"Huh~"
Xue Shen let out a long breath, unscrewed the bottle cap in his hand, and poured a bottle of cold mineral water directly over his head.
The cold water flowed down from his face, and the steaming heat on his chest and limbs disappeared in an instant, leaving only a cool feeling.
Immediately afterwards, he took an open bottle of ice water from Xiao Liu's hand and drank half of the bottle in one go.
Oops!
This time, my heart felt cold and my whole body felt comfortable.
Xiao Liu stood aside, holding several bottles of ice water in his hands, with an envious look on his face.
"Xue Bo, you are so awesome. You are so good at reading, so strong at work, and even so good at running."
"Hey, I wish I could have one-tenth of your physical strength."
Xue Shen smiled humbly: "I'm an amateur just like you. I'm not as good as you say."
"I can only run 5 kilometers. If I run 10 kilometers faster, it's really useless. Marathon is a protracted race, and endurance is more important than explosive power."
"So far, I have only run 20 kilometers once at most, and it was not a full marathon. When it comes to the official competition, I don't know if I can finish it."
These words made Xiao Liu suddenly nervous: "Then we should practice more before the race. If we can't finish the race and get the officially recognized completion certificate, the company will not reimburse us for the round trip expenses."
Xue Shen patted his shoulder and comforted him: "It's okay, don't worry, I have to run these 42 kilometers even if I fight for my life, and I will never hold you back."
Xiao Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile: "I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about myself."
Xue Shen asked with a smile: "What? Haven't you ever run a marathon before? If you have, you should be aware of your results."
Xiao Liu smiled awkwardly: "I ran an international marathon in Haishi once. I managed to finish it, but after running for almost 6 hours, I was just in front of the closed rabbit and almost didn't get the result."
"Close Rabbit? What is that?"
Xiao Liu explained patiently: "The pacers in the marathon are called rabbits, which are a group of front runners who finish the race at a constant speed within a specified time."
"They wear uniform clothing and a number cloth with different time marks written on it, which is easy to identify. As long as the runners follow the run, they can know their speed and finishing time."
"The speed of these rabbits ranges from 230 to 600. Generally speaking, the maximum finishing time of the marathon is 6 hours, so 600 is usually the closing rabbit."
"The most important role of the closed rabbit is to tell the volunteers and staff along the route that the competition is over and they can evacuate here and unblock the road."
"For novices, surpassing the gate rabbit means completing the race normally and getting a medal."
"If you are overtaken by the Closed Rabbit, it means that you will most likely not be able to finish the race and will not be officially recognized. If you run side by side or follow the Closed Rabbit, you will be persuaded to leave by the containment team."
"So Xue Bo, if you really hit a wall, that is, when you reach the bottleneck period and are about to collapse, you must remember it!"
His expression became serious and he warned carefully.
"Even if you stop to rest for a while and then continue running, you have to finish the whole distance. Absolutely, absolutely cannot fall behind the closed rabbit!"
"Those rabbits are all in rhythm. Don't follow them wrong. Of course, if you feel you have the energy, you can also run with the elite rabbits. It's all up to you. Don't force yourself."
To be honest, he was really afraid that Xue Shen would not understand the situation and end up running with the wrong rabbit, or he would get tired and follow a closed rabbit.
If you don't get the qualification to finish the race, it will be completely over and your efforts will be in vain.
Xue Shen nodded. This was the first time he heard about rabbits and pace, and he had a novel feeling of opening the door to a new world.
Xiao Liu continued: "The competition is only a week away. During this time, let's train hard, control the speed, and try not to run too ugly."
"In case I have to tell you later, running a marathon for more than 5 hours doesn't look good, don't you think so?"
"However, when it comes to long-distance running, as amateur athletes, we will never compete with others, only with ourselves. We are not pursuing rankings, but pursuing personal breakthroughs."
"So my goal is to run under 5 hours and have a breakthrough compared to the last time. This is enough."
"By the way, Xue Bo, what is your goal?"
Xue Bo smiled faintly: "I'm not sure either. I hope that after a week of training, I can increase the pace and run within 4 hours."
Xiao Liu immediately gave a thumbs up: "As expected of Xue Bo, it's his first time participating in the competition and he can run under 4 hours. It's definitely good! I'm very optimistic about you and I believe you can do it!"
Xue Shen chuckled and said nothing.
With his cheating physical condition, let alone finishing the whole race, he would be sorry for himself if he didn't win a prize.
"It's getting late, go back and rest first, see you tomorrow."
Xue Shen took a bottle of water from Xiao Liu's hand and waved goodbye.
During this time, he has completed experiments on nano blood and found out the optimal dosage.
If it is a 20-kilometer half-marathon, just injecting 150ml of nano blood is enough to run the entire distance at a constant speed and achieve a good result.
He could run a little faster and could even run under an hour, and the gap from the world record was only 2 and a half minutes.
It was not impossible to break the world record, but he would definitely need to rest for several days after running, so he didn't force it.
After his estimation, if he wanted to break the marathon world record and win the million-dollar prize, he would definitely have to inject 300ml of nano-blood, and he would definitely be very tired after the race, far from being as relaxed and comfortable as he is now.
And if you run a few more minutes and win the championship or second place, there will be a considerable bonus, but it will not be that strenuous.
So he was still weighing whether he should give up the moral bottom line he had adhered to for a long time and completely embrace technology for this million-dollar prize.
Although I was eager in my heart, I was still a little hesitant when things came to pass.
But no matter what, he will be prepared and bring enough nano blood to be prepared.
He didn't tell Xiao Liu about this, and he didn't even reveal his true strength.
After all, the way to win is not glamorous enough, so keep a low profile if you can, and it is best not to attract public attention.
It would be best if you could become a champion who disappears into the crowd.
The following week, he began his final pre-match training.
Arrange a 5-kilometer pace run every day for the first 3-4 days to help you adapt to the game in advance and control your running rhythm.
In the next 2-3 days, just jog 3 kilometers every day to maintain your condition.
The main focus is a balance between work and rest, which not only prevents the decline of physical function, but also avoids physical fatigue.
As for the diet, it must be light, not eating too much meat, eating more easily digestible carbohydrates, supplementing some simple sugars, and storing glycogen in the body.
Just like that, the day before the competition, Xue Shen and Xiao Liu changed planes from Haishi and flew to Lancheng.
After the two checked into the hotel, they immediately ran to the Horse Expo to collect supplies.
In addition to clothing number tags, the official also distributed a box of instant noodles for them to replenish energy before competing tomorrow morning.
The competition venue was very lively and the place was packed with bustling crowds.
"We are very lucky. It is said that 40,000 people participated in this competition. It is considered a major international event."
Xiao Liu looked at the number plate in his hand with joy: "D35868, this number is quite auspicious. Maybe I can break through myself and achieve good results."
Xue Shen looked at his number, D35879, an ordinary number.
However, he found that the number plate was a bit hard, and then he touched it and felt a small chip inside.
"This is counting. Every time you pass the counting point, you can punch in. This can prevent some people from cheating."
Xiao Liu explained: "Some people cheat very outrageously. Some people take detours, some ride bicycles, and some take taxis. Anyway, without this thing, you don't know whether they have finished the race or not."
"Generally, cheating will result in a ban and the score will be reset to zero, so we have to pay attention when we pass by the counting point."
When Xue Shen heard the word cheating, he nodded guiltily.
The two then walked around the site for a short while to familiarize themselves with the terrain.
The architectural shape of the starting point hall is very similar to the Five Buddha Crown worn by Tang Monk. It is very easy to recognize from a distance and is absolutely unmistakable.
There were more than 20 young ladies in pink sports skirts standing on the steps outside, rehearsing hard and shouting enthusiastically.
Listening to the constant "come on", Xiao Liu can't help but look forward to tomorrow's game.
The next day, there was a game at 7:30, and the road was closed early in the morning.
Fortunately, the hotel they booked was not far from the starting point. They could have breakfast at the hotel and walk slowly over.
When we arrived at the starting point, wherever we looked, there were huge crowds of people everywhere, even busier than yesterday.
Competitors, rabbits, staff, and enthusiastic onlookers filled the entire arena.
With 40,000 people participating, it was impossible to stand together and start the race, so the organizers divided the participants into different zones and asked them to wait quietly for the race to start.
"Area A is for elite runners, Area B is for outstanding runners, and Area C is for amateur runners. As for Area D where we are, well, it's probably the participation area."
Xiao Liu and Xue Shen searched among the crowd for a while, finally squeezed out a way, followed the signs and walked towards Area D.
While walking and passing by Area A, Xue Shen took a casual look and saw a dozen contestants with dark skin, slender limbs and very exotic looks warming up.
He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Hey, is that the elite area? Why are they all black Filipinos and no compatriots are seen?"
Xiao Liu stopped, took a glance, turned around and continued walking forward.
"What's wrong? Is there something fishy?" Xue Shen keenly noticed something.
Xiao Liu looked back at him, with unwillingness and a hint of indignation in his eyes.
He sneered and said: "These are elites invited by the event organizers. They require results within the 100th place in the global track and field rankings. Of course, there are none of our own."
"When it comes to long-distance running, who else in the world can run better than Uncle Hei."
"In terms of long-distance running, their physical condition is naturally good. The hemoglobin content in their blood, the number and performance of mitochondria are much superior to other races."
"After all, after running on the grasslands of the Philippines for thousands of years, who wouldn't have a genetic mutation?"
Xue Shen said thoughtfully: "There are racial differences in hemoglobin levels?"
"Of course, the hemoglobin content of Chinese men is 12-15g/L, while that of black Filipinos is around 18. The oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is much higher than ours. I have to admit that this is indeed a blessing from God. "
Xiao Liu was silent for a while, couldn't help but sigh, and said.
"There is no way. We are a farming people, and there are genetic differences between us and the people who run every day on the grassland."
"Filipino blacks run every day for hunting. Over thousands of years, their bodies have directly mutated. How can we compare with them? We don't have mutated hemoglobin, so how can we outrun them."
Xue Shen chuckled and raised the corners of his mouth: "That's not necessarily true. We also have our own advantages. As long as we work hard, we will definitely be able to outperform their genetic mutations."
Xiao Liu shook his head and said: "By the time we finish training, it will be eight hundred years later, and all the marathon prize money will be taken away by them."
"Oh, what do you say?" Xue Shen suddenly became interested. It was about bonuses, and he had to ask clearly.
Xiao Liu waved his hand, his originally excited expression suddenly became a little depressed, and he said casually.
"It's not because these people are too strong. No matter what marathon competition there is in China, all the prize money is in their pockets. Even the women's marathon is not immune."
"It is not that there are no outstanding players in China, but it is difficult to finish in the top three and win the championship. After all, there are so many competitions and there is so much food and so many monks and so many monks, it is impossible for you to finish the entire competition."
"So in order to take care of their own people, the domestic competition was forced to allocate part of the bonuses and only give them to the top ten Chinese people."
"It's just that our own running results are a bit poor, so the bonus is not high. It's only a few thousand yuan. It's better than nothing, and it can't be compared with the championship bonus."
"Don't look at how poor these people are in the Philippines. As long as they train for a few months and run over to participate in competitions, they can participate in dozens of marathons throughout the year and earn hundreds of thousands if they are conservative. This is no better than on the grasslands. Is it better to chase rabbits away?"
"This has become an industrial chain, and people in our circle have everything we can say."
"Huh? How can we, a great country, allow these gangsters to be so arrogant on the playing field!"
Xue Shen was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly became a little angry. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a serious sense of crisis.
"Hey, who says it's not the case? But we ourselves are not up to par. We are inherently inferior to others. What can we say?"
Xiao Liu couldn't help but complain again and again: "Who is willing to give money to foreigners? Isn't that a shame?"
Xue Shen nodded with concern and said comfortingly: "It's okay. Others have mutations. We have technology and we will never lose to them."
He couldn't help but touch his belly. Half an hour ago, he had just injected 300ml of nano blood into the vein there.
If anything, he felt guilty about his cheating at first and felt a little guilty.
So from the moment he learned the inside story of the marathon, the remaining trace of guilt in his heart had long since disappeared.
In short, I feel very confident now.
As expected, there is no absolute fairness in sports events, only relative fairness.
Since Filipino blacks rely on genetic mutations, they can still compete with other races despite a 30% gap in hemoglobin in their bodies.
So, relying on his super high IQ, he developed high-tech means to increase the bionic hemoglobin content in his body and enhance his oxygen-carrying capacity. How can it be called cheating?
The poor rely on mutation, and the rich rely on technology. This is extremely reasonable.
Can technological matters be called cheating?
Haha, Xue Shen sneered in his heart and made up his mind instantly.
He will definitely win today's marathon!
Even if he tried his best and fell to the ground after running, he still wanted to win the championship and break the world record.
Not for the bonus, but for international friends from the grasslands to understand.
In this land, when it comes to long-distance running, the Chinese have never lost!
Who else would win glory for the country than me?
Thinking of this, his heart was filled with excitement, and there was an inexplicable emotion brewing, waiting to explode.
His back straightened and his head held high.
(End of chapter)
