The 2010 edition of Athens, GA Twilight was filled with rain and wind provided by a nearby tropical storm, and smaller crowds than the usual 30,000 that are expected to line the streets of the downtown. Even though the weather was less than optimal people were still in good spirits and having a great time. My day began with a stop to Jittery Joe’s for pre-race coffee and then I headed downtown for the first race of the day, the 5k run.
At 8:30 am I was cruising through the streets of Athens with a small crowd of fellow runners. I hit the first mile in 4:45, which was a little faster than I wanted to go out in, but it was mostly a flat to downhill mile. By mile two I settled into the lead pack with two other runners (Nate Peck of ZAP Fitness + a UGA runner). Just after the two mile mark we descended and ascended a set of rolling hills. I felt great after this section, so I decided to pick it up and close a bit of the gap that Peck opened up on the field. Coming down the home stretch I heard foot steps coming up quickly behind me and had to kick a little harder right at the end to secure 2nd place overall to Peck in 15:35. The man right who finished in 3rd was Drew Haro, a local to Athens. Drew is a great guy and it was a pleasure meeting and hanging with him. Thanks to my finishing place I qualified for the $1000 mile later in the evening.
The format for the $1000 mile is that the top 15 men and women from the 5k in the morning run 1.5 laps on the cycling criterium course at 7:15 pm. The prize money actually went five places deep, with a bonus for 1st place after the first lap and a $1000 bonus to the first sub-4 mile. Well, 7:15 pm came and passed. Everyone stayed close to the parking garage, jogging around, making small talk, and trying to keep loose. Thanks to rain falling at up to an inch per hour things were running about an hour late. A little after 8 pm the hand-cycles finished their race and then we were escorted onto the course. Despite the rain spectators lined the course all the way around. We were allowed a quick strider or two, then settled into our starting position on the backstretch of the course. A few seconds later we were off.
Everyone charged the uphill start, fueled by an adrenaline filled atmosphere provided by the spectators and the world renowned announcer. As we crested the uphill I heard my former teammate Tom Carpenter yell, “Go D-Whit!” We quickly made it to turn three of the course I found myself right in the mix up front and in a great position. After we navigated a huge puddle on turn four and entered the homestretch for the first time we were greeted with tons of screaming fans cheering us on. Three men took off in seek of the $50 bonus. I picked it up, but chose to be conservative and save my energy for the hill on the backstretch. My second go round on the hill I was in 6th place and feeling confident in my ability to pick off at least one runner and put myself in a position to make top five. Near the top of the hill I passed a fading runner and focused on driving my arms and looking for the next person to go after. Right before I entered the last two sharp turns I took out another runner and put myself in 4th place. Powered by the roars on the homestretch I made myself a split second promise. That promise was that no matter how bad I was hurting I would find a way to hold my ground and try to close on 3rd place. I put on the blinders, shifted into my last gear, and pushed hard all the way through the line.
4 minutes and 28 seconds later the blur of a race was complete. I had finished 4th and kept the promise to myself. The street mile was awesome and such a rush! This was definitely a unique set of races and I loved that I was able to be a part of them this year.
Next up is the Patriot’s Cup 8k Corporate challenge on May 2nd. I will be supporting the company I work for (BIT Systems, Inc.) and trying to help bring home some hardware!
