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.

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!"

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!"

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!"

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)!"

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!"

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!