The Pace Coach Earbuds
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in English, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Rowan's smart pace-coach earbuds keep telling her to slow down on a hill, and she has to decide whether to trust the device or her own body.
Rowan has trained for the school's biggest cross-country race for three months. She trusts her new pace-coach earbuds completely. The tiny device tracks her speed and heartbeat. A calm voice then tells her whether to speed up or slow down. Her coach, Ellis, bought a set for the whole team last spring.
On race day, the course includes a long hill that the earbuds have never measured before. As Rowan climbs, the voice keeps saying, "Slow down, you're going too fast." But her legs feel steady and strong. She trusts the device more than her own body, so she eases off the pace.
By the top of the hill, three runners have passed her, including her teammate Nessa. Rowan checks her watch and realizes something is wrong. The earbuds are comparing her uphill pace to her usual flat-ground speed. That makes every hill feel too fast to the system.
She has a choice to make before the final mile. If she keeps trusting the earbuds, she will probably finish near the back of the pack. Instead, she pulls one earbud out and focuses on how her body actually feels.
Her legs are tired, but not dangerously so, and her breathing is steady. She pushes her pace back up, matching her stride to the runners just ahead of her. One by one, she passes two of the racers who beat her on the hill.
Nessa is waiting at the finish line, bent over and catching her breath. "Your device kept slowing you down too, right?" Rowan asks. Nessa nods and laughs between breaths. That evening, Rowan tells Ellis the earbuds need better hill data. He agrees to send the company a message.
