "writing down" the brain's activity, it's easier to see where the thinking went wrong.
Psychology even uses "slips of the pen" to analyze the true form of the subconscious — based on this very principle.
Applied to Oguri Cap and Super Creek's "imagery training," as "imaginary racers," they could sometimes lose perspective. By writing out their imagined race, Kitahara, as their trainer, could spot problems and adjust accordingly.
But perhaps because he felt a bit sorry for her, or was moved by Oguri Cap's troubled expression, or maybe for some other reason — suddenly, inspiration struck him.
"How about this."
He smiled. "If you can't write it, then draw it."
"Doesn't matter if it's abstract. Anyway, Oguri Cap, after training, whether you write, draw, or both — as long as you put what you thought during training onto paper, that's enough."
Drawings can also reflect brain activity — they're just harder to analyze than words.
He hadn't thought of it immediately because writing was simpler — he, too, had subconsciously "taken a shortcut."
"Oh! If it's drawing, no problem!"
Oguri Cap instantly perked up, swinging her arm enthusiastically. "Leave it to me! I won't let you down, Kitahara!"
"Hey, hey, Oguri — don't move!"
Light almost stumbled as Oguri Cap moved while she was still working on the gear.
"Oh-oh, sorry…"
"Hehe, it's fine. I'm almost done anyway. Just hold on a bit more, Oguri."
Konan Tomomi hadn't taken much time designing and making the weighted gear, but the quality was very reliable.
Oguri Cap already had quite a few metal weights on her body, but thanks to all the straps, mechanisms, and magnets holding everything securely, her movement didn't seem restricted.
Once Light had equipped everything, Oguri Cap bounced lightly a few times, indicating no problems.
"Feels good — definitely heavier than usual all over, but it doesn't really hinder movement."
She rotated her joints a few more times — her arms, waist, and thighs were still extremely flexible.
"That's good."
Kitahara nodded in satisfaction and gave serious instructions: "Your training content will be the same as before, just with the added load."
"This time, we're starting with pure weighted training. You're carrying 40 kilograms. Spread evenly across your body, theoretically it shouldn't be too bad."
"So what you'll do is complete your usual training and see how much the weight affects your performance."
"Then, adapt to this weight, bring your performance back to previous levels — or even beyond."
"Alright! No problem at all! Then, I'll begin!"
Raising her arm with confidence, Oguri Cap looked at Kitahara with anticipation. Kitahara was just about to give the start signal when Miyamura Kyoko — who had followed along quietly to observe — finally spoke.
"By the way, Mr. Kitahara, after this training session, I have a few small suggestions I'd like to discuss with you." She didn't interrupt training, just floated the idea.