"One thirty-nine!" Marcus Cross clicked his stopwatch as Zen crossed the finish line. "That's three seconds faster than Monday, son!"
Zen bent over, hands on his knees, catching his breath. Four training sessions in, and he was already shaving seconds off his 400m time.
"Angela, his time dropped again," Marcus called to his wife, who was setting up hurdles on the opposite straightaway.
Angela jogged over, her athletic frame moving with the effortless grace of a former Olympic champion. "Already? Let me see that."
She took the stopwatch from her husband, studying the numbers. "Impressive. Most kids plateau after the initial excitement wears off."
Zen stood up straight, trying not to look too pleased. He knew exactly how to pace a 400m from years of experience, but had to hold back to match his eight-year-old body's capabilities.
"How do you feel?" Angela asked, her hand on his forehead checking for overheating.
"Good," Zen said truthfully. "I could go faster."
His parents exchanged that look again, the one that said they were surprised but trying not to show it.
"You know," Marcus said, "I'm curious about something. Want to try a different distance? See how you do with pure speed?"
Zen's heart jumped. In his first life, he'd wanted to run the 100m and 200m sprints in high school. But Coach Dormer had taken one look at his lanky frame and put him in the 400m. "You're built for it," he'd said. "Trust me."
The 400m had become his event, the one that took him to nationals and eventually the world stage. But he'd always wondered what might have happened if he'd been allowed to focus on the shorter sprints.
"Yes!" Zen nodded eagerly. "Can we try the 200?"
"Sure thing, buddy." Marcus smiled at his enthusiasm. "Let's see what you can do."
They walked to the starting line of the 200m curve. Angela demonstrated the proper starting position while Marcus stood at the finish with the stopwatch.
DING
[NEW EVENT DETECTED: 200M]
[ANALYZING OPTIMAL TECHNIQUE MODIFICATIONS]
[RECOMMENDATION: FASTER ARM CYCLE, INCREASED KNEE LIFT, MAXIMUM ACCELERATION THROUGH CURVE]
"Ready?" Angela called from beside him. "Remember, this is shorter so you can push harder from the start."
"Got it!" Zen bounced on his toes.
"On your mark... set... go!"
Zen burst forward, consciously adjusting his form based on the system's recommendations. The curve felt different than the 400m start, requiring more lean to combat the centrifugal force.
[CURRENT VELOCITY: APPROACHING PEAK SPEED]
[FORM ADJUSTMENT NEEDED: INCREASE ARM DRIVE]
He pumped his arms harder, surprised at how quickly his small body fatigued at top speed. The straightaway appeared and he pushed through to the finish.
"Thirty-seven point two!" Marcus called out, looking impressed. "That's excellent for your first attempt!"
Zen walked back toward his parents, breathing hard but grinning.
[200M ANALYSIS COMPLETE: STRONG NATURAL SPEED DETECTED]
[OPTIMAL EVENT COMBINATION POTENTIAL: 200M/400M DUAL SPECIALIZATION]
"Look at you, multi-talented," Angela said, handing him a water bottle. "You've got speed AND endurance."
"Which did you like better?" Marcus asked.
Zen took a long drink before answering. "Both! Can I do both?"
His parents laughed. "Ambitious," Angela said. "I like it."
"Thirty-two point nine!" Angela called out as Zen crossed the 200m finish line two weeks later.
He'd been training for nearly three weeks now, and his times were dropping steadily in both events. In yesterday's session, he'd clocked 1:29 in the 400m.
"That's almost four seconds faster than last week," Marcus said, noting the time in the training log they'd started keeping.
The track had become busier now that school was out for summer. Other coaches and kids trained nearby, and Zen noticed people occasionally watching his workouts.
"You're getting faster every session," Angela said, adjusting his starting position for another rep. "I think we've found your natural events."
Zen nodded, trying to control his breathing. His adult mind knew exactly how to pace these shorter distances, but his child's body couldn't execute at the level he wanted. Still, he was progressing faster than any normal eight-year-old would.
"One more 200, then we'll cool down?" Marcus suggested.
"Actually," Angela said, "I want to try something. Let's do a 400m, but pace it differently. Run the first 200m at your fastest pace, then hold on for the second 200m."
"Like a race strategy," Marcus nodded. "Good thinking."
DING
[RACE STRATEGY TRAINING DETECTED]
[OPTIMIZING 400M APPROACH: FRONT-LOADED ENERGY DISTRIBUTION]
[RECOMMENDATION: 85% EFFORT FIRST 200M, MAINTAIN FORM SECOND 200M]
Zen stood at the starting line, excited to try a more advanced approach.
"Remember," Marcus called, "fast first half, hold your form on the second!"
Zen took off at the sound of the whistle, pushing harder than he had on previous 400m attempts. The first curve felt smooth, and he accelerated down the backstretch.
[CURRENT PACE: 200M SPLIT PROJECTION - 33.5 SECONDS]
[MAINTAIN CURRENT EFFORT THROUGH 200M MARK]
He passed the halfway point and heard Marcus call, "Thirty-three four! Now hold form!"
The third hundred meters always hurt in the 400m. Zen fought through the building lactate, focusing on maintaining his technique as the system highlighted form corrections.
[FORM DEGRADING: CHIN DROPPING, ARM SWING SHORTENING]
[CORRECTION: LIFT CHEST, MAINTAIN ARM DRIVE]
He rounded the final curve and saw Angela waiting at the finish, stopwatch ready. His legs burned, but he pushed through.
"One twenty-four flat!" Angela shouted as he crossed the line. "That's a five-second PR!"
Marcus jogged over, looking excited. "That pacing strategy worked perfectly. Your 200 split was right where it should be."
"He's got real potential for both distances," Angela said to Marcus, but loud enough for Zen to hear. "Maybe we should consider entering him in both events for the youth meet."
Zen's chest swelled with pride as he caught his breath. Finally, he was getting to train the way he'd always wanted.
A week later, Zen noticed a small group of coaches watching from the side of the track as he finished his warmup.
"Who are they?" he asked Angela as he stretched.
"Just some local high school coaches," she said casually. "Don't worry about them."
Marcus walked over, his clipboard in hand. "Ready for today's session? I want to work on your start for the 200m."
Over the past three weeks, Zen had continued improving steadily. His 400m was now consistently in the 1:23-1:24 range, and his 200m had dropped to just over 30 seconds.
"Did you hear what Coach Williams was saying?" Angela said quietly to Marcus as they set up starting blocks.
Marcus nodded. "About Zen running both events? Yeah."
"You think it's too much?" Angela asked. "Two events for his first competition?"
Zen pretended not to listen as he practiced his starting position.
"It would be unusual," Marcus admitted. "Most kids his age specialize."
"But he's not most kids," Angela countered. "His times in both events are exceptional."
DING
[MULTI-EVENT COMPETITION STRATEGY ANALYSIS]
[200M/400M SAME-DAY RACING: RECOVERY REQUIREMENT - 45-60 MINUTES MINIMUM BETWEEN EVENTS]
[RECOMMENDATION: COMPETE IN BOTH EVENTS BUT PRIORITIZE 400M FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE]
"I want to do both," Zen said, giving up the pretense of not listening. "Please?"
His parents looked at him.
"It'll be harder," Marcus warned. "You'll need to race the 200m, recover, then race the 400m."
"I can do it," Zen insisted. "I want to try."
Angela smiled. "He's got our determination, that's for sure."
"Alright," Marcus nodded. "Let's train for both."
The next hour was dedicated to perfecting Zen's starting technique for both distances. The system provided constant feedback on his position, reaction time, and initial acceleration.
[START REACTION TIME: 0.31 SECONDS - EXCELLENT]
[DRIVE PHASE ANGLE: 42 DEGREES - OPTIMAL RANGE]
By the end of the session, Zen had shaved another second off his 200m time, down to 29.2 seconds.
"This kid is something special," he overheard one of the watching coaches tell his father. "Running times like that at eight years old."
Marcus just nodded, but Zen could see the pride in his eyes.
The week before the competition, Zen stood at the start line for his final hard 400m time trial.
"Let's see where you're at before Saturday," Angela said, stopwatch ready. "Full race effort."
Zen had been training for nearly a month now. His body felt stronger, his technique sharper. Earlier that week, he'd clocked 26.8 seconds in the 200m, generating whispers from other coaches at the track.
DING
[PRE-COMPETITION ASSESSMENT]
[RACE STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION: 400M]
[FIRST 200M: 34-35 SECONDS]
[MAINTAIN FORM THROUGH FINAL TURN]
[MAXIMUM EFFORT FINAL 100M]
"On your mark... set... go!" Marcus called.
Zen exploded from his start, feeling more confident in his child body now. He pushed through the first curve, found his rhythm on the backstretch, and hit the 200m mark in perfect position.
"Thirty-four six at 200!" Angela called.
He maintained his form around the curve, then drove with everything he had down the final straight.
"One sixteen point seven!" Marcus shouted as Zen crossed the line.
Angela's eyes widened. "That's... that would place at the state level for his age group."
Zen bent over, hands on his knees, legitimately tired but thrilled. His parents rushed over, both looking stunned.
"How do you feel?" Marcus asked, checking his pulse.
"Great," Zen gasped. "Can we try the 200 now?"
Angela laughed. "After you recover. But if that 400 is any indication, I think you're ready for Saturday."
An hour later, after recovering and refueling, Zen ran a 27.4 in the 200m, another personal best.
"It's official," Marcus said as they packed up their gear. "We've got a multi-event athlete on our hands."
"The schedule works out," Angela added, showing them a paper from her bag. "200 meter heats are at 10 AM, finals at noon if you qualify. 400 meter heats at 2 PM, finals at 4."
"Plenty of recovery time," Marcus nodded.
"So I can do both?" Zen asked hopefully.
"Yes, you can do both," Angela smiled. "I've already registered you."
DING
[COMPETITION SCHEDULE DETECTED]
[CREATING RACE DAY OPTIMIZATION PLAN]
[RECOVERY PROTOCOLS BETWEEN EVENTS: HYDRATION, LIGHT STRETCHING, REST]
"Just remember," Marcus said as they walked to the car, "this is your first competition. The goal is to have fun and get experience."
"But we both know you're going to do great," Angela added, squeezing his shoulder.
Saturday morning arrived with perfect weather for racing. Zen sat in the backseat, his small racing spikes and competition bib in his lap. The community center track came into view, already buzzing with kids and parents.
"Nervous?" Marcus asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.
"A little," Zen admitted. In truth, he wasn't nervous about racing, but about accidentally showing too much knowledge or experience.
"That's normal," Angela reassured him. "Everyone gets nervous before competition."
They found a parking spot and walked toward the registration table. Other kids in racing gear warmed up nearby, some looking confident, others clearly as nervous as Zen pretended to be.
"Look," a boy whispered to his friend as they passed. "That's the kid who's doing both the 200 and 400."
"No way," his friend replied. "Nobody does both."
Zen smiled to himself. If only they knew who they were racing against.
DING
[COMPETITION DAY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED]
[200M PRIMARY STRATEGY: AGGRESSIVE START, POWER THROUGH CURVE, MAINTAIN THROUGH FINISH]
[400M PRIMARY STRATEGY: CONTROLLED FIRST 200M, POSITION THROUGH CURVE, MAXIMUM DRIVE FINAL 100M]
[GOAL 1: FIRST PLACE 200M]
[GOAL 2: FIRST PLACE 400M]
As they approached the check-in table, Zen felt a surge of excitement. This was it. His first race in his second chance at life.