Run? Through that endless corridor? Panic began to grow inside me.

—What do you think? It's easy, right?

—...Yes... Well...—I replied hesitantly.

It was true that running to warm up my body didn't seem difficult.

—For how long?

—About that... —Adelaide tilted her head.

—You have to decide for yourself, I don't know how far we'll go. We just have to keep running until we're too tired to keep running while maintaining the same speed.

That took me completely by surprise. Until we're too tired? Is this a joke? The panic turned into terror.

—You're out of shape, it will do you good to take one more step when you really don't have an ounce of strength left.

Without considering how I felt, mom twisted her waist and stretched her body.

—However, you don't have to push yourself too hard since you're still recovering. Instead of exceeding your limit, we should first focus on getting the body accustomed.

She looked towards me, now frozen, and pointed with her thumb.

—Let's start running together. I'll adapt my pace to yours, so don't worry and focus on running, Ars. —Then she really started running. She ran down the road like the wind.

Stunned, I looked at my mother, as the woman quickly became a dot in my view, but I set myself in motion after realizing that the real training was about to begin.

I started running behind her, and before we could reach three km, I was completely out of breath.

My mother was waiting for me to catch up, but she didn't stay still. She moved like a boxer and threw punches in the air while singing "one, two."

"How can she have so much energy?" I wondered, panting heavily.

And when I finally caught up to her, she started running again.

—Ars, you have to run properly.

My mother's breathing was completely stable despite running like me.

—Look ahead. Imagine looking 10 meters ahead all the time.

—Mmm! Ha! Hua! Urgh!

'I can't... I can't breathe...' My lungs were burning, my heart was beating frantically.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

—Breathing is also important. Whether you breathe through your mouth or nose, it's essential that you find a breathing technique that works for you.

—Fuuu! Huuu! Fuuu! Hi!

—...I don't think this is working. Let's reduce the speed a bit.

Because I seemed to be struggling more than expected, mom suggested reducing the speed.

I felt I could finally catch my breath. A little more and I would have collapsed.

—Well, why don't we try talking while running now?

—Talk...?

Is she joking? I can barely breathe!

—Yes, you don't need to hold your breath. I think we're at a level where we can converse with the person next to us while running.

That made some sense to me, who nodded. However, it soon became impossible after we ran another two km and our conversation was cut off completely.

No... more... can't... Each step was agony, each breath a monumental effort.

—Hm... —After running another two km, Adelaide looked at me with a worried face.

We had only managed to advance seven km of the road, but my state was already so bad it was almost ridiculous. My head and arms seemed barely attached to my body and swayed like a rag doll as I moved. My body was shaking like crazy and drool was running from my mouth. I barely managed to move my small legs.

"I'm pathetic," I thought bitterly. I can't even run such a short distance. With this will I wanted to become stronger? It seemed absurd.

Although mom never expected me to catch up to her or even keep her pace, it became clear that my physical condition wasn't right, and yet, I barely kept going.

Although I had certainly trained a bit, I had never exceeded my limits, I always stayed in my comfort zone and settled for the little or nothing I did. Training for me had always been a hobby, I had never taken it too seriously and when I wanted to put in some effort, we had been taken on a trip. A damn trip that only brought a bitter taste to my dry mouth.

Proper posture, my ass!

I was a second away from losing my breath. I thought I could run at least ten km at least, but I reached my limit after seven.

I wanted to collapse on the ground right then and wondered how comfortable it would be to lie down on the soft dirt ground.

—I can't anymore...! —I shouted with my eyes closed, but my mother continued encouraging me.

—No! You can run more!

I gritted my teeth. I can't give up. I can't be weak, I repeated to myself again and again.

I closed my eyes and ran as if there was no turning back. Finally, I collapsed on the ground.

"Kuh! Kuuuu!"

I lay with my body curved forward and didn't move for a while. It seemed like I could die at any moment. My heart was beating so hard I felt it would burst from my chest. My whole body seemed to throb.

"Is this how it ends? Defeated by a simple run?" Shame and frustration mixed with exhaustion.

My vision was blurry while sweat dripped and darkened my sight. The dim sky was yellow, and when I managed to stabilize my breathing, I had a moment of clarity.

My stamina was so weak it could be described as a weakling among weaklings. I had only run about eight km. No, from my perspective, I had run to death.

—Can you get up, Ars?

I nodded while panting.

I pushed myself up from the ground with both hands and managed to stand with great effort. As if my body was inflated with water, my limbs were still flaccid and wobbling.

—Why don't you stabilize your breathing first? Once you've calmed down, we can move forward more to cool down.

"..."

"More? She still wants us to continue?" I felt I would die today.

—Just quick steps. My original plan was to warm up with a light jog. Next time, we should do some practice exercises before running.

—...Next time?

—Yes, we'll be running for a while. We won't need to do anything else but run for now, —Mom spoke firmly, as if she had no intention of backing down on this matter.

I lowered my head, what was happening now was simply hell.

"How am I going to survive this?" I wondered, desperate.

—Alright, let's try again. For fast walking, follow me. Try to minimize the time it takes to lift your feet from the ground...

Unable to resist my mother's insistent pushes, I forcefully moved my feet and added another two km. In the end, I covered ten km before the day's training ended.