Pre Classic I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend.  Erin and I were in Eugene, Oregon to see the Prefontaine Classic.  It was a great track meet, with some amazing performances; starting with the mile.  There were two one-mile races, and the winner of the SLOW heat ran 3:53!  In total, 20 guys broke 4 minutes for the mile.  Check out the results here.  (notice: last place in the 5000 was 13:31...yikes)

Rescue Dogs of the Week

After a couple of Wednesdays traveling, Elizabeth is back with Dusty and Rusty...

Remember there are lots of ways that you can help even if you are not in position to adopt an animal right now.  Check out EastCan's July newsletter here.

Run #2

Check out the map on the right, I'll try to mark the course, but no guarantees...

See you on Wednesday.

Mark

June 30 brings us back to Run #1, an easy 3.2 miles. Remember fasties, I will be with the Couch-to-5kers, so take a moment to learn the route. Sunday Trail Run

We do not have a trail run this weekend!  I would encourage you to find a local 4th of July race.

After a week of scorching heat, it looks like tonight is going to be beautiful!  A short run, perfect weather: it's a great night to join us on the East Side!

See you tonight!

Mark

This Sunday, June 27, our trail run will be a (short) road trip adventure to Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, TN. The trails at the park are absolutely beautiful, and they are also a bit easier and less hilly than Percy Warner. Route options include the 10.5+ mile loop Montgomery Bell trail or a 3 mile out-and-back option to the Wildcat Shelter on that same trail. (Actually if you don't mind running out-and-back there are an infinite number of options for mileage...)  We will meet at 8am at the picnic shelter area near the main entrance to the park, off of Highway 70. There are restrooms and water available at the picnic area, and both routes will start and end there.

*Directions: From the park website at  http://tn.gov/environment/parks/MontgomeryBell/

From Interstate 40W: Take Exit 182 (Fairview/Dickson Hwy. 96). Turn to go West on Hwy. 96. Stay on Hwy. 96 until it dead ends at Hwy. 70. Turn right (East) on Hwy. 70, off-ramp provided. Stay on Hwy. 70 approximately 3 miles. Main Park Entrance is on the right. Pass the guardhouse on your left and take the first left after that onto Bakers Work Rd. Turn left after a short distance to parking area by picnic area/pavilions. Parking is VERY limited.

*Carpooling: The easiest way for all of us to get from Nashville to MB is to carpool! The park is an hour drive from downtown Nashville (don't be fooled by GoogleMaps optimistic lower estimates). Two carpool options: 1. Meet at the Titans Stadium (northeast parking lot across from Shoney's) at 6:50am. Leave for MB at 7:00am sharp. 2. Meet at Holland Carley's house in Bellevue (716 Harpeth Parkway West, 37221) at 7:00am. Leave for MB at 7:15am sharp.

(email holland.carley@vanderbilt.edu if you need additional details.)

*Important: -Bring a water bottle or other hydration method! This is critical if you plan to run the 10.5 mile trail - there are no water stops on the trail loop. -Bring/wear bug repellent. The bugs were very bad near the creeks and streams when we ran here a few weeks ago. -There will not be an "official" EN brunch. The closest breakfast place is on the way back to Nashville, at the Cracker Barrel or another restaurant at the I-40/Charlotte Ave. exit.

If you have any questions, email Jenny Magill at jenny.magill@gmail.com. This is a great way to get out and explore Tennessee!

Run #12

Okay nasties it's time to earn your stripes!  We're on run #12, Nasty.  It's not only our longest run, but it has some of the worst hills in it as well.  But...it's also your opportunity to earn your East Nasty sticker bumper sticker!  So don't shy away! Do not go gentle into that good night!

(There is a shorter route available, 3.87 miles.  Also, this is the one route that is marked on the ground.  Look for white arrows pointing the way!  Also for all you fasty nasties - I will not be able to lead the entire route, so take a moment to learn the turns...)

Potato-to-Tomato

(I wish I had made up that clever little phrase... )

Starting this week our Couch-to-5k runners will be joining us on Wednesday nights!  "For the Nasty run?!" you ask??  Well, no.  They will be doing a different workout than us, but show these newbies some East Nasty love when you see them, because for a lot of them joining us for a run is an intimidating experience!

It's not too late to "convince" any of your friends/family to join this group! Also, let me know if you are available to help.  It's a great chance to give back by passing your passion along to someone else!

Road Trip!

Our Sunday morning trail run is going to at Montgomery Bell State Park.  Stay tuned for final details.  This will be a great way to spend a Sunday morning exploring the natural beauty of Tennessee.

See you on Wednesday!

Mark

As the barefoot running craze picks up steam, our own Graham Stoner was interviewed by The Tennessean to get his take on it.  Check out the article here, and if you want more scientific information, check out the Harvard Web site where all this research began.

Heat Wave

Running in the heat is more dangerous than running in the cold.  But there are some things that you can do to make running in the heat more bearable.

1) Wear the least amount of clothing that you feel comfortable in, and don't wear cotton!

2) Don't run in the middle of the day, and find as much shade as possible on your routes.

3) Start out slow.  Real slow.  Intensity is what really gets your core temperature up, and when the outside air is 90 degrees it's hard to bring that core temperature down.  Stop running immediately if you feel faint, find some shade and drink lots of water.

4) Drink copious amounts of water before your run, but be sure to replace your electrolytes after the run.  (meaning grab a glass or two of gatorade along with your post run water.)

Getting Faster

If you are already a runner - you still have time to sign up for Summer Speed Sessions.  (There are ten more weeks of workouts.)  Also, the Sunday Morning Trail runs are a great way to build some hill work into your weekly long run.

If you are NOT a runner (or if you know someone who wants to become a runner), the East Nasty Couch to 5k program starts on June 21.  Running in a group is usually the accountability that we all need to stick to a program. Whether you are just getting started, or running 80 miles a week, sometimes it's hard to get out the door unless we know that someone is waiting for us..  So if you're ready to make that first step, we're ready to help you get to your goal.  The program is free!   Just one way that East Nasty wants to give back to this great community.

Wednesday, june 16

This week is run #11, East Nashville churches.  When we first added this route, I blogged about some of the churches that are on this run.  Check out this post from last year, and pay some attention to the great architecture in our neighborhood!

No Taco Truck this week, (they are opening a permanent location on West Eastland across the street from the Holland House...) but we'll still be hanging out at 3 crow after the run!  So bring a change of clothes and a couple of dollars.

Mark

East Nasty has some exciting stuff planned for this summer!  Including opportunities for advanced runners, or those who are just beginning... 1) Sunday Trail Runs - Our Sunday trail runs kick off this week (June 6).   We will meet at Percy Warner Park at the base of the stone stairs at 8a.m.  If you haven't run trails before, no worries!  You will have the option of 4.2 miles, or just jump right in and run the 9.2.   If you have run the trails, please let us know and we may ask you to help guide newbies through the trails.  One note: Bring Water!

Did I mention that there is free yoga after the runs!   Stick around after you finish the trails as Rebecca and Molly from Lululemon lead us through a 15 minute post-run yoga session.

2) Summer Speed Sessions - You want to get faster?  You have to run faster.  But it's important to run at the right pace.  That is where fleet feet summer speed comes in.  Join over a hundred other dedicated runners as we go to the track in search of better 5k, 10k and even mile times!  Look at the bottom of this page for more information.

3) Couch to Tomato-Fest 5k. Are you reading this blog wishing that you could run?  Have you always wanted to start running but just couldn't muster up the motivation?  Are you sick and tired of being a "Least Nasty"?  Well, East Nasty is happy to announce an 8-week program to get you off the couch and running the Tomato Fest 5k in August!  We are still finalizing some of the logistics, so check back for more info...but we know that the program will start up the week of June 14, and will culminate with the running of the Tomato Festival 5k.  Please send me an email (millema6@hotmail.com) or track me down on Wednesday night if you are interested - or if you know someone who is.

Speaking of June 14, that is the date of the Nashville Symphony's free concert at East Park.

See you tomorrow !

Oh yes, we are running run #9 tomorrow.

Mark

Nasties:   A couple of announcements, a brief diversion and a shout out! Announcements:

1) Sunday Trail Runs start June 6.  Read the "Sunday Morning Runs" page for details, but this year we have a special offering thanks to the yoga instructors at lululemon...a free post-run yoga session (to be held on site).  So bring a towel, and your trail shoes and join us starting the week after Memorial Day.

brief diversion

Lost is over and the ending was seriously disappointing...at best. Here is a great article from the NYT.  Personally, I think that the writers should have decided what the island was and make it a story that ended after a couple of seasons.  Instead the show became another "Matrix".  (i.e. great first movie followed by two convoluted, misguided sequels as the writers tried to "explain" things.)  But, I guess advertising dollars speak very loudly.

2) Bring your old shoes! Our goal is to have an inventory of over 200 shoes as we go into the cross country season this fall.   If you don't know what I'm talking about, East Nasty will take your old running shoes, clean them up, and offer them to local track and cross country teams that can't afford new running shoes.

3) Run #8 this week.  Check out the link on the right side of the post.

Shout Out!

Were any of you guys thinking last week, "I wonder what East Can is going to do with all this dog food??"  Well, below is an email that Elizabeth sent me:

Dear East Nasty,

I cannot thank you enough for your continued support of East C.A.N.! (East Nashville's Community Action Network)

You may not realize it but the pet food donated through your drive this week gets used in the following ways;

* When a die-hard softy offers to foster a desperate animal even though they already have a bunch of their own to care for...we can try to make sure they don't incur additional expenses just because they are kind hearted.

* When someone calls and says "I just picked up an animal wandering on Riverside Drive. I can keep it here at my home for a while but can you help me with some food and a crate?"

YES, WE CAN!

* When someone on Shelby Ave. calls and says "My neighbors just got evicted and left their dogs in the back yard.  We'll keep an eye on them for a while but can you help with some food and dog houses?"

YES, WE CAN!

* When a runner e-mails me and says "I've been running past this house everyday and I'm worried about a dog that hangs out in the driveway and is really skinny."

WE CAN DROP OFF A BAG OF FOOD WITH A CARD INTRODUCING EAST C.A.N. AND OFFERING ANIMAL WELFARE ASSISTANCE IF THEY NEED AND WANT IT.

I could go on and on with stories about this last one and believe me, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK, but I'll share my absolute favorite story with you. In order to get the full effect I'm just going to share a few of the e-mails from a neighbor who was trying to help a neighbor.

---------

Hi guys,

I was able to get close enough to her today to feed her and take some videos. She breaks my heart! I left a bag and some cans of food and wrote them a note on a business card saying that I may be able to find her a foster home and that they were sweet to help her. We'll see if they call...

Her shaky back legs are the saddest part to me and I am so thrilled to find the assistance to help her!

-----------

Hi again,

Total change since my last email. The man called to say thank you for the dog food and told me that she is in fact his dog. She's 14 years old and been with him for 10. In his message he said that the dog food I left was one of the nicest things he's ever seen and he had been out of work for the last quarter of the last year. So sweet. Now what? I can take them food every couple of weeks I guess? She is still soooo skinny.

-----------

I spoke with him today and he couldn't have been nicer about everything. He was so moved by the gesture of the gift of food and thanked me profusely. I told him about the help that has been offered when we thought she was a stray (her name is ***) and he said he's back at work and would be fine. She eats twice a day while the tubbies in the back yard eat once since they are younger. One of them wears a sweater and all of them come in at night so I think they are okay. She's loved and just a grandma of a girl at this time. I told him I was so happy to know that she was cared for and that I had completely mis-judged the situation and was happy that he was understanding about it all. He said that it's reaffirmed his faith in people :)

On that note, you have all done the same for me. I would love to offer any services to East CAN anytime you need a thing. I love the outpouring and the mission that I've seen in the last week and would be honored to be a part of the organization. Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you do. Again, it makes me feel less alone in wanting to help in the hood.

Best,

------------

I hope this touches you as much as it did me.

Yes, we want to be advocates for the animals who have been let down by theirs and for those who've never had one, but in the end it's all part of a much bigger picture. I'm proud to be a little piece of the big picture and I hope you are too!

Bottom Line: Bring a bag of dry dog or cat food to the run this Wednesday.

If you have been to a Wednesday night run before, you know that we always spend a little time on announcements.   And you may wonder who is the random woman who always brings a dog up in front of everyone...   Well, that woman is Elizabeth Chauncey, and that dog is our Rescue Dog of the Week. Elizabath is part of a non-profit called East Can.   EastCan is an organization that (among other things) rescues abandoned animals, and tries to find them homes.

For those of us who live over here, we know that there is a massive amount of stray or neglected animals in East Nashville.   And instead of looking to other people to take care of the problem, East Can is attempting to rally the community to fix it ourself ... and East Nasty wants to help.

You may or may not be in a position to adopt an animal, but we can all do this: Bring a bag of dog food this Wednesday!! If you can't adopt a dog right now, at least you can help feed one...  This week (May 19th) bring a bag of dry dog food and it will go to help out families that are having trouble affording their pets.  This is a way that East Nasty can help with an immediate need in the community.  Last year we collected 65 bags of food and this year our goal is to get 100 bags.  For us to get to this goal all of us need to step up.

But...if you are in a position where you can keep a dog, you can either adopt, or foster a dog.  Either way, Elizabeth will be around on Wednesday to answer your questions, and try and connect you with you next best friend!

So don't forget...bring a bag of food this week!

Mark

P.S. We are on run #7.  So check it out...

If you never read these posts this is what I want you to remember: May 12 - Bring a bag of toiletries and/or cleaning supplies.

May 19 - Bring a bag of dry dog or cat food!

Now back to my normal posting...

Thanks to all the East Nasties who volunteered to help last Sunday morning. Since most of our houses were basically unscathed, it was really important for us to see the rest of the story... We helped clean 4 homes near Shelby Park.   There was almost nothing to salvage.  The house I worked on will have to be torn down to the studs and rebuilt from there.

Not only was it good for us to join along side someone who was hurting, but just having to conserve water this week has been a reminder of all the things that we (or at least I) tend to take for granted.  Just last week I got upset because the water coming out of a drinking fountain was luke warm.  Shame on me!! Just look at how quickly that resource can be taken away...

With that in mind, here are a couple of things I want from you this week:

Don't take your ability to run for granted: You have the physical ability to run, the financial resources to buy new shoes and technical apparel, a big group of friends who support your habit, and a neighborhood that respects runners!   Enjoy it!  All of that stuff can be taken from you in a heart beat.

Be generous.   How?  Well an easy way to start is by tipping well at 3 Crow!  At 7:30 on Wednesdays those servers are suddenly inundated with 80 extra people who all want a drink now!  I think that they do a great job,  but even if your drink is a couple of minutes late, deal with it, and tip well anyway!

Bring toiletries and/or cleaning supplies.  There is still a lot of work to do as we are cleaning up our city.  An easy way to get involved is to donate personal grooming stuff (shampoo, soap, mouthwash, shaving cream etc..), or cleaning supplies.  This Wednesday we will be collecting these donations and sending them to the hands on Nashville people.

Learn Run #6. We finally get to go back into Shelby!  Check out run #6, get something to donate and we'll see you tomorrow!

Mark

This Sunday, the East Nasties are joining the thousands of folks who have helped around middle Tennessee.  Here is the plan: Sunday join us for breakfast at Ugly Muggs at 8:00.  Then we will head over to the Art House (which is behind I Dream of Weanie), to be there at 9:00.  (Of course, if you can't make breakfast, no worries, just meet us at the Art House.) Bring work clothes, gloves and shoes you don't mind getting dirty.

Also over the next two weeks, we are collecting donations on Wednesday night:

Wednesday May 12 - Bring toiletries and/or cleaning supplies.

Wednesday May 19 - Bring a big bag of dry dog food or cat food.

The donations from May 12 will go toward families in East Nashville via the Art House efforts.  The dog/cat food is our second annual animal food drive for East Can, and our goal is to get over 100 bags of food this year!

Hope to see a bunch of you guys on Sunday!

Mark

While East Nasty promises to bring you great weather on Wednesday evenings, we can make no such guarantees on other days.  (For you newbies, it's really pretty uncanny about how lucky we are with weather on Wednesday nights...In two years, we have NEVER been rained out.) So...the picture below shows why we have to change our route for this week.

(Check out these pictures for more...)

Our run on Wednesday will be the East Nasty 2010 Flood Run.  What is it?  We will just repeat the Walking Bridge Run until either Police Officers or Water forces us to change paths!   I don't think that we will be able to run up 1st Avenue, so the idea is that after crossing the bridge, turn right on 4th and run straight up to Union to the Woodland Street Bridge.

Volunteering

Wednesday as we run over the swollen river, remember all our friends and neighbors who might be in need.  And I would encourage you to: (do #1 first!)

1) Go next door and ask your neighbors if they need help!  This is how community works and develops.  It takes courage, but nothing valuable ever happens without risk...

2) Contact Hands On Nashville (www.hon.org) they are a well organized bunch of folks who can point you in the direction of the biggest need.   In fact, this is how the mayor wants you to volunteer.

3) Volunteer at one of the Red Cross Shelters or make a donation at www.redcrossnashville.org

What to do now that the 1/2 marathon is over ??

While finishing a race can be a let down, it is also a chance to let off the throttle and run stress free for a period of time.  That's the East Nasty mantra for the month of May.  Recover, refocus and renew.   Comfortable runs allow us to refocus our efforts on our friendships, our community and off of our own personal fitness.

Remember, recovery is as essential as hard training.  And a good rule of thumb is to take 1 easy day of running for every 2 kilometers of racing.  (A half-marathon is about 21k.)  So even if you are planning on training hard in May, the coach in me encourages you to take a good 10 day recovery before you get back into hard running.

Sunday Runs

Wednesday runs happen year round, rain or shine.  But East Nasty does not host long runs on Sundays during May.   If you are looking for group long runs on the weekends, I really don't know what to tell you...Maybe try the striders (they have a great series of marathon training runs, but those don't start for a while).  But have hope !  East Nasty is going to host Sunday morning trail runs in June, July and August! Check back soon for more info...

Shoes

After piling up hundreds of miles training for the 1/2 or full marathon it may be time for new shoes.  Or maybe not...  But either way, East Nasty is proud to announce that we are now accepting old running shoes!   Bring your old shoes and throw them in the shoe box on Wednesday nights.  We'll take them, clean them up and find them a good home.  Our vision is to have a stockpile of shoes that we can offer up to local schools to give to athletes who can't afford athletic shoes (starting with KIPP - sorry about the bad picture).

EastCan Dog Food Drive

East Nasty is a proud supporter of Eastcan.org.  Eastcan brings us our rescue dog of the week.  Of course, we would love for all of you guys to become dog owners, foster "parents" or weekly dog walkers.  If that is not a possibility for you, please join us for our annual dog food drive for EastCan.  Here is the deal - Everyone bring a bag of dry dog food to the run on Wednesday May 19!!

Le carrera de Cinco de Mayo esta numero seis "Riverside".

My apologies to any Spanish speakers...

Mark