The Bright Night 5K in Greenville, NC on May 18, 2013 was my first 5K in the city full of mostly 5K races.  It was my fifth race in Greenville as well and my fifth race of the year.  It is a race that benefits ovarian cancer and the race director, Bethann Wilkie, is the leader of Greenville Running Group.  The course is the in the flat Lynndale neighborhood off of Red Banks Road.  I expected to be faster than my last 5K on the hilly Angels Among Us 5K on the Duke campus on April 24th.

Race day weather was bad.  It was storming on and off all day and waiting for the evening race to start at 7:30pm made the day seem like it was taking forever to go by.  I've ran great races in bad weather so the threat of a thunderstorm and pouring rain didn't bother me.  I just hoped they didn't cancel the race.

My friend Jarrod decided he would pace Melanie to the women's course record.  Melanie was at a wedding for most of the afternoon and came to the race in her dressed up attire and changed into running gear.  The female course record was 19:12 and I knew Melanie wouldn't have a problem  getting that.  Her PR is 18:32 but more recently she had ran a 18:51 on May 4th on another flat course in Greenville.

Jamie and I arrived at the race shortly after 7pm.  I met up with Jarrod and Melanie and we did a 1.5 mile warmup with some race pace surges towards the end of it.  When we arrived back at the start we discovered the race had been postponed for 15 minutes due to lightening.  It was not raining when we finished our warm-up.  I've ran in thunder and lightning before, even in Beach Runs where the runners were the highest thing on the beach.  I was frustrated the race was delayed because it threw off my warm-up routine.

It started to rain heavy as we lined up for the now 7:45 PM start.  Melanie asked for a hat so my friend Jeff went and got one of my running hats out of Jamie's car and gave to Melanie to wear in the race.  I didn't run in a hat or sunglasses and I started worrying my contacts would try to come out in the heavy rain.  I've lost a contact running in the rain before so I usually kept sunglasses on even in the rain.  

A lot of kids lined up on the front of the staring line and I told them to move for the faster runners.  Some moved, some did not but Melanie, Jarrod, and myself were now at the front of the line.  Kids on the front of a staring line is a big pet peeve of mine.  They go out really fast for maybe thirty seconds then suddenly stop and you have to dodge them.  Parents, please tell your kids to line up in the middle or back of the pack.  They have no business being on the front of a starting line.

The gun went off and I was out fast, leading the field already.  I felt good and just focused on hitting my splits and trying to pace off the police car leading me on the course.  I noticed I had a runner on my butt for the first half mile.  I later found out it was my friend Nick Gingras.

For some reason the police car leading me around the course was not doing a good job.  He was way too far ahead of me and later pulled over to the side and just stopped.  As soon as we turned onto Queen Anne's Road a car came close to hitting me.  I kept running hard until a second car almost hit me.  The second car made me mad.  They came the closest to hitting me and they had the nerve to blow the horn at me.  I hit the side of their car as hard as I could with my hand hoping I left a dent in it.  Melanie and Jarrod would have a close call with a car later in the race as they were finishing.  The traffic control on the course was horrible!

I was all by myself as I ran the first mile in 5:40.  I was feeling good but had to push myself hard mentally since I had no one near me to push me.  The course passed Emily Bright's house near the first mile.  The race is named after her. The mile markers were lit up with clear Christmas lights.  They were easy to see in the rain and dark.

The course was as flat as you can get but it had a lot of turn.  The rain wasn't getting any lighter and there was standing water all over the course.  I was trying to run the tangents on all the turns but that took me through ankle deep water.  I ran the second mile in 5:52.  Slower than what I wanted so I knew I had to pick it up for the final 1.1 miles.

I hit a long straight stretch after 2.2 miles.  I was still alone with no sound of anyone near me.  I passed an aid station and my friend Jessi said Go Tyler!  It's always great hearing your name in a race instead of just generic cheering and clapping.  I kept pushing hard to the finish line.  I ran the final 1.1 miles in 6:32, 5:40 min/mile pace so I did pick it up after the second mile.  I finished 1st Overall in 18:04 out of 417 runners.

Jarrod paced Melanie right at 6:00 minutes for the first mile but then Melanie got tired.  She kept putting forth the effort and won the women's race and broke the course record.  Melanie and Jarrod finished in a tie for 2nd Place overall in 19:07.

After going out with me for the first mile, maybe a little less, Nick finished 4th Overall in 19:24  I had several other friends in the race as well.  Bob Patterson finished 8th overall and 1st in his age group in 20:27.  Troy Wilkie, Bethann's husband, finished 9th overall and 2nd in his age group in 21:03. 

Results said I ran 17:57 chip time but the 18:04 is correct.  They had some issues with the timing and scoring of the race.  I was on the front line so there would not be a five second difference in chip time and gun time.  They also had Melanie beating Jarrod by four seconds and they finished side by side.

I was glad I won but disappointed in my time.  It's harder to push yourself all alone on a flat course than one with some hills.  The conditions were less than ideal but I still should have been faster.  I received a $100 gift card to Overtons for winning.  I've gotten less money from winning a half marathon.  I was very surprised I got so much for a 5K.

The Capital City Classic 10K on May 11th was my fourth race of the year.  I had not done the race before but knew some friends that have.  It draws a fast elite field because of the prize money and it being the NC USATF 10K Championship.  After looking at the past results my goal was to finish within the top 20 and knew that would be a challenge even if I ran a PR.  The course looked great and not as hilly as typical races in Raleigh.  There was however going to be a tough uphill mile from miles four to five.  There would be a slight downhill finish for the final 400m or so on Fayetteville Street Mall to look forward to.

I arrived at the race shortly before 7:30am.  Jamie and I parked and I ate a Powerbar before making my way over to the VIP area where I picked up my free pair of balega socks.  They are great socks.  I have several pairs of the hidden comfort version.  I've never had any blistering, slipping, or rubbing issues with their socks.  The weather was nice but warmer than what I would have preferred for a race.  At least there was a breeze. The temperature was in the low 70s and humid.  I met some teammates on the Capital RunWalk team and talked with them before heading out for a warm-up run.

I lined up at the starting line for the 8:30am start.  I had to tell myself not to go out with the leaders because there would be several runners aiming for low 30 minutes and going out with them would be over my head.  The race started and I went out a little too fast but soon backed off and settled in on my goal pace.  I ran the first mile around 6:00 min.

I started picking up the pace after the first mile and settled in with a group of several women and another guy.  It was great having people around to run with.  Running fast is easier with people.  I ran miles two and three in 5:51 and 5:52.  Those miles were rolling but mostly a slight downhill.  My first 5K split was around 18:23, right on pace for a sub 37:00.  The first three miles were nice and shady.  Mile three to four was also downhill and I ran mile four in 5:55.

The uphill started shortly after passing the four mile marker.  I knew it was going to be a long gradual hill and I could lose 20 seconds or more on this mile.  The group I was running with started getting dwindled down. It was down to me and the guy, masters winner John Hinton.  He started pulling away from me on the uphill. I focused on keeping him close so I could possibly outkick him to the finish.  There was only one aid station on the course and it was at mile 4.5.  I took the small cup of water from a volunteer, got a couple sips in me, and dumped the rest on my head.  The hill was tough and I was beginning to fade.  Jamie cheered for me and told me I was in 11th place as I was going up the hill.

I was surprised I was in 11th place.  I thought there were way more runners ahead of me.  I expected to be in the top 20 barely.  Jamie telling me I was in 11th made me all the more focused on not letting John get too far ahead so I could finish in the top 10.  The sun was out and there was a tailwind going uphill which made the hill seem even harder.  I ran mile 5, all uphill, in 6:12.  I was glad that hill was over.

There was a slight downhill after mile 5 but not as much as I would have liked.  My legs had taken a beating and I wasn't able to pick it up as I had planned after the hill.  The first half of mile six was rolling hills with some downhills but the second half was another uphill back to the finish.  I wasn't gaining on John but he wasn't getting any farther away from me either.

I made the right turn by the Capitol building and had the finish line in my sights.  The final quarter mile of the race was downhill and this was my chance to use my kick.  I tried picking it up but my kick was not there.  The hill at five had taken it from me.  I ran the final 1.2 miles in 7:20 which was 5:56 min/mile pace.  I finished 11th Overall and 1st in my age group with a time of 37:15.  I was happy with my placing but a little disappointed in my time.

The Capital RunWalk team had a great race.  Sandy Roberts led the way with a 2nd place overall finish in 31:12.  Austin Balen ran his PR and finished 37th overall and first in his age group.  William Unger finished in 53rd place Overall in 47:23.

Since there was nobody passing out water at the end of the finish line, my girlfriend Jamie stepped up and started volunteering.  She went and got water bottles and set up a table at the finish line.  She passed out a lot of bottles to runners saving them the time of having to hunt for the water.

Overall, I enjoyed the race.  It was a great course that went by the campuses of Saint Mary's and Peace College, the beautiful homes of Boyland Heights, the North Carolina Capitol building, and the course had nice views of the Raleigh skyline.  My only complaint was the lack of a second aid station.  It was warm and humid and a 10K should have a minimum of two aid stations.  I would recommend this race to anyone wanting a good competitive 10K.