469 Missions Failed (2/2)

Mission failed!

...

Target two: Shawn Ford.

Sebastian walked up to Ford with a big smile.

”Hey! Shawn, nice day today, right?” The same corny greeting.

”Hi, Coach Sebastian. Today is nice for exercise,” Ford said politely.

”Shawn, how's your recent training? Is there anything you're unaccustomed to?” Sebastian asked again.

Ford shook his head. ”No, I'm used to training here.”

”Actually, I'm curious about why you have made such fast progress recently? I know you just performed so-so in recent years until several months ago. There must be some unique training method, right?” asked Sebastian.

”Yeah, I have received some different training.” Ford nodded.

”Really? What kind of training?” Sebastian asked, full of expectation.

”Well...” Suddenly Ford remembered that Dai Li urged him before to never disclose the fact that he changed his way of running.

Therefore, Ford said, ”That's a secret!”

”Secret? What secret?” Sebastian immediately asked.

”Surely a secret that cannot be told.” Ford smiled simply. ”Many athletes have their own unique skills. That's a secret!”

Sebastian was being stalled by a simple-minded Ford, but he didn't give up. He continued to ask, ”What kind of nutrition and health care products do you use? Fish oil, vitamins, protein powder, or lycopene?”

Sebastian wanted Ford to reveal some information about the new drug, but Ford shook his head, ”I don't use those things.”

”You don't? Probably not?” Sebastian didn't believe this answer.

However, Ford seemed to have something to say.

Well! Maybe I can get some useful information! Thinking of this, Sebastian lowered his voice and said, ”Did you use some niche brand products or special nutritional products? Trust me, you can tell me. I am your coach and we have the same goal, to win the Olympic gold medal. So we are brothers, you can trust me completely!”

”Okay!” Ford sighed, looking embarrassed, and he lowered his voice. ”Those special nutritional products for athletes are expensive. I haven't got any good results recently. Without regular income, I even need to do part-time work to support myself sometimes. The usual training is expensive, so I can't afford those nutritional products.”

Can't afford... Well... Sebastian suddenly got frustrated. He never thought of such an answer.

Mission failed again!

...

Target three: Jimmy Aylwin.

Sebastian walked to Aylwin with a big smile.

”Hey! Jimmy, nice day today, right?” Also the same greeting.

”Coach Sebastian! What's up?” Obviously Aylwin wasn't as polite as Ford, for he was a legendary athlete.

”Nothing important. I just want to know your recent training,” said Sebastian.

”Everything is okay, the same as before,” Aylwin answered.

”Actually, I'm curious about why you became so successful after coming back? To be honest, I never thought that you could run as fast as a young man in the twenties since you are 34 years old now. I have never seen such a condition since I became a coach. You really surprised me! I guess you must have used some very special training methods to return back to such a good state, right?” Sebastian said as he watched Aylwin's face intently. He wanted to find some clues.

To Sebastian's disappointment, Aylwin's face didn't change at all.

Aylwin said, ”Actually, there is no special training. I think it has something to do with my good maintenance. Many athletes don't keep working out hard after retirement, so they lose their shape quickly. I am different. Even after my retirement, I still played sports for two to three hours a day.”

Aylwin's response was exactly the same as what he gave in the journalist's interview, not even changing a word. However, it was a perfunctory answer to Sebastian.

Sebastian was certainly unhappy with the answer, and he asked again, ”Did you use any dietary supplements? Like fish oil, vitamins, protein powder or lycopene...”

”I seldom use those things, and I mainly rely on getting nutrition from food. My nutritionist changes my diet every week, and I have a special chef for this.” Then Aylwin continued, ”As for this point, I have some suggestions. I hope the national team can have more vegetables in their food. I mean the variety, not the quantity. Like the lunch today, we only had salad for vegetables, and there are lots of mangoes and strawberries in it. There are not many real vegetables.”

”Additionally, I suggest they should supply boiled eggs for athletes, which are boiled directly in water. Although they don't taste that great, they can provide more absorbent proteins. Now we only have omelets in our dining hall, and it's too thin, which allows the eggs to absorb too much oil. It's too greasy for me. As a track and field athlete, I shouldn't eat something so greasy, but I have to because I need protein.”

”What's more, we don't have whole grain bread in the dining hall. Milk also contains too much fat. It's more than 2%. Besides, there are so many varieties of red meat, while the varieties of white meat are so few. You know, the saturated fatty acid content in red meat is 3%, while in white meat it is less than 10%. The throwers may need more red meat to maintain their strength, but we sprinters need white meat.”

”And I think our dining hall should provide almond tablets...”

”And I'll say something about the training. Our fitness training room actually opens at 8:30am and closes at 5:00pm. It's too short. You know we are basically doing outdoor training during this time. When we need to use the training room, it's closed.”

”And about the training partners...”

”By the way, about the coach's training plan...”

”Coach Sebastian, next let me give you a little bit of personal advice...”

Sebastian nodded helplessly as he listened.

Other athletes wouldn't dare talk to the chief coach of the US track team. But Aylwin was different. He was a legendary athlete. Since his status and position in sports was much higher than Sebastian's, Aylwin was well qualified to advise the chief coach of national team.

”Well, that's it for the moment! It's getting late. Coach Sebastian, I need to train now.” Aylwin finally ended giving his tips and turned away, leaving Sebastian standing there still.

I came here for information, not for suggestions! He just listed dozens of suggestions, huh? Is he the chief coach or am I the chief coach?

Mission failed for the third time!