January 15

Sunday January 15 - Training plan, Olympic Trials, no brunch... 1/2 Marathon Training continues. Sunday at 9am at Shelby Park Nature Center. (8:30am for full marathoners)

There are two ways to make runs "hard", quantity or quality.  Distance or speed.  Of course the final goal is to combine both and run a good half marathon - but running fast for a long time is very taxing, and should be done sparingly.

Most long runs are hard because they are long - not because they are fast.  That goes for this week as well...  But what makes a run "easy"?  Well, (1) You should start slowly (this goes for every run, hard or easy).  (2) Pace wise - we're looking at 1:30 to 2:30 minutes per mile slower than your 5k race pace  (3) Heart rate -  keep your heart rate below a certain value.  180 - your age, or 75% of your max heart rate are both good rules of thumb.   (4) Conversational.  You should be able to talk without gasping for air.

(Note: we will have strides again this week.  Strides are a great way to transition between easy running and harder workouts.  This week add strides to  two or three easy runs...)

Novice:   60 minutes easy (below 75% max heart rate).  + 8 x 30 step strides at mile race pace .   (Every 1/4 mile mark for last 2 miles)

Intermediate:  70 minutes easy (below 75% MHR) + 10 x 30 step strides at mile race pace.  (Every 1/4 mile mark for last 2.5 miles)

Advanced:  80 minutes easy (below 75% MHR) + 12 x 30 step striders at mile race pace. (Every 1/4 mile mark for last 3 miles)

No Brunch??!!  

Our organized brunches will take a hiatus this week, but we encourage you to visit one of the local businesses. Mitchell Deli  and  Marche have two of the best brunches in Nashville.   And if you have plans to go to brunch, invite someone new!  Welcoming new runners with open arms is one of the core values of East Nasty...

Olympic Marathon Trials

The race is Saturday morning, but will be broadcast on NBC at 2p.m. Saturday afternoon.  Stay off the internet, and head over to Nashville Running Company to watch the race with people who actually care!  2 p.m. at the store....

Mark