It took me about five minutes to realize that I was in way over my head.
"Large or extra large?" asked the guy in charge of handing out free T-shirts.
You see, I'm more of a medium guy. My little league all-star jersey still fits me, and it was clear from the start that medium guys like me were going to have a tough time advancing through Urban Meyer's 40-yard dash competition.
On top of that, I'm inexplicably slow.
I was that kid who looked like a wide receiver but played left guard in Pee Wee football.
I have long legs and am a decent athlete, but somehow that doesn't translate into a respectable 40-yard dash time.
Instead of aiming for a shot to race UF football players during the Orange and Blue Debut on April 12, I was just hoping not to embarrass myself.
Baseball players try to avoid total ridicule by hitting at an average above the Mendoza Line. I set a goal of running a time below the Miller Line.
Drew Miller, the Gators' center last season, clocked a 5.06-second 40-yard dash at UF's NFL scouting combine, and if I could beat the 303-pounder, I would still have my dignity.
I asked speedsters like receiver Louis Murphy and running back Emmanuel Moody for tips, and both pointed to the start as where valuable time is won or lost.
Web sites said to hold your breath for the first 20 yards, and others said visualization was the key to a fast time (I like to think Chris Rainey, one of the fastest Gators and a legend in parking lot races, pictures a group of his beloved white girls at the finish line to make him run faster).
My motivation? A 65-year-old running coach my parents made me go to in eighth grade.
All he did was call me various girl names throughout the two-hour session as he watched my misguided attempts to stop being slow.
So there I was in my starting stance at Sanders field, in Ray Ban shades and a T-shirt from UF's Friday Night Lights camp for top recruits.
My start was better than I expected, and after 10 yards, I thought I had Miller's mark beat. Once I hit 20 yards, I got concerned.
I could tell I had peaked, and it was all deceleration from there to the finish line, where a stopwatch with way too many 5's awaited me.
The person recording the times started to write a "4" as the first digit before crossing it out and writing 5.53, a figure that put me in the bottom rung of students on the day.
Even he couldn't believe I was that slow.
Or maybe it was out of habit, as two guys before me tied for the top times with 4.53s.
Mike Dent, a sophomore who starred opposite FSU's Preston Parker as a wide receiver at Delray Beach Atlantic High, and Gary Bryant, a 37-year-old senior who works as an accountant, stand a great chance of making the list of 15 students who will advance to the semifinals.
The star of the first day of competition was undoubtedly Ryan Stallings, junior finance major and The Great White Hope.
Stallings came straight from a test and was one of the last few to run, but he impressed with a blazing 4.49. The feat was even more daunting considering he was battling a hangover.
"I'm really dehydrated," the 21-year-old said. "I went out last night, so I don't feel so good."
