Wednesday night, 6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly in East Nashville.

Potato to Tomato

Our couch to 5k program is coming in about a month.  Information, including registration, is available here.  (Note: our program is free, but you still need to sign up for the actual race.)

1) We still need a couple more coaches.  If you are interested, send Mark an email (mark@eastnastyforlife.com)

2) Any one else interested in helping in a non-coaching role?   This program is a great way to get involved in the community, and if you would like to be a part in any way let me know.

3) Sponsor.  Everything we do is free, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t costs us anything, and one thing we have wanted to do for years is give away East Nasty shirts to the participants.  (Right now we charge them $10, if they want a shirt.)   Is there someone who would like to partner with us to help offset some of those costs?  Let me know!

4) Get someone to join…  Send a friend the link with information.  Then join us at our information session at the Margaret Maddux YMCA on June 8th at 11:00 a.m.

Seaside Half Marathon

I’d like to introduce you to our newest East Nasty Of The Week (ENOW), Angela Wilson!  Since so many of us are frequent patrons of NRC & know Angela’s husband, Lee, I’m excited to share some of Angela’s story with you.

Angela & Lee

Here is what Lee has to say about Angela, ”It’s been awesome seeing Angela get into the running world.  She was a competitive diver & gymnast in the past & didn’t really enjoy running until joining the East Nasty crew, which was both social & active. Once the running store became a reality, it seemed like it was like a ‘well crap, guess I better run more!’ moment.”

Angela grew up in Birmingham, AL.  She was a gymnast, springboard diver & cheerleader.  Describing her college experience at Georgia Tech, Angela says that it was a great experience getting out of Alabama & starting over at a college not knowing anyone.  ”It definitely changed my life since I got my first job at the recommendation of one of my professors & met my husband through work.  Was meant to be!”

Lee & Angela

Angela has lived in Nashville almost 5 years.  For the past 13 years, she’s worked as a software consultant.  She goes to new companies every couple of years & helps them through a 1-2 year software upgrade or new implementation project.  Angela says, “It takes me to some cool cities, but also forces me to be on the road a lot.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be on a local project downtown at the Metro Nashville Government for the last few years, so I haven’t had to travel in a while!  Which has been wonderful since we recently welcomed our new little girl, Lila!”

Lila

Angela started running a couple of years after she moved to Nashville.  Her husband, Lee, joined East Nasty & encouraged her to start, but since she was traveling all the time, she was gone every Wednesday.  When she started the local project with Metro, she started coming on Wednesdays.

“To be honest, I had never run in my life because all the sports I did in high school required NO running!  At least no more than 2 minutes of intense running on a gym floor & with diving, no running either.  So I had to teach myself how to run even 2 miles.  I ran by myself every week around my neighborhood to “build up” to 3 miles, so I could go run with the East Nasties.  I didn’t think I would be able to make it through even the shortest East Nasty run, so I ran for months until I was able to make it 3 miles.  Then I showed up!  And all the awesome East Nasties encouraged me & made it fun, & before I knew it I was running 3, 4, 5 miles & eventually The NASTY!!!  Fellow East Nasty Julie Hackbarth ran every Wednesday night run with me & never let me quit.  She is the reason I stuck with it.  She went as slow as I needed to until I felt comfortable with my pace & could eventually speed up a little!”

Girls at beach after Seaside Half

Angela’s biggest accomplishment in running is completing a half marathon last year with a “big group of wonderful East Nasty girls”:  Lanie Brooks, Brittany Endres, Bernadette Doykos, Sara Spencer & Margaret Jones.  They went down & ran the Seaside Half & had a great time.  Angela says, “I PR’d (of course since it was my first half! with a time of 1:49)!”

Girls after the Seaside Half

When asked how she heard about East Nasty & when she started running with us, Angela says, “See last two questions above!”  Angela’s favorite part about East Nasty, besides staying motivated & active, is just the friends & community you get with the group.  She says, “It has made Nashville feel like a home away from home for my husband & I, who both love being an East Nasty!”

Angela, Lee & Lila

Lee says, “Angela’s extremely busy with her career & raising Lila, but is looking forward to getting back to running on Wednesday nights & hopefully mastering this B.O.B. stroller.”

Aside from running, Angela’s other hobbies include traveling (for fun), reading, yoga, movies &, now, mostly taking care of their new little one.

Angela, congratulations & welcome to the ENOW club!

Little Hollywood.  Wednesday night, 6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly.  The route takes us down Eastland Ave, and there is a short section where the sidewalk disappears.  Remember to run single file on this section.

Bring $3…

This is “I Dream of Weenie” week.  Read more about this business here, but what you need to know is that they are staying open late this Wednesday, and everything on the menu will be $3.   It looks like it will be a beautiful night to hang outside after the run.  Here are details:

Wednesday night Weenie Night!  I Dream of Weenie has offered to extend its hours on Wednesday nights for runners needing to carb-up prior to heading to 3 Crow Bar.  Starting next Wednesday, May 8, I Dream of Weenie is offering a special East Nasty price of $3/per menu item (or $2.50 for the basic hot dog), so stop by after your run!.  Because I Dream of Weenie is on private property, BYOB is permissible, just be conscientious of open container laws & don’t wander off the I Dream of Weenie lawn.  A cooler will be provided.  I Dream of Weenie accepts cash & credit cards.

Potato to Tomato

Every year we offer a free couch to 5k program that we call Potato to Tomato.   Details will be posted soon, but let me give you a brief preview and an opportunity to get involved.

Our training will go from Saturday, June 15 till the Tomato Fest 5k on Saturday, August 10.   We meet three times a week: Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m and Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

(1) Would you like to coach?  Last year we had over 200 participants, that we split into about 10 groups.  We have 2 or 3 coaches per group.  We’ll need about 30 coaches to make this go smoothly.   Interested?  I can send you more details, email mark@eastnastyforlife.com.

(2) Sign up or tell a friend!  This program is doable and sustainable.  Do not think “The Biggest Loser”.  This program is designed to be gradual because the goal is for exercise to become a daily part of each participant’s life.  Registration will be available next week.

ENFL

Mark

Wednesday 6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly.

The next big thing on the East Nasty calendar is the Potato to Tomato training program.  More details will be coming…but (1) invite someone to join and/or (2) volunteer to be a coach.   The Tomato Fest is August 10th.

I Dream of Weenie

Who better to start with than the business literally across the street from our 11th & Holly meeting place:  I Dream of Weenie!  I’m excited about I Dream of Weenie being our newest ENOW for many reasons:  I’m personal friends with the owner; I love hot dogs; & ‘Merica.

Leslie catering art opening at Art & Invention Gallery

I Dream of Weenie is owned & operated by Leslie Allen.  Leslie is from Birmingham, AL & attended Auburn University.  Like most of us, she changed majors a couple of times & took the scenic route to graduation.  She ended up with a chemistry degree, but worked in non-profits for most of her career.  Leslie says, “So I guess in a way, I am finally using my chemistry degree because cooking is like chemistry except you get to eat the final product!”

Leslie moved to Nashville in 2001, & East Nashville specifically in 2003.  She bought I Dream of Weenie in April of 2011 as an established, existing business.  It was originally opened in 2007.  After she bought the business, she moved it from its original Woodland Street location to its current location on 11th across from Beyond The Edge.

Eggs Benedict Weenie

Leslie says her biggest accomplishment at I Dream of Weenie is probably establishing Sunday Weenie Brunch.  She kept the original everyday menu since there was a loyal & established following, but Weenie Brunch is her (and her staff’s) creation.  As far as she knows, it’s the only weenie brunch in the world!  There are other breakfast dogs out there, but they do a complete menu each Sunday, including hashbrown casserole weenie, eggs benedict on smoked sausage, French toasted bun with breakfast sausage links & maple syrup, etc.  Also, they have been featured on The Cooking Channel’s show “Eat St.” where a couple of their brunch items were featured.

I Dream of Weenie

On the topic of East Nashville, Leslie says that she loves the sense of community & the originality; she loves the locally owned businesses & getting to know her customers who live & work nearby; & she loves that pretty much anything goes around here!  Leslie says, “You’ve got all types of people of all socio-economic levels, careers, & political persuasions.  And they all love East Nashville.  I would say my fave experience is the annual Tomato Art Fest.   Before IDOW, I enjoyed attending & participating in some of the activities & seeing the creativity of the art.  Since opening IDOW, Tomato Art Fest has taken on a different meaning.  It’s our busiest day of the year & gives me a chance to involve many of my friends & family in the business for a day or two.  It’s truly a great representation of the spirit of East Nashville with the quirky & creative activities, art, & food creations.”

Leslie competing in the Old Hickory Tri in 2006

Leslie first heard about East Nasty through the infamous East Nashville Listserv!  She has run with the group a few times, especially when she was training for several triathlons between 2006 – 2008.   She also worked for LLS’s Team in Training & came out to run/walk with the group a few times as they were recruiting participants for Country Music Marathon & other events.  Leslie says, “It’s been tougher to participate in the group since becoming a business owner due to my crazy schedule & the fact I stand up all day long & really want to sit down at the end of the day!”

I Dream of Weenie

ANNOUNCEMENT

Now, here’s the big news:  Wednesday night Weenie Night!  I Dream of Weenie has offered to extend its hours on Wednesday nights for runners needing to carb-up prior to heading to 3 Crow Bar.  Starting next Wednesday, May 8, I Dream of Weenie is offering a special East Nasty price of $3/per menu item (or $2.50 for the basic hot dog), so stop by after your run!.  Because I Dream of Weenie is on private property, BYOB is permissible, just be conscientious of open container laws & don’t wander off the I Dream of Weenie lawn.  A cooler will be provided.  I Dream of Weenie accepts cash & credit cards.

I Dream of Weenie, welcome to the ENOW club!  Leslie, thank you for bringing more hot dogs into our lives.  We look forward to the first East Nasty Weenie Night after the run next Wednesday, May 8!

You can like I Dream of Weenie on Facebook here & follow along on Twitter here.

Saturday April 27th – 7pm- 11pm

East Centric Pavilion – 1006 Fatherland St, East Nashville, Nashville, TN. (just down the street form 11th & Holly)
http://www.east-centric.com/

Featuring:
- Live music from The Coal Men! www.thecoalmen.com
- Yazoo beer
- Drew Jones
- Light snacks (Sliders) served from 7-9 (or until they run out)
- Please bring a dessert to share

All ages are welcome, but IDs will be checked for those want to drink, and a $5 donation is suggested.

Pace Groups

If you are interested in hitting a certain time, we will have some pace leaders spread throughout the corrals.   Look for us and join up if you are looking to hit a certain time.

Corral 1 – 1:30

Corral 3 – we’ll have 3 leaders.  Sub- 1:40, 1:45 and sub- 1:50.

Corral 6 – 2:00

We also have a 2:15 and 2:30 leaders, I’m just not sure what corral they are in.  :)

After the race

There is a family reunion area at the end of the race.  After the race, we’ll meet up under the letter “E” to get our yearly East Nasty picture.  (Weather permitting of course, don’t stand out there if it is cold and raining…)

Then that evening join us for our yearly post-race party (see above).  If the weather sucks, don’t let that scare you away.  The pavilion is covered, we’ll have heaters and the band/beer/food/friends will totally be worth it.

We’ll see on Saturday!

Mark

Run #5.  One of our favorites, the walking bridge.  6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly.  Over the walking bridge, up 1st, and back on woodland.

If you ordered an East Nasty shirt, they will be available starting Wednesday night.  If you cannot pick up your shirt tomorrow, you can pick it up at any time at NRC.  Wear it for the race this weekend!

Being Good Neighbors

As we move into the summer months, and our crowd gets bigger, it’s a good idea to remind ourselves that we need to be cognizant of the size of our group.   Running with 200 people is different than running with 5.  Two things I want you to remember this week:

1) Yield to walkers.   If that means you have to jump off the sidewalk for a bit, so be it.   Just make sure that we’re not monopolizing the sidewalk.

2) Don’t dart across the street.  The people behind you are probably going to follow right behind.  So for the safety of everyone, cross the street at intersections when possible!

Race Weekend

This is a big running weekend in Nashville.  There are going to be a bunch of East Nasties running the half or full marathon this weekend.   Check the blog on Friday for more details.   Just remember to join us at East Centric for our post-race party!   (It might rain, but the pavilion is covered so the party is on rain or shine!)

Mt Cheaha 50k in 2010

I’d like to introduce you to our newest East Nasty of the Week (ENOW), Phil Zimmerman!  If you’ve been to one of our Wednesday night runs, you’ve probably seen Phil.  You can’t miss him as he’s the tallest person there.  Also, he & his wife Gretchen host the annual East Nasty Christmas Party at their lovely home on Woodland Street.

I spoke to Gretchen before writing this post & she said, “Phil loves the neighborhood & loves the East Nasties. He is always happier after a run & has gotten a lot of his friends to become runners, too.”

Shelby Bottoms Boogie, aka Wedding Day 5k in 2009

Phil is a born & raised Nashvillian.  One of the few.  He grew up across the street from Percy Warner Park, which might explain why he caught the running bug.

In middle school Phil was a huge nerd.  In high school Phil was a huge nerd that ran.  He started cross-country & track in 6th grade & did both until he graduated.  He also participated in plays & musicals & enjoys being the only 6’3″ male tap dancer that you know.

Note to self:  get Phil to tap dance at the next EN Christmas Party.

Rock Creek River Gorge in 2011

Phil attended Vanderbilt University, majoring in Engineering & Communications.  During his senior year, he & his roommate started a closed-circuit tv show, like you do.  They showed horror movies *MST3K style & rated them on “style” & “substance” (they used different terms).  Phil was the Gore Guy and his roommate was the Bush Boy.

*Mystery Science Theater 3000

Tap dancing, b-rated horror movie aficionado by night, by day, Phil is a software consultant.  He goes to different companies in town to help them implement Salesforce.com.  He’s from a family of OB/GYN’s so he feels he succeeded just by avoiding that career.

Phil started running in 6th grade, but quit after high school.  He dedicated his college years to growing a sizable beer gut.  Then a friend convinced him to sign up for the Country Music Half in 2005.  Two weeks before the race, he ran his first trail race, Rock/Creek River Gorge, & fell back in love with running.  Since then, he has run over 100 races, including 15 marathons, five 50k’s & two 50 milers.  You know, the same amount of races you’ve run (!?!).

Race for the Cure in 2007

As you may guess, Phil has more than one accomplishment in running.  He gave me his top five:

1. “Finishing the Race for the Cure with my mom (11 years after her breast cancer diagnosis & less than one year after brain surgery) & my now-wife Gretchen
2. Winning the inaugural Nashville Beer Mile with a time of 8:57
3. Running the Shelby Bottoms Boogie the morning of my wedding with my wife-to-be & about 10 other people from the wedding party in the pouring rain
4. Completing the 2011 Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in Lynchburg, VA
5. PRing at the 2012 Flying Monkey Marathon.”

Gretchen says, “Phil became a much more serious runner when his mom was battling brain cancer. His 5K & half marathon races became 50Ks, marathons, & after her death, almost a race every month. He ran a 50K before he ran an official marathon, & I will never forget spectating that race with his parents. His mom would always yell “I love you Philip” & I can still hear her voice. As she was dying, & after she was gone, running kept Phil from drinking too much whisky & gave him a way to connect with really great people.”

Flying Monkey in 2012

Phil has been running with East Nasty for about 4 years.  He started when he & Gretchen moved to Woodland Street.  In fact, he says that East Nasty was a serious factor in moving to East Nashville:  ”I loved the fact that I would have such a strong running community in the neighborhood.  My favorite EN experience has to be the Christmas party every year.  Close to 200 East Nasties take over our house & it is such a blast.  The things I enjoy most about EN are beer & running, in that order.”

Gretchen says, “One of the reasons that I love Phil so much is that he loves being around people. Since we have moved to East Nashville, running has been a big part of our lives & we love hosting the East Nasty Holiday Party.”

If Phil’s not running, he’s reading, drinking at 3 Crow Bar, restoring classic pinball machines, or watching some b-grade horror movie.  I hope he adds “practicing my shuffle ball change” because I’m serious about getting him to tap dance at the next Christmas party.

Oak Mountain 50k in 2009

Phil, you are awesome, your wife is awesome, your house is awesome & this ENOW title is long overdue.  Congratulations & welcome to the ENOW club!

Facebook event page.

Details:
Saturday April 27th – 7pm- 11pm
East Centric Pavilion – 1006 Fatherland St, East Nashville, Nashville, TN. (just down the street form 11th & Holly)  http://www.east-centric.com/

Featuring:
- Live music from The Coal Men! www.thecoalmen.com
- Yazoo beer
- Drew Jones
- Light snacks (Sliders) served from 7-9 (or until they run out)
- Please bring a dessert to share

IDs will be checked (21 and up) and a $5 donation is suggested.

A few volunteers are needed to help with set-up. To volunteer, contact Sarah Brown at skbrown@gmail.com