Wednesday Night Run: Feb. 2nd

ENFL  !!!! That's right - I am starting off the blog with that wonderful chant this week.  For those of you who may have been living under a rock for the past 2 years - those four letters are short for East Nasty For Life.  East Nasty continues to grow each week in both numbers and clout.  Now I may be a little biased but in my opinion East Nasty is the best running group in the continental U.S. and over the next couple of weeks and months you are going to see some proof.  There will be more time for that down the road though. For now lets focus on the present.  Tomorrow we will be running route #5 which takes us into downtown Nashville for a bit and it is a favorite route of many of the nasties.  So please plan on joining us for a run tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. rain or shine.

KIPP donations

We are still collecting clothes for the KIPP track team.  They are looking mainly for clothes the kids can wear during practice. Any clothes that you have for running outside and are willing to donate please bring with you tomorrow night.  They will take anything they can get - shirts, shorts, pants, gloves, socks, sports bras, etc ... - This a great time to clean out your closet anyway so get to it and donate some clothes you never wear anymore.  And yes they are taking cotton clothing as well.

Speed Sessions

Would you like to improve your speed or become a more efficient runner?  Well if you can run 2 mies without stopping then this is just the thing for you.  Fleet Feet Sports has both winter and summer speed session programs.  Starting February 15th, winter speed sessions will begin.  Speed sessions are coached by THE Mark Miller and yours truly, Drew Jones.  Speed sessions last for 10 weeks and consist of interval workouts every Tuesday morning and evening.  Fleet Feet speed sessions has become very popular over the years.  Winter speed sessions are more geared towards those training for a half or full marathon.  However, speed sessions is open to all runners of all levels.  As Mark and I tell people each year, if you come out to speed sessions and do 10 weeks of interval training, it is pretty much impossible to not be a faster runner at the end.  You can sign up for Fleet Feet winter speed sessions at www.fleetfeetnashville.com Please feel free to contact Mark or myself with any questions you may have about speed sessions.

Thought of the week

To go along with last week's thought, which was try to run slower sometimes, my thought this week is this.  Make sure your running is filled with variety.  Runs can be slow, long, short, fast, flat, hilly, roads, trails, or even the occasional treadmill.  Our bodies are very smart.  If you do all your runs at the same place and at the same pace, your fitness level will plateau very quickly.  One of the best things we can do for our bodies as runners is mix it up.  The more our body is guessing, the more fitness gains we can make.  There are many east nasties that run fast every Wednesday.  There are also east nasties that run slow and easy each week.  Our routes change from week to week.  Changing our pace and effort levels we run at each week is a good idea.  In other words, try to change up your running like JP Cowan changes his blazers... plenty of options :-)

See everyone tomorrow night -

Drew