THE Chuck Hargrove (For the FIFTH time!!!)

At the start of each year we like to go back to our roots and post an open letter to our runners from the man, the myth, the LEGEND...Chuck Hargrove! If you are new to our group, or this site, feel free to read through Chuck's first four ENOW's here. Although he has not been as present over the past year, he pledges to try his best to get back to the Wednesday night runs soon. I hope you enjoy his words of wisdom as much as I did. Enjoy!

Chuck

Happy Nasty New Year,

Another new year has arrived, yet winter in Nashville looks gloomy.  The gray sky looks the same at 8:00 a.m., noon, and 4:00 p.m. Early sunsets and cold temperatures can be a siren's song for staying indoors. But not for you….no… .

This is the time of year when running champions are made.  A college football national champion will be crowned within a week.  These college gridiron teams did not just show up last week.  Their preparation started many months in advance, as should yours. Anyone with a goal of finishing the Country Music Half Marathon should already have a sufficient distance base and ability to run for an hour.  For some this trek started last August at Potato to Tomato 5K training.  Those new to running should strongly consider this highly successful summer plan.  Tell your friends.

Let's say you are past Tomato training and secure in your 5K to 5 miles capabilities.  This weekend we start Country Music Half Marathon training at Shelby Bottoms.  Training begins at the highly casual 9:00 hour both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  You have one of two days to join us, so no excuses. Aspiring 13.1 mile runners should be able to complete about an hour of running this weekend.  I will be your Sunday coach for 2:15 pace group.  We have pace groups as fast as 1:30 (about 6:52 per mile) all the way up to 2:30 (11:26 per mile).

Years ago East Nasty started as a Blue Ridge Relay team, evolved into a spring half marathon training plan, then added Wednesday night runs May 2008. Now East Nasty is the trend setter for training, nice threads, relay teams such Ragnar, travel excursions such as New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon and Half Marathon; paint, mud and obstacle runs. Our street cred is noticeable.

Sadly and too often, our street manners are also noticeable.  Reverend Drew preaches the good news about running close to the curb, with reflective gear, with ears clear of musical distractions, and having your head on a swivel when running in traffic. Minimalist is a running shoe trend and not for reflective gear, courtesy, manners and awareness trends.  Max out on reflective gear and dome lamps, face traffic when running, anticipate that car does not see you, run defensively, run in a group.  Winter and windy jogs mean picking warmest part of day to run.  Start your workout into the wind.  Wear gloves and keep an extra pair in your car (gloves do not work well indoors since most rooms hover near 70 degrees--hardly gloves weather). When finished running, get into dry clothes.  Grab a bite to eat.

For those who are counting or aiming, you have about 475 days to Boston Marathon 2014. See you this weekend.

Chuck Hargrove