The Run

This week is Route #10: Benji. We will run 4 miles up into scenic Eastwood Neighbors. There are a couple tricky intersection crossings near the beginning of this route - be sure to stay on the sidewalk and follow your pace leader at least through the first mile. Please be courteous to drivers by stopping at stop signs, (always stop at lights) and be wise when you cross the street (always in crosswalks and not the middle of the road). Remember, that running with 200 people is different than running with 5 - because the people following you may mimic your actions.

Morning run: Meet at 5:50am at 11th & Holly. Evening run: Meet at 6pm at 11th & Holly.

The Next Door and Heroes In Recovery

The Heroes in Recovery 6k is September 15 in Leiper's Fork, TN. Get details and registration info here: http://heroesinrecovery6k.com/nashville/

The charity beneficiary for this race is The Next Door (www.thenextdoor.org). The Next Door is focused on enabling transformation in the lives of women in crisis. At The Next Door, the people, the program, and the place all contribute to helping women who are re-entering society after incarceration, rehabilitation, or homelessness. Their mission is to address the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of women in crisis, equipping them for lives of wholeness and hope. East Nasty coaches have been training with these women since July to run the race though our Couch-to-5K program.  They are so excited and nervous, but have been diligent in training.  Some have even had to overcome injury, but are back on track!  It is so great to see their confidence build after each training run!

Nashville Running Company Pint Night

Once again, its Pint Night at Nashville Running Company. After the run, head over to the store in 5 Points for free Yazoo beer and to check out NRCs new fall gear.

Cups

Each week a volunteer cleans the cups that we all use after the run. East Nasty uses plastic cups so that we don’t produce the trash from throwing away 200+ plus paper cups every week. Would you help us by volunteering to clean the cups one week? Again, it’s pretty simple: 1) Take the cups home after the run. 2) Wash them (by hand or in the dishwasher). 3) Bring them back the next week. Easy stuff. Please sign up for a specific week here.

See you tonight! ENFL!

East CAN Puppy Night Our friends at EastCAN.org are bringing out the big guns this Wednesday evening: puppies. EastCAN is an organization that rescues abandoned animals in East Nashville, and they have a large number of adoptable puppies. Hang out after the run for some puppy play time and cuddling - and if you have ever wanted to adopt, this will be the week! Seriously.

Sidewalks

The City has been doing lots of sidewalk repair around East Nashville. This is good. So during some of our runs we'll have to move into the street. Not good. Here's where we need your help:  If you have to run in the street please don't run any wider than 2-abreast. Always remember, that running with 200 people is different than running with 5. Please be courteous to drivers by stopping at stop signs, (always stop at lights) and be wise when you cross the street because the people following you may mimic your actions. Finally,  you will not win if you have a collision with a car and we want to see you down at 3 Crow post run!

The Run

This week we are heading around LP Field (Run #9). Take a moment to check out the map and learn the route. It's easy. We run twice on Wednesdays, 5:50 a.m. and 6 p.m. Both times, we meet at the corner of 11th and Holly.

If you are interested in details about our '5K to 5 Mile' training or our Lasty Nasty group, scroll down to our post from August 22 for more details.

Mark

Hello East Nasties! After a busy couple of weeks, including the Tomato 5K and the Music City Mile (congrats to everyone who ran in those events!), we are back to a bit of normalcy this week.

Wednesday Run

This week we are running Route #8: Rick's Market - about 3.8 miles. We meet at 6pm at 11th & Holly. (Our morning run meets every Wednesday at 5:50am, also at 11th & Holly). Be sure to check out the map and learn the route. Each week we need volunteers who know the route to be group leaders. It's pretty simple - just pick the pace you normally run at and run the correct route so those behind you know where to go. That's it. If some runners get ahead of you that is their own problem. Speaking of runners getting ahead of route leaders: A lot of you runners sandbag your pace time - you start in a slower pace group and then speed up way past it. Especially in the 8:30-9:30 range. Try starting out in the next faster group.

Cups

Each week a volunteer cleans the cups that we all use after the run. East Nasty uses plastic cups so that we don't produce the trash from throwing away 200+ plus paper cups every week. Would you help us by volunteering to clean the cups one week? Again, it's pretty simple: 1) Take the cups home after the run. 2) Wash them (by hand or in the dishwasher). 3) Bring them back the next week. Easy stuff. Please sign up for a specific week here.

5K to 5 Miles

Our '5K to 5 Miles' program has started. This is a great next step for you guys who just finished your first 5K and are ready to add a little milage and/or train for the Boulevard Bolt 5 mile race on Thanksgiving. The group meets in Shelby Park on Mondays at 6pm and Saturdays at 8am. For more details contact Rachel (rachel@schafferlawfirmtn.com) and/or Mike (michaelclark700@hotmail.com).

Lasty Nasty

Dont feel that you're quite fast enough for the main group? Then the 'Last Nasty' group is for you! "We might be last but we have lots of fun encouraging each other!" They adjust our Wednesday evening runs to accommodate 15+ minute milers. Find them on Facebook here and introduce yourself.

Shirts

We still a few Tomato shirts left in women's sizes S, M, L, and XL on sale for $10. We also have only a few of our new green cotton blend Ts ins women's sizes L and XXL available for $20. See Duane after the run to purchase one.

See you tonight! ENFL! -Duane

Hello everyone. Let me start by saying thank you to everyone who came out for the East Tomato 5k and festival on Saturday. It was a great day and was a huge success for East Nasty. If you were not there then you certainly missed out and what may be the best day of the year to be in East Nasty.

Wednesday Runs

This week we are back to our regular routes and we will pick up where we left off. That means Route #7 " Little Hollywood" is on the slate. Please check out the link to the map of Route #7 down on the right side of the page and come up at the start to volunteer and be a pace leader. We are always looking for pace leaders each week - and guess what ? - we always will. East Nasty is a big running group and we need route leaders to make sure runners follow the right route and stay out of the roads.

On that note please be aware now that the Potato to Tomato 5K group is over we will hopefully have some new runners joining us for the Wednesday night run. Please introduce yourself to new faces and give a welcome smile to our new Nasties. They have been training hard all summer long and we want them to keep it up and come run with us.

Morning run: Meet at 5:50am at 11th & Holly. Evening run: Meet at 6pm at 11th & Holly.

Music City Mile

This Thursday night ( August 16th ) between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm East Nasty will be sponsoring the first Music City Mile race down at LP field. The course will start and finish at the base of the pedestrian bridge and we are hoping for a big turnout. We are also hoping to build the race into an annual event that gets bigger and bigger each year. We need your help - you have 2 options for Thursday night. You can come out and run in the race or you can come out and watch the race. It will be a very exciting race event and there will be lots of East Nasties out there running. Please plan on coming out there and running or cheering. It will be a fun event for sure.

East Nasty For Life! - Drew

Welcome to Biggest Week of the Year for East Nasty!

It is East Nashville Tomato Fest week, which of course includes the East Nashville Tomato 5K this Saturday at 7:30am. There are going to be several opportunities on Saturday for you to participate and volunteer. Come be a part of our favorite week of the year! This is a long post - but contains everything you need to know about  this week. Please read the whole thing!

The Route - Wednesday Aug 8th

First things first – the route this Wednesday will be the East Tomato 5k race course. Here is a map. Many of us will be running in the race so we will get in a practice run on the course. We will be joined Wednesday night by our Potato-to-Tomato 5K Training Group that has been meeting 3 days a week all summer in Shelby Park. Please be sure to introduce yourself to these runners, congratulate and welcome them to the big East Nasty family as they have all trained very hard for the race this weekend.

The groups will start at different times tomorrow night but needless to say we will have a large group of runners out on the roads. It is very important to obey the rules of the road. Run on the sidewalk or on the left side of the street, do NOT run more than 2 people across and do NOT run out into the road in front of oncoming traffic. This is a very fun night and a big week for East Nasty – please do not ruin it for others by running in the middle of the road or jumping out in front of traffic and getting us into trouble with the police.

Our morning run meets at 5:50am and starts promptly at 6am. The evening run meets at 6pm. Both runs meet at our usual spot - the corner of 11th & Holly in front of the yellow ArtEmbrace house.

How can I participate on Saturday Aug 11th?

There are several different ways to be a part of East Nasty’s homecoming event this Saturday:

1) Run in the East Tomato 5k race. The race starts at 7:30am just off of the 5 Points intersection and there will be East Nasties all over the place. All we ask is that you wear an East Nasty shirt during the race. See more on shirts below. The Potato-to-Tomato Group will meet at out normal Wednesday night meeting spot ( 11th & Holly ) at 7:00 am for a warmup and then head down to the start of the race together.

2) Volunteer at the race. Our good friends at Fleet Feet Sports are sponsoring a water stop at mile 2 on the race course and our peeps at Nashville Running Company are helping out at the finish line. If you're not running in the race, we need some East Nasty volunteers to help them pass out water, help on the race course, and cheer on the runners. Contact Amanda (amanda@eastnastyforlife.com) or Drew (drew@eastnastyforlife.com) to volunteer. We need you!

3) Work the East Nasty 'water tent booth' during the East Tomato Fest. From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturday. East Nasty will have a tent set up right in front of 3 Crow Bar and we will be serving free water to anyone who is thirsty during the Tomato Festival. It is our way of giving back to the community as a thanks for letting us run on the neighborhood streets. We need volunteers to work a 2 hour shift. The volunteers will be passing out water, selling shirts, refilling coolers, getting ice, and spreading the East Nasty cheer. SIGN UP FOR A SHIFT HERE. Be sure to wear an East Nasty shirt. Contact Sarah Shearer for more details: sarahkshearer@gmail.com

4) Come and hang out. Even if you can not run in the race or volunteer please still try to come out to the Tomato Fest for a bit and spend some time with your running buddies. There will be live music, contests, art, parades, food and drink, free water and all things tomato all day long. Again all we ask is that you wear one of your East Nasty shirts with pride.

Speaking of Shirts...

We have 2 new shirts now available for you guys.

1) The 2012 Tomato tech shirt is now available for purchase for $20 at Nashville Running Company. These are high quality Pearl Izumi white tech shirts with our logo and Tomato 5K art in red.

2) Our 2012 cotton tri-blend t-shirt will be available for purchase for $20 at our Tomato Fest booth on Saturday. This years shirt is green, super soft, and comes in both men's and women's sizes. We will have a preview of them at the run on Wednesday evening. (We may have the shirts available for sale on Friday evening somewhere in 5 Points - if so, we will announce that here and on our Facebook page.)

A very exciting and fun week for East Nasty indeed. Please see Mark Miller, Drew Jones, Amanda Tungett, Sarah Shearer, or Duane Stephenson with any questions you have regarding this weekend. We will all be there at the Wednesday night run.

Hope to see all of you this week out there in Full Force  — EAST NASTY FOR LIFE – Yahhhhhhhhh  !!!!!

Drew (and Duane)

Wednesday - August 1st - 2012

Hello Everyone - for the next 2 Wednesdays we are going to do things a little different at the Wednesday night runs. Tonight instead of running route #7 we are going to head down to LP field and run the 1 mile course for the " Music city Mile" race coming up on August 16th. We will meet tonight at 11th & Holly like always - run down Fatherland to LP field - run the 1 mile course - then run back. All total the run will be around 4 miles.

Next week we will be running the course for the East Tomato 5k that is coming up on August 11th. We will also be joined by the East Nasty Potato to Tomato 5k group that has been training down in Shelby park all summer for the race.

As you should know by now East Nasty is a sponsor of both the East Tomato 5k and the Music City Mile so we want to do all that we can to help make both races successful. Please spread the word about these events and plan on attending them yourself.

Are you planning on running the women's 1/2 ?

If you are running the women's half marathon in September, or if you are just looking for some weekend long runs, starting next weekend Alyce Scrivner is organizing Sunday long runs.  The runs will start at different locations to include much of the race course.

If you are interested in joining, please send her an email (scrivnerhome@comcast.net) or look for her this Wednesday.  As always, these runs are free and open to anyone!

Music City Mile

We still need our entire Wednesday night crew to sign up for the music city mile.  It's Thursday, August 16th.  Details below.

Register now for the music city mile!   This is going to be a fast course, so there could be a couple of state records (female / male) going down…  The schedule for that evening is as follows:

6:00 Middle School Mile

6:20 Open Females (39 & under)

6:40 Open Males (39 & under)

7:00 Master Females (40 & up)

7:20 Masters Males (40 & up)

7:40 Elite Females ($300 to the winner!)

8:00 Elite Males ($300 to the winner!)

As mentioned for the past several weeks there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities coming up for all of these races. Please ask on Wednesday night how you can help. Hope to see everyone tonight on 11th and Holly at 6:00

Music City Mile

Register now for the music city mile!   (Or bring cash or a check tomorrow night, as Season Kominski will be there to sign people up)  Then come out on August 16th to run a fast mile and then hang out to enjoy the evening with friends.  This is going to be a fast course, so there could be a couple of state records (female / male) going down...  The schedule for that evening is as follows:

6:00 Middle School Mile

6:20 Open Females (39 & under)

6:40 Open Males (39 & under)

7:00 Master Females (40 & up)

7:20 Masters Males (40 & up)

7:40 Elite Females ($300 to the winner!)

8:00 Elite Males ($300 to the winner!)

Art Embrace

Have you ever wondered what that yellow house is at the corner of 11th and Holly where we meet?  Well, it is owned by the YMCA, and from there they run a program called ArtEmbrace.   They promote art education to elementary and middle school students, especially at schools where those programs have been dropped.  Well, for the past month or so, they have been offering art classes for East Nasty children on Wednesday nights!   This is a great way to allow parents to enjoy a Wednesday night run, while knowing that their kids are getting a chance to learn from artists.  Here are the details:

Where: The Yellow House

What:  Art skills/projects for children taught by various local artists

When: Wednesdays 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Who: Kids age 5 and up

How much: $15 (this goes to pay the artist and for supplies…)

If you are interested, you need to call or email Leslie Gregg.  She can answer any questions and may be able to work with kids that are younger than 5.  This week they are doing some Tomato Art for the festival.  Should be fun!

Leslie Gregg – lgregg@ymcamidtn.org.  Or 615.256.9622 ext 72555.

The Run

For July 25th, we are on run #6:Riverside.   As always, you have your choice of joining us at 6 a.m. or 6 p.m.  Both times we run the same route and meet at the same location: 11th and Holly in East Nashville.

Walking Bridge Route

This Wednesday we are running one of our most popular routes: #5 - the Walking Bridge! It’s basically a giant rectangle that takes us over the pedestrian bridge, up first (or third) avenue and back over on the Woodland street bridge. Please check out the map of the route and be ready to volunteer as a pace group leader - we need some NEW people to step up and help us out. And, of course, stay out of the middle of the road.

Our morning run meets at 5:50am and promptly starts at 6am. Our evening run meets at 6pm and usually gets going by 6:18pm. Both runs meet at our usual spot at 11th & Holly.

Looks like it may be another hot one tomorrow with a heat index in the upper 90s. Here is a good article from Runner’s World that covers the seriousness of running in the heat. Check it out. Please be safe out there, hydrate all day before the run, don’t push yourself too hard, and let any runners around you know if you are feeling bad.

Lärabar Treats!

Our old friend Annie Parsons sent some tasty treats for us this Wednesday night! Here's a note from her:

Hey East Nasties,

It's your resident West Nasty here.  I work out in Denver for LÄRABAR, which is, in my opinion, the greatest little fruit & nut bar on the planet – and I’ve sent some LÄRA-love your way.  Show up at the run Wednesday night to try a sample or two, and find your favorite flavor.  Mine is Peanut Butter & Jelly.  :)

And if you’re looking for an excuse to come to Colorado (which everyone should be), we’re hosting the first-ever LÄRABAR Up & Running Half Marathon with 5K and Kids 1K on August 18^th in Denver.  Come on out – you can sleep on my couch and breathe no humidity.

-Annie P.

Personally, i'm pretty excited about trying the Blueberry Muffin.

August Races

We have 2 big races coming up in the month of August. Our homecoming race, the East Nashville Tomato 5K, is on August 11th. It's a challenging race, but always a great time. Not only will the Potato to Tomato group be out there running their first 5K race, but we always have a huge turnout of East Nasties. We pretty much take over the whole thing. Which one of you will bring home a trophy? Be sure to get registered ASAP. We will have more details soon about other ways we will need your help that day at the Tomato Fest. The next week will be the Music City Mile on the evening of August 16th. East Nasty is actually the beneficiary of this race - so be sure yo get signed up and help support our mission and vision. Looks like there are some great prizes and it's sure to be a fantastic evening of great races!

ENFL! - Duane

Hello everyone! We have finally received a little break from the summer heat so hopefully everyone will be back out tonight for a run down into Shelby park. Last Wednesday landed on a holiday but we still had over 40 nasties show up and run downtown to show a little patriotism.

The Run

Tonight we will be running Route #4 which takes us down into Shelby and back out. Typically Shelby park is where a lot of people think it is ok to run in the middle of the road. IT IS NOT! Get on one side of the road and stay there please. As always we will need some Pace Leaders tonight. Finding people to volunteer for this is a pain in the ass - we have over 200 runners show up and we only need 7 or 8 pace leaders. This should not be a difficult thing but every week it is. Please take a look at the map of the route and show up ready to volunteer and be a Samaritan. :-) As always we meet at 6pm at 11th & Holly.

Upcoming Races

We have 2 big races coming up in the month of August. The East Nashville Tomato 5k is on August 11th and the Music City Mile is on August 16th. East Nasty will be a sponsor and will be heavily involved in both races. Please go ahead and mark your calenders so you can plan to participate in both races. We will have more information on these races here on the website so please check back each week.

See you tonight. ENFL! - Drew

Happy Independence Day!

YES! We will be meeting as usual for both Wednesday runs!

Wednesday morning: Meet at 5:50am at 11th & Holly. Run starts promptly at 6am. Route #3: Musica Out and Back this week.

Wednesday evening: 6pm at 11th & Holly. As above, we are scheduled for Route #3 this week which takes us across the walking bridge and into downtown - we will probably run some modified version of that depending on traffic. Be there at 6pm to find out!

Note: Our Potato-to-Tomato Couch to 5K group will NOT be meeting tonight.

East Side Holiday Activities

There is lots of great stuff going on in East Nash for the 4th. First up, tonight is the annual 'Thirth' block party. Details at www.thethirth.com

Wednesday is the annual Hot Chicken Fest takes place in East Park from 11am til 3pm. This years festival gets started for the first time with a parade down Woodland Street. The parade will be starting at 10:30am at Woodland and 8th. Former Mayor Bill Purcell, the genius behind the creation of the Hot Chicken Festival, will be leading the parade down Woodland Street in his antique fire truck - followed by the famous Half Brass Band, more fire trucks, an old hearse, the Yazoo pickup truck, the Queen of the Hot Chicken Fest throwing commemorative Hot Chicken beads to the crowd and, of course, Yazoo Brew and who knows what else. The parade will head down Woodland Street, make a left turn by the Community Center at S. 6th Street, and left again onto Russell Street. Mayor Purcell will then kick off the Hot Chicken Festival at 11am!

Come on out and hang with East Nasty for the 4th!

-Duane

The Run

This week we are running into Shelby Park for Route #2: 'Round the Lake.  Be sure to check out the link to learn the route, and volunteer to be a pace leader. It’s easy and we need volunteers each and every week. All you have to do is: 1) learn the route, and 2) run approximately at the pace you select. A little slower is fine, faster is not. The purpose is more about keeping people from getting lost, not to maintain the strictest pace.

Looks like it is gonna be pretty hot this week - be sure to hydrate all day before the run and maybe bring extra water with you. You can join the morning run for a cooler option than the afternoon heat.

The morning run meets at 5:5oam and leaves promptly at 6am. The evening run meets at 6pm. Both runs do the same route and meet at 11th & Holly. As always, please stay out of the road as we gather.

Our Couch-to-5K training group (nearly 300 people strong!) will be in parts of the park during our evening run, be sure to encourage any of them that you see! Those guys are taking their first steps (literally) to a healthier and more fit lifestyle.

Cups

We need volunteers to help wash the cups! We dont have anyone signed up for this week or next month at all. Washing the cups just involves taking them home, washing them and bringing them back the next week. Please sign up here!

Being Good Neighbors

We did much better last week with staying on the sidewalks, to the far left on the roads, and stopping for traffic at intersections. Lets keep that up! Don't be afraid to call someone out who is running in the middle of the road or doesn't know our group run rules.

See you tomorrow. ENFL! -Duane

Hello and a Happy East Nasty Wednesday to you. Tonight we our back to the start of our routes and will be running route #1. Last week was a great turnout for the "nasty," however we had several people running in the middle of the road at different times during the route. This is something that we simply can NOT do. Our group is very big and often times we are running in places where there is lots of traffic and we have to do a good job of sharing the road with cars during our runs. So as stated MANY MANY times before. Run on the sidewalk or the far LEFT hand side of the road and stop at all intersections to let cars go when needed. We will need some pace leaders for our run tonight so please find me before the run and I will get you a sign.

Summer Speed Sessions

Have you ever thought to yourself - I really wish I had the chance to see more of Mark and Drew during the week ?  The answer is probably yes - well I have good news for you. Mark and I will be coaching the Fleet Feet summer speed sessions program starting on Tuesday June 26th. We will meet at Christ Presbyterian Academy at 6:00 am and Franklin Road Academy at 6:00 pm. You can come to whatever one fits your schedule best each week. Summer speed sessions is great for those of you who are wanting to improve your 5k or 10k times. Doing interval training on a track is also just a better way to become a more efficient runner. If you have any questions please see one of us after the run. Mark and I have been coaching speed workouts for over 5 years now and we are here to help.

It is going to be a little toasty out there tonight but do not let the heat keep you away. Come out and join us for a 3 mile run down into shelby park and back then make your way down to 3 crow and reward yourself with some DRANKS !

Drew