Nano Contestant - Episode 1: Whatever It Takes by Leif Sterling Page B
Authors: Leif Sterling
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contraction speed of your fast twitch muscle fibers. So, basically that means the faster that you go, the faster you can go. Lengthen your stride. See if you can hit 16 mph .”
Roland began minimizing his side of the conversation to save air. “Lengthening stride.” Roland stretched each step as far as he could go. He also changed his position to being less of a jog and more of a sprint. He began hitting the pavement with the balls of his feet. His HUD speed read 16 mph . “Hit 16!”
Skylar watched as his stride ate up the road. “Good. You just hit the two mile mark. You’ve only got one mile left. Give it all you’ve got!”
Sweat ran in rivulets down Roland’s face. “17!” He came up on a slight downward slope and pushed to take advantage of it. “18, 19!” Then he found his new running rhythm. He was taking eight steps for each breath. His head still felt clear, so he kept pushing his speed. “20, 21, 22.”
“You’ve only got a quarter mile to go, Roland. Keep it up!”
Roland could tell he was topping out on his speed as tunnel vision began to set in. “24.” He took in one more deep breath and then exhaled as he neared the end of his three miles. “26!”
Skylar smiled. “That’s it! That’s three miles.”
Roland went to a slow jog. He was breathing too hard to answer back. He turned around and headed for home. “Time?” “What’s my time?”
Skylar looked over at the timer. “Whoa, Roland, you aren’t going to believe this.”
“What was it? Did I make fifteen minutes?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“But, I…”
“12:42.”
“Wait? What?”
“Roland, you just ran three miles in twelve minutes and forty-two seconds!”
Roland smiled. He could feel goosebumps on his arms. “Twelve minutes. That means I was doing four minute miles!”
“That’s right. Well, four minutes and change.”
“Yes, and change. I’ve only ever barely broken six minute miles for this distance in the Marines. I think it was 5:50 or something. This is huge!”
Skylar finished the last of her espresso. “Roland, you are in a good place for the games. With today’s time and some hard training, you could be competitive.”
“Thanks, Sky. Great work on the plugins by the way.”
“You’re welcome. I think we can do a lot more down the road.”
“Hey Sky, I’m starved. Will you order me two meat lover’s pizzas? And whatever veggie thing you want for lunch?”
Skylar laughed. “Yeah, I will.” She pulled up the pizza place’s website and started putting in the order. “After you eat lunch, we need to go down to Pinnacle's headquarters to do the in-person registration.
“Into the lair of the enemy…”
“Yep.”
C HAPTER T HIRTEEN :
C HOKE
SKYLAR AND ROLAND arrived at Pinnacle's headquarters. They followed the signs for the contestant registration and got to the end of a very long line. There had to be three hundred people in front of them. Most were groups of five or ten and wore matching team colors.
Skylar eyed all of the different people. The contestants were the easiest to pick out, because they were the fittest looking of each group. She leaned close to Roland and spoke in a low voice. “Look at that one in red. He’s a digital for sure.”
Roland followed her gaze to a man who looked to be in incredible shape and very handsome. “Why, because he looks photoshopped?”
Skylar nodded slightly. “Yeah, the digitals have their DNA designed so they are perfectly symmetrical and have all the most handsome or beautiful features, which they can change by using one of their digital DNA apps.”
Roland watched as a passing girl made eyes at the digital. “Well, seems to be working for him here. We’ll see how ‘handsome’ is at winning races.”
Skylar folded her arms. “Right?” Then she looked down the long line in front of her. “I hope this line starts moving faster.”
Roland turned to watch the people arriving on the right side of the room. He motioned
Roland began minimizing his side of the conversation to save air. “Lengthening stride.” Roland stretched each step as far as he could go. He also changed his position to being less of a jog and more of a sprint. He began hitting the pavement with the balls of his feet. His HUD speed read 16 mph . “Hit 16!”
Skylar watched as his stride ate up the road. “Good. You just hit the two mile mark. You’ve only got one mile left. Give it all you’ve got!”
Sweat ran in rivulets down Roland’s face. “17!” He came up on a slight downward slope and pushed to take advantage of it. “18, 19!” Then he found his new running rhythm. He was taking eight steps for each breath. His head still felt clear, so he kept pushing his speed. “20, 21, 22.”
“You’ve only got a quarter mile to go, Roland. Keep it up!”
Roland could tell he was topping out on his speed as tunnel vision began to set in. “24.” He took in one more deep breath and then exhaled as he neared the end of his three miles. “26!”
Skylar smiled. “That’s it! That’s three miles.”
Roland went to a slow jog. He was breathing too hard to answer back. He turned around and headed for home. “Time?” “What’s my time?”
Skylar looked over at the timer. “Whoa, Roland, you aren’t going to believe this.”
“What was it? Did I make fifteen minutes?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“But, I…”
“12:42.”
“Wait? What?”
“Roland, you just ran three miles in twelve minutes and forty-two seconds!”
Roland smiled. He could feel goosebumps on his arms. “Twelve minutes. That means I was doing four minute miles!”
“That’s right. Well, four minutes and change.”
“Yes, and change. I’ve only ever barely broken six minute miles for this distance in the Marines. I think it was 5:50 or something. This is huge!”
Skylar finished the last of her espresso. “Roland, you are in a good place for the games. With today’s time and some hard training, you could be competitive.”
“Thanks, Sky. Great work on the plugins by the way.”
“You’re welcome. I think we can do a lot more down the road.”
“Hey Sky, I’m starved. Will you order me two meat lover’s pizzas? And whatever veggie thing you want for lunch?”
Skylar laughed. “Yeah, I will.” She pulled up the pizza place’s website and started putting in the order. “After you eat lunch, we need to go down to Pinnacle's headquarters to do the in-person registration.
“Into the lair of the enemy…”
“Yep.”
C HAPTER T HIRTEEN :
C HOKE
SKYLAR AND ROLAND arrived at Pinnacle's headquarters. They followed the signs for the contestant registration and got to the end of a very long line. There had to be three hundred people in front of them. Most were groups of five or ten and wore matching team colors.
Skylar eyed all of the different people. The contestants were the easiest to pick out, because they were the fittest looking of each group. She leaned close to Roland and spoke in a low voice. “Look at that one in red. He’s a digital for sure.”
Roland followed her gaze to a man who looked to be in incredible shape and very handsome. “Why, because he looks photoshopped?”
Skylar nodded slightly. “Yeah, the digitals have their DNA designed so they are perfectly symmetrical and have all the most handsome or beautiful features, which they can change by using one of their digital DNA apps.”
Roland watched as a passing girl made eyes at the digital. “Well, seems to be working for him here. We’ll see how ‘handsome’ is at winning races.”
Skylar folded her arms. “Right?” Then she looked down the long line in front of her. “I hope this line starts moving faster.”
Roland turned to watch the people arriving on the right side of the room. He motioned
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