Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 418: Friendship Training from Overseas Horse Girls
The moment he caught a glimpse of Kitahara's hand from the corner of his eye, Oguri almost forgot about his role as a trainer and concentrated entirely on the 400-meter sprint.

Sprint training is a very important part of preparing for a competition, and it has been included in previous training.

But in recent days, she felt that the training had taken on a completely different feel.

Although she did not participate in the Japan Cup and Exchange Cup, she watched them from beginning to end and knew how fierce the competition was.

She also tried to think about how she could win if she participated in such a competition, facing Tamamo Juji, Inari Ichi who trained with her every day, and Maruzenski who often came to help her train.

I told them about this and also asked Kitahara about it.

However, it was only when she actually trained in the last-minute sprint with the opponents they had met before that she realized what kind of opponents Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi had faced on the field.

The full-speed sprint limited to 400 meters can be said to be putting all the physical strength and energy into the last step.

There is no need to spend time figuring out the key techniques when exiting the gate, the position grabbing in the early stages, and the position game in the middle stages.

Just put everything on your legs and feet and try your best to increase your speed to the highest level.

This is actually what she has always been best at, and it is also something she subconsciously feels she will never lose.

But since the start of this training, although she cannot accurately remember the detailed data of each training, she can clearly remember that she has not been the first to cross the preset finish line in this training.

This is the case on the training ground of the college and on the track of the Zhongshan stadium.

In each training session, the opponent who crosses the finish line first is different every time.

However, with a little recollection, you can feel that the two who most often won the first place were the horse girl with curly hair and the horse girl with a slightly darker skin color.

I am not very good at remembering names. I roughly remember that one of them was Tony from Italy and the other was Shasha from the UK...those were probably the two names.

Compared with his own, their final performances were no less impressive, and even seemed to surpass his own, especially the latter.

And what Kitahara said was true, they also had more competition experience.

The final sprint of the race is usually on a straight road like the one we are on now, with a straight line from front to back and almost no room to maneuver.

The inertia caused by an all-out sprint also makes it very difficult to adjust the position and forward angle.

If I move a little, my whole body will feel as if it is being torn apart.

Your breathing and footstep rhythm will be affected, and your speed will also decrease a little.

However, these two opponents can incredibly complete diagonal displacement during every training session, bypassing themselves just in time and rushing to the front.

Then, cross the finish line earlier than yourself.

Intuitively, my positioning skills should be better than theirs.

In the analysis after the training, Kitahara and the others seemed to have said that their positioning was excellent.

But why...why can't I always stay ahead of them, and get overtaken by them accidentally every time?

Moreover, it seems that after coming to the Zhongshan stadium with steep slopes, they performed better and it was easier for them to surpass themselves.

Feeling the rapid loss of his physical strength and leg power, and switching the distance and rhythm of his steps, without looking back, Oguruma clearly felt that the oppressive footsteps from behind were suddenly approaching as before.

And during the uphill sprint of about 100 meters, it seemed no surprise that I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in my peripheral vision.

After that, he still changed from being the pursued to the pursuer, but he could not shorten the distance that seemed so close.

In the end, she crossed the finish line a hair later than the other two horse girls by a very small margin.

"Huh... so impressive... Tama and Inari, have you faced this kind of situation before..."

The training that day had just started for a short time, and even though it was an all-out sprint training, I wasn't too exhausted after finishing the run.

After wiping the sweat from his cheeks and chin and taking a deep breath, Oguruma recovered a little.

She turned around subconsciously, wanting to drink some water, wipe her face with a towel, then adjust herself and get back to the next training session.

"Hey, Little Chestnut Hat."

The poor Japanese pronunciation made Oguruma stop and turn his head in confusion.

Then she saw that the two opponents she had been paying attention to since the beginning of the special training were a little further behind the finish line, looking at her from the front and the back.

"Wipe off the sweat first."

The one who called her was the British horse racing girl named Shasha. She came over and handed her a handkerchief with a light blue pattern.

"Oh, thank you..."

He took the handkerchief, wiped the sweat off his face, and handed it back. With a hint of excitement in his gratitude, he said, "You ran so fast just now... No, I mean, you kept running so fast."

"I have a certain experience advantage, and I have a better grasp of the field... I mean me."

After taking back the handkerchief, Saratani did not feel proud of his previous performance. He turned his gaze away, looked at Tony Bianca for a moment, and then looked at Chestnut Hat.

“You run very well, too. In terms of the classic years… no, I should say in terms of this generation, I think there aren’t many who can match you in terms of the last foot.

"But compared to that, I have something I'm curious about."

"……Um?"

Xiao Limao tilted his head.

“It’s your running form.”

Raising his palm and then tilting it, Saratani tilted his head unconsciously, "Is it always like this, leaning down at this exaggerated angle?"

At the same time, Tony Bianca looked at Little Chestnut with a thoughtful look.

"Oh, that one."

Little Chestnut nodded, "Yes, I have always run like this.

"It should be a habit that started with Kasamatsu. I remember Kitahara said before that it seemed that he was worried about his feet when he was a child and was afraid of falling, so he would unconsciously lower his center of gravity.

“And no trainer told me there was anything wrong with running like this, because before I met Kitahara, I had always been running casually, and it gradually became a habit.

“After I met Kitahara, he didn’t ask me to change to a different running style, and he even gave me some different running techniques.”

"Kitahara... He is indeed an excellent trainer. I mean, besides designing a running method specifically for you, he is also excellent."

Looking at the starting point of the sprint training, Saratani saw that Kitahara was burying his head there, writing and drawing quickly on the recording board in his hand, and communicating with other trainers from time to time.

"but……"

Looking at the little chestnut hat who nodded repeatedly in agreement, Saratani considered it for a moment.

“When it comes to handling many of the details of running, you seem… not very good at it, or you seem very rough?
"For example, the switching of pace and breathing when going uphill, and the blocking when dealing with the opponent behind you...Okay, I get it. From your expression, I can tell that you really don't have any clear concept."

"This one……"

Feeling his cheeks getting slightly hot, Oguruma looked around and scratched his head.

"My brain isn't like Aldan, Little Bay, oh and Xiaoyu. "I'm not like them. I remember a lot of knowledge clearly. I always feel sleepy when I'm taught about pace and rhythm in class.

“But if Kitahara teaches me, I can still understand everything, and I won’t feel sleepy.

“So even though I wasn’t very clear when I was running, I still had some feeling and knew what to do and when.”

"In that case... you are the type that relies more on intuition."

This time, it was not Saratani who responded to Ogurtori's question, but Tony Bianca, who had been listening silently.

“Although I am probably one of this type, I don’t really pay attention to what the teacher taught me in class or what the trainer said, and I often just run based on my feelings.

"But in a competition, simply relying on force to defeat skill is not enough to guarantee victory every time... Although I have been defeated by such an opponent before, I don't think I have the right to say this."

The image of a noisy little man appeared in his mind, and Tony Bianca raised the corner of his mouth, then looked at the confused little chestnut hat.

"Is it okay for me to run with her alone for a while, Saratani?"

She looked at Saratani again and asked.

"It's up to you. I'm actually very interested in her, so let's chat a little more." Shaking his head, Saratani said indifferently.

"Then come with me, Little Chestnut Hat."

Tony Bianca raised his chin and walked towards the starting point of the training.

"Eh? This... don't we have to wait for Beiyuan to arrange the subsequent training?"

Xiao Limao was surprised, but followed involuntarily.

"Didn't I just say that sometimes I don't care that much about what teachers and trainers say?"

Still walking on his own, he soon caught a glimpse of Little Chestnut Hat following him from the corner of his eye, and Tony Bianca smiled silently.

“Just start right here.”

Stopping a few dozen meters before the uphill, she looked up at the slope and said, "Your explosive power and sprinting are outstanding. Saratani is right. Perhaps in this generation, your last kick should be the best.

“But you haven’t used it to its full potential.

“You’ve also raced on tracks in Europe, and the surfaces there are generally heavier and softer than here.

“It is also because of this that, on tracks like Japan, which are a bit harder, once we get used to them, it is easier for European horse girls like us to take advantage of our speed.

“This is probably what you’re curious about.

"I'm not wrong. During the past few days of training, although you didn't talk much, you must have been thinking about how to resist our overtaking and beat us in training, right?"

She tilted her head slightly and looked at Little Chestnut Hat.

Like a child who was caught stealing snacks, Ogurtica's cheeks suddenly turned red, his eyes wandered unconsciously, and he rubbed his hands in front of his body as if he didn't know where to put them.

"Ah...this..."

She scratched her head, hesitated a little, and then admitted, “That’s what I thought.

“Then, I thought about it for a few days, but I couldn’t figure out what to do.

"Originally... I was planning to wait for Kitahara to tell me what to do later."

Unconsciously, she looked beyond the track fence.

"Well... I agree with Saratani, your trainer is excellent."

Following the gaze of Little Chestnut towards the busy trainers, Tony Bianca nodded slightly.

"My intention in bringing you here to run alone is not to make you listen to me instead of your trainer.

“Instead, at the end of the day you have to do what your trainer tells you to do.

“I just think that since you and I look like the same kind of horse girl, then there are some things that your trainer and I should have the same judgment on.

"speed."

Tony Bianca changed the topic abruptly, turned his head, and looked directly at the puzzled Xiao Limao, and said in a deep voice: "You have to understand that any skills, tactics, and running methods all have one purpose in the end.

“That’s all about converting everything into speed.

"You are not good at complex game deductions and tactical considerations. Forcing yourself to think about how to surpass your opponent, how not to be surpassed by your opponent, and how to win the game will distract you and slow down your normal performance.

"What you need to do is very simple. Just give full play to your speed without leaving any residue. Don't think about anything else.

“Even if it’s winning or losing a game.

"It doesn't matter if someone overtakes you. Don't care who the other person is. Just go all out and treat the other person as an accidental obstacle on the road.

“What should I do if I encounter obstacles while walking normally? What should I do now?

“The same goes for catching up.

"That is to say, don't differentiate between this opponent and that opponent. All you need to care about is speed and faster speed, that's all.

“Only in this way can you have absolute speed.

"If I'm not mistaken, your trainer may have realized this and may say something similar to you later.

"But for now, let's just start simply...!"

Without any warning, saying some words that conveyed the same feeling, all of a sudden, when Little Chestnut Hat showed a thoughtful look, Tony Bianca suddenly turned into a shadow, and rushed straight towards the slope and the finish line along the training road he had just run.

She didn't start early on purpose, nor did she take advantage of the distraction of Little Chestnut to give the order to move forward.

What she just said was exactly how she ran.

Of course, not listening to the guidance of teachers and trainers is just a slight exaggeration.

On the contrary, her knowledge is no worse than any other horse girl.

But she was very clear that Oguruma's talent was undoubtedly strong, and her competition experience was undoubtedly less than that of herself and Saratani.

The same is true when compared with Tamamono Cross and Inari Ichi.

So instead of thinking about things that you cannot figure out due to lack of experience, it is better to be simple and straightforward and turn everything into speed.

Less than ten seconds later.

"Phew - it's still quite stressful."

Stopping after the finish line and returning to Salatanni's side, Tony Bianca took a few deep breaths and turned his head.

“Look, even though your trainer has given you the goal of catching up, you still need to train.

"But this time, didn't you run a little faster than the previous few days?"

(End of this chapter)