University of Georgia Athletics
Journal Entry No. 6: Bennett Rediscovers His ?Love?
August 01, 2008 | Track & Field
“Hello to all. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written a journal, but I’ve been pretty busy closing on my house. But, I’ll give you a summary of my European tour.
I left the Olympic Trials pretty messed up, mentally at least. I was really contemplating retiring, but my agent had already booked me a flight to Madrid in two days. So, I headed home to grab some fresh clothes and head to Madrid.
When I got to Madrid, I quickly had to brush up on my Spanish, but I fared pretty well. I had to run the next day so my legs felt pretty heavy. I looked at the start list and noticed that Alwyn and Petier (South Africans) were in my race. Adrian Findlay (Jamaican) was also a late entrant in the meet, so the race would probably be a fast one.
The next day, we were taken to the track and I noticed how hard the track was. My warm-up was pretty good, but I was still feeling tired from the nine-hour flight. Finally, we were taken out to the starting line to set our blocks. After I set my blocks, I looked up at the scoreboard, but I didn’t see the Madrid scoreboard. I saw the Oregon scoreboard, which was the same one at the Olympic Trials. Then I saw my name in lane one, but I could have sworn they game me lane four when I checked in. Then I saw all American names - Angelo Taylor, Kerron Clement, Bershawn Jackson, Justin Gaymon. Am I in the Olympic Trials final? Then I hear the commands in Spanish and that’s when I realized that I was having a flashback.
Then I hear the gun and I push out of the blocks. As I approach the first hurdle, I noticed that it looked just like the hurdle at the Olympic Trials and the cheers sound just like the ones in Oregon. I’m having a flashback again. When I come back to the real world, I was already approaching the 200-meter mark and I was in second place behind Alwyn.
Going over the last hurdle, it was he and I and we were fighting for the line, but my legs are still kind of heavy from the flight. We both lean at the line and I look at the scoreboard. I see a 48.99 by Alwyn’s name and a 49.1 by my name. Wow, where was that time at the Trials. For some reason, though, I still don’t feel like I ran well. I headed back to the hotel, because I had to fly out to Lahti, Finland, the next day.
I arrived to Finland at about 11 p.m. and I noticed that it was still daylight outside. I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep here. I head to bed because I would be running in 22 hours. After waking up at 5 a.m. due to bright daylight, I decided to go check out the scenery. It was weird, almost everybody was riding around on bikes. After an uneventful journey, I decided to head back to the hotel to get prepared for my race.
Finally, it came time to head over to the track and the temperature had dropped to about 60 degrees and windy. My warm-up didn’t go to well due to a sore quad muscle, but the competition wasn’t that big, so I would be O.K. We were finally called out to set our blocks and that’s when I started having flashbacks of the Olympic Trials. I look into the stands and I saw thousands of people and TV cameras, but in reality there was only about 1,000 people and one local TV camera. Then we were called to our marks and the flashbacks continued. As I was getting into the blocks, I looked up at the first hurdle and I could have sworn I was looking at lane one, but I was in lane 5. Then I heard the gun and just like at the Trials, I think I am in last place, but in reality I am in first. I crossed the finish line first and see a 49.5. I was kind of disappointed and my leg felt worse. But, before I could get off the track, I am rushed by at least 30 kids wanting autographs. At that moment all my worries seemed to go out the door. I headed back to the hotel, because I had to take another flight to Lignano, Italy - talk about a rough travel and competition schedule.
I arrive in Italy and the place was amazing. This was where our training base was so there were quite a few of my club teammates here. I would have two days to rest before I had to compete so I decided to see if Venice beaches would live up to all the hype. When I got to the beach, the water looked so peaceful and so I just sat there and tried to clear my mind. For a while it worked, but soon I knew I had to head back to the base to prepare for my race.
After two days of rest, we were taken to the track for competition. Petier was there so I knew I would have some competition. During my warm-up, my leg just would not loosen up; I guess I had had a lot of races in the last three weeks. Finally, we are called to our blocks and as usual, my flashbacks arrived. Only this time, 50 seconds kept flashing in my mind. Before I realized it, I was approaching the 200-meter mark. I didn’t even remember hearing the gun. Going into the last hurdle, Petier had about a two-step lead on me, but as we clear the last hurdle, I decided that that day was not my day to lose. I passed him and won with a 49.3; still, though, I don’t feel satisfied. I think the Trials really hit me hard. Then I am rushed by over 45 kids. I smile and give and autograph to every last one of them. As I was leaving, I noticed that one little girl didn’t have as many autographs as the rest of her older friends and she was being picked on for it. So, I called her over, took my bib number off my uniform, personalized it and gave it to her. She almost cried, but she soon became the most popular one out the group.
As I headed back to base, I realized that my leg was probably hurt more than I thought, so I convinced my agent to let me go back to the States until after the Olympic Games so I could rest up.
On my flight back home, I looked out the airplane window and began to finally reflect on my short European tour. I began to realize that I had actually run really well, even though I thought I hadn’t. Then I began to smile at the happiness that I had brought all the little kids that I had signed autographs for. Then it hit me; that’s why I wasn’t feeling satisfied. After the Trials, I had lost my joy of running track. Not because of my loss, but because of all the politics and heartache it brought. So, why should I continue to run? For the love, the love of competing, the love of training, (yes, I said training) the love of having friends and family watching, including Ross Ridgewell’s mother, the love of praising God before, during and after I run and the love of seeing how happy I make a kid when sign an autograph.
I am back in Athens now and I have gotten some good treatment on my leg and I feel refreshed. I have been having some excellent practices and I am anxious to get back into competition. I know I have not run my best times yet, but I do know that my LOVE for track is back and stronger than ever. Talk to you soon.”
