Hello and a happy East Nasty Wednesday to you. Today we will be running route #9 " LP field ". The run will take us around The Titans stadium and back to the east side. Please check out the course map on the right side of the page by clicking on the link. So I know this is going to sound like a broken record to those of you who read this blog on a regular basis but - We have got to do a better job of staying out of the road. Last week was horrible. People were running in the road the entire route and runners often times were on both sides of the road. This can't continue to happen. Now with that said the route last week did involve several turns and that can be tricky but there is never any reason that you should be running in the middle of the road. East Nasty is a very BIG running group and we have to obey the rules of the road so please please please take head of these instructions:

DO NOT run more than 2 people abreast while on the side of the road.

DO NOT run on both sides of the road - stay on one side or the sidewalk at all times.

DO NOT jump in front of cars at intersections - if there is a car coming stop and let the car go.

DO NOT run in the middle of the road ............. EVER

DO NOT come out to run east nasty if you can't follow these rules.

Again I apologize for the repetitiveness of this topic. In all honesty about 225 of you are model citizens out on the road every Wednesday night. There are about 20 - 25 of you however, who just don't pay attention - if you see these people out there running with you then BARK/YELL at them and get them out of the road. We have to police ourselves because if the real police become involved then East Nasty wednesday night runs will come to an end.

Anyway enough of that - we will have reflective vest for sale again before / after the run and the website should be up for shirt orders in the next 24 hours as well. Hope all of you are well and can make it out for the run tonight. It is a fun and fairly flat route so come join us.

One more thing - there were several East  Nasties who were up in Chicago this past weekend for the Chicago Marathon. Lots of East Nasties completed the marathon and many of them were first timers. Be sure to congratulate these awesome runners when you see them tonight as they represented East Nasty very well in the windy city. Quite an accomplishment for sure and all the more reason to head to 3 crow after the run and celebrate these legends we have running among us.

East Nasty For Life

Drew

Hello East Nasty and welcome to October. Tomorrow should be another nice night for a run. We will be running route #8 ( rick's coldest beer in town ). Please take a look down on the right side of the page and learn the route. We will need some volunteers for pace leaders.  

Reflective gear

As previously mentioned we will need to start wearing some kind of reflective gear on the Wednesday night runs. We sold several reflective vest last week and we will have some for sale again tomorrow night. We will have plenty of Nathan vest that are one size fits all for $20. If you do not have anything reflective then bring some money with you tomorrow night and pick one up. For the rest of the year it will be dark by the time we get done running and we need to be bright and visible to the cars.

East Nasty Gear

The website should be up and ready in the next few days for you to order your fall east nasty gear. The three options will be singlets for men, zipper / hoodie sweatshirts for men & women and yellow long sleeve pearl izumi reflective shirts for men & women. There are only a few of the men's medium & larges left in the yellow pearl izumi shirts so after the yellow one's are gone we can get the same shirt in white. There will be more on this announced tomorrow before the run. Be sure to check back here soon to order what gear you want on line.

Thought of the week

East Nasty Wednesday night runs have been going on since May 2008 --- we get that question a lot. It started with around 10 runners and now we get close to 250 every Wednesday night. Everything East Nasty does is free and open to anyone. Why I am telling you this ? We are one of the biggest running groups in this part of the country. So just a reminder to all of you out there .......... we are big time. Keep up the good work East Nasty and when you are out there running on Wednesday nights - stay out of the middle of the road  :-)

ENFL  -------------    Drew

Word up East Nasty. Hope all of you are well and ready for a run in some great weather tomorrow night. We will be running route #7 known as " little holywood". It is our shortest route of the 12 that we have. There are lots of twist and turns on this run so be sure to stay to the side of the road and always stop for traffic. Please take a look at the route down at the bottom of the page and try to learn it. We would love to have some NEW pace leaders volunteer to lead a group tomorrow night.  

Reflective gear

As mentioned last week we will need to start wearing some kind of reflective gear on the Wednesday night runs. It is getting darker a little earlier each week and our group is so big that we all need to be wearing something  reflective. We sold several reflective vest last week and we will have some for sale again tomorrow night. There are a few brooks vest left in L/XL for $15 and we have plenty of Nathan vest that are one size fits all for $20. If you do not have anything reflective then bring some money with you tomorrow night and pick one up.

East Nasty Gear

Be sure to keep an eye out here on the website and at our East Nasty Runs on Wednesday for your chance to order some new East Nasty apparell. We will have 3 different options for you this fall and you can order anything you want. It looks like the options are going to be men's singlets, long sleeve refelective technical shirt (unisex) and a hooded/zipper sweatshirt.

Thought of the week

We have several new East Nasty's joining us each week on the run. Go out of your way to be friendly and introduce yourself to some new faces. East nasty is known for a being a very friendly and open running group so try to keep that going. We are also known for being very cool and good looking so keep that up as well.

See you tomorrow night in little hollywood Nasties ................. ENFL !!!!!

DREW

Hello East Nasty  - great job last week on staying out of the roads. We had a big turnout for the run downtown however, everyone stayed on the side of the roads and stopped at the intersections .... good work. This week we are running route #6 "riverside" which will take us down and out of the north side of shelby park. Please take a look at the route down on the right side of the page and learn it. We always need pace leaders and guides out there to keep our numbers out of the middle of the road and on the right path.  

Darkness !!!  - Reflective Gear

Starting tomorrow you will need to wear reflective gear out for the Wednesday night runs. It is getting dark a little before 7:00 now and we will need to be visible to the cars out on the road. If you already have your own reflective gear that is great ... make sure you wear it tomorrow night. If you do not have anything of your own bring some money with you tomorrow as we will be selling some reflective vest before and after the run. A reflective vest is one of the best things you can wear at night when running. They are very easy to see and you can wear them over pretty much anything you normally wear on your runs. We will have some Brooks reflective vest on sale for $15 (normally $25) and we will have some Nathan's vest on sale for $20 ( normally $30).  We should have plenty available if you are interested in buying one but they will be sold on a first come first serve basis. East Nasty is a very big group of runners and safety is our #1 concern so again EVERYONE will be required to wear some kind of reflective gear starting tomorrow night.

Thought of the week

If you have not joined your fellow East Nasties down at 3 crow bar following the run - now is the time to do so. Here lately the weather has been perfect after the run for hanging outside on the back deck.  So its time for you to bring some dry clothes to wear for after the run and come down the hill to 3 crow and hangout. It really is the best way to get to know some of the faces you run with every week. Plus rumor has it that the coveted " East Nasty of the week " write ups are going to be making a return to the blog soon so if you want to be in the running for that honor then we will need to see you down at 3 crow. Hope all of you are well and can join us tomorrow night for 4.5 miles of total running ecstasy.

Drew

Hello East Nasty - nice work last Wednesday night on the run. We had another big turnout and for the most part everyone did a great job of staying out of the road. The reason we are so strict about staying out of the road is for several reasons. First of all we have been told by the police that we have to obey the rules of the road. We are a very large group and we can not take over the streets and force cars to stop. Most importantly though is the safety of our runners. We have to be aware of the cars and traffic around us and we have to stop at intersections and let cars go when needed. All it takes is one person to jump out into traffic and people behind them are going to follow - so again stay out of the middle of the road, listen to your pace leaders, and stop at intersections to check for traffic. This week we are running an East Nasty favorite - (route #5 - walking bridge) - We will be taking our group into downtown Nashville for a little more than 4 miles of joy and running. Please scroll down on the bottom right side of this page and review the route so you know where we are running. We will need some volunteers to be a pace leaders and it would be great if people would come up at the start and ask Mark or myself if they can lead a group.  

Mayor Karl Deans 5k training and race

Many of you will remember that back in the spring we joined the Mayor for part of his walk 100 miles campaign. It was a very big success across Nashville and the mayor is now starting the next phase of his get healthy initiative. The Mayor will be having a free 5k walk/run training across our city for anyone interested in participating. The Mayor will then be hosting a free 5k race in downtown Nashville on November 13th at 2:00 P.M. This is a great program for our city and the Mayor's office is looking for both volunteers and participants. There are locations all over the city where you can meet and run/train with others for the 5k race. Please visit the website www.mayorschallenge5k.com to get more information or sign up for the challenge. You can also visit them on facebook. One special incentive that they are offering is they are giving away a gift card for a free pair of  running shoes every Tuesday night and Saturday morning at one of the 4 main training locations.

Thought of the week

This is just more news really than it is any "thought". The powers that drive East Nasty had a meeting this past weekend. Did you know that East Nasty has a board of directors ? Well it's true - we do. Anyway many things were discussed and there are some exciting things coming our way in the future. Some of them include: new east nasty shirts  and a new way to place your order, 2 new routes to bring us back to 12 separate routes, discounted reflective running gear for sale on Wednesday nights, East Nasty Christmas party's new location, and so on ------ exciting times are always ahead when you are a part of East Nasty.

Hope to see you out there tomorrow night  ............ ENFL  !!!!

DREW

Hello East Nasty --- The summer heat has finally left the building. Running weather is finally here and I for one am excited about it. Tomorrow we are running route #4 ( Big Shelby Loop ). This has been mentioned in the past but we will continue to drive this point home. We need pace/route leaders on Wednesday night. East Nasty continues to grow and we need people to learn the routes and help people stay on the right course and stay out of the roads. Please look at the route down on the right side of the page - learn it - and be ready to volunteer tomorrow night. East C.A.N. Dog Food Donations

Tomorrow we will be collecting dog food for the East C.A.N. adoption agency. Please bring a bag of DRY dog food with you to the run tomorrow night. Any dog food brand will do - any size is fine - just try to bring at least one bag. We will be collecting the food before the run and will need some volunteers with trucks or  SUV's to take the food over to East C.A.N. following the run. East C.A.N. is a great organization that we have supported since we started in 2008. Our donations each year help them out in a big way.

Thought of the week

So back to the weather. It may not always seem like it, but fall weather is typically the best time of year for running. Most of us have been running in the high temperatures this summer and we are going to start to reap the benefits from it now. Anytime you start running it is going to feel 10-15 degrees warmer than it is outside so there is no need to break out the gloves and coats just yet. As far as running goes though now is the time to pick a race and shoot for a PR. After running in the summer heat you will be able to run harder and faster now that the cooler weather has shown up. So get out there and get busy.

See everyone tomorrow - East Nasty For Life !!!!!!!!!!!

DREW

Hello East Nasty - Here is a quick message about today's run. We are back to the start and will be running route #2. We are looking to add a couple of new routes to east nasty in the near future. We had to eliminate two of them earlier in the year because of the intersections they crossed. More to come on that down the road. Please take a look at the route down on the right and be ready to volunteer as a pace leader. It is no fun having to ask the same people to lead a group every Wednesday so be a friend and volunteer. All you have to do is make sure everyone is following the correct route and is staying out of the middle of the road.  

Thought of the week

Have any of you ever been to an ironman race and stood at the finish line and watched ? I will have to say it is one of the most exciting and inspiring things I have ever seen. When you take into account all the training that is involved combined with how long the race itself takes there is really only one word to describe it ........ amazing. I was in Louisville on Sunday watching the race and was able to see Mark Miller, Drew Sloss, Jim "Schwanny" Schwann and JP Cowan "the Blaze" with East Nasty across their chest pretty much giving it their all. They certainly did East Nasty proud so if you see one of these Ironmen around tomorrow be sure to tell them congratulations.

Drew

For you newbies, our Wednesday night runs culminate with our longest, most difficult run: The Nasty.  It's tough, but 6 miles and 6 painful hills later you can claim victory...and a "East Nasty" sticker!   And, it's tomorrow. Take a moment to review the route, even you front guys - as I (Mark) will be tapering for Ironman Louisville.

Heat

Well, I probably should have linked to these articles earlier, but I just picked up the July/August issue of Running Times and they had two articles on running in the heat.  (Including "it's not the heat or the humidity... it's the dew point.")  Since it stays hot in the south until November, and better late than never, here they are:  Running in the heat article #1, article #2

Potato to Tomato...continued

Many of you know that the transition from your first 5k to a regular Wednesday night runner can be a tough one.  To make that jump a little easier, several East Nasties have decided to continue the beginner runs on Monday nights and Saturday mornings.   These runs are going to continue through October with a goal of preparing runners for the Boulevard Bolt 5 mile race on Thanksgiving morning.   Right now, they are still meeting at Shelby Park.  6 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Saturday.  The time/locations may change, so if you want more details, send Rachel Schaffer an email: raschaff@gmail.com.

Hello there - and a happy east nasty Wednesday to you. What a great day Saturday was for east nasty. The East Tomato 5k had the biggest turnout ever and you could not throw a rock without hitting someone in an east nasty shirt. The potato to tomato group was also a big success as over 200 new runners ran in the 5k race. Today we are back to the basics. We will be running route #11 also known as "church run" and we invite all the new east nasties from the potato to tomato group to come join us. It is a figure 8 route and you can cut off the run around mile 2 if you are not up for the full 4.5 mile run. Please check out the route below so you know where we are going tonight. As always we will need some pace leaders out there as well. Kudos

A special thanks to all the volunteers who made the East Tomato weekend so special. The 5k coaches, The 5k runners, The water stop volunteers on the race course,  The water tent volunteers at the tomato fest were all huge in making Saturday so awesome. As east nasty continues to grow we will need volunteers to keep stepping up and helping the cause. For now though let us bask in our glory for a bit and get back to our East Nasty Wednesday night runs. The weather has finally taking a turn for us runners and it is a perfect time of year to head down to 3 crow after the run and have a social drink with your running buddies.

Thought of the week:

Did you know we have east nasty runners who come from all over to run with us on Wednesday night ? While most of us out there are from the east side or at least the greater Nashville area - there are some that drive an hour each way to join us for a run on the streets of East Nashville. East Nasty is such a diverse group of people and there are many who come from a ways away just to experience the East Nasty "vibe". That is why we always say - introduce yourself to somebody new. You never know where the person next to you may be from and a friendly hello may be the reason they come back. On that note a special shout out goes to Travis Millsaps, Scott Slavens and Matt Miffleton who occasionally make the drive from Murfreesboro to join us. It always a treat to have you legends from Rutherford county out there on a Wednesday night.

Keep up the good work ------ EAST NASTY FOR LIFE !!!!!!

Drew

BIG WEEK - BIG RACE - BIG TIMES FOR EAST NASTY Hello there and welcome to the biggest week of the year for East Nasty. It is East Tomato Fest week, which of course includes the East Tomato 5k this Saturday at 7:30. There are going to be several opportunities on Saturday for you to participate / volunteer. First things first - the route this week will be the East Tomato 5k race course - see the link here. Many of us will be running in the race this year so we might as well get in a practice run on the course. We will be joined Wednesday night by the potato to tomato 5k group that has been training 3 days a week for the past 10 weeks. Please be sure to introduce yourself to these runners 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 there will be 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 has the potential to be a very fun night/ 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.

How can I participate on Saturday ?

Like I said earlier - 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 7:30 just off of the 5 points intersection and there will be east nasty's all over the place. We will all meet at out normal Wednesday night meeting spot ( 11th & Holly ) at 7:00 am then head down to the start of the race around 7:15. All we ask is that you wear an east nasty shirt during the race. See more on shirts below.

2) Work the water stop during the race - Fleet Feet Sports is sponsoring a water stop at mile 2 on the race course and we need some east nasty volunteers to pass out water and cheer on the runners. The water stop will be set up by 7:00 am in front of fellow nasty Phil Zimmerman's house on Woodland. We have some volunteers already signed up for the water stop but could use a few more.

3) Work the East Nasty water tent during the East Tomato Fest - From 10:00 am - 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. It is our way of giving back to the community as a thanks for letting us run on their streets. We need volunteers to work a 2 hour shift. The volunteers will be passing out water, refilling coolers, getting ice and spreading the east nasty cheer. We will have a sign up list at the run on Wednesday, or post a comment to this update.

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, contest, art, parades, free water and alcohol all day long. Again all we ask is that you wear one of your east nasty shirts with pride.

Shirts - Shirts -  Shirts  - Shirts

As many of you know we had a very big response to this year's potato to tomato 5k training group. Over 300 people signed up and although the numbers have dropped some over the course of the training there are still 150 - 200 new east nasty's that will be running in the 5k on Saturday morning. So a few weeks back we ordered a HUGE tech. shirt order for our new runners and the coaches who helped them along the way. We will hopefully be passing those shirts out to the potato to tomato group tomorrow night. We should have plenty of extra shirts available for those of you in need of some east nasty gear. So we are going to sell the remaining shirts to those interested on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at the tomato fest. On Friday from 5:00 - 7:00 Mark and I (Drew) will be at 3 crow selling the shirts on a first come first serve basis. We will also be selling shirts to those interested on Saturday from our East Nasty water tent.

A very exciting and fun week for East Nasty indeed. Please see Mark Miller, Drew Jones, Rod Jones or Stephanie Schildcrout with any questions or suggestions you have regarding this weekend.

Hope to see all of you out there in Full Force  ------ EAST NASTY FOR LIFE -   Yahhhhhhhhh  !!!!!

Drew

Hello East Nasty - Well I keep hoping each week that it is going to cool off some and so far no luck. It actually keeps getting hotter as today we may hit triple digits. I say  "who gives a crap" - lets go run anyway. Tonight we will be route #10 and there will be some free gatorade / water afterwards so we should be fine. Please take a look at the route and come find me before we start if you would like to be a pace leader.  

East Tomato 5k – August 13th

Our homecoming race is 10 days away and East Nasty wants to help make this years race the biggest one so far. The potato to tomato 5k group will be out there racing and we are going to have several ways to volunteer on that day and lend a helping hand. We will be manning a water stop during the race and will need some nasties to hand out water to the runners. If you are running in the race then that is great – we will be hosting another water “tent” for the east tomato fest that last from 10:00 – 6:00 and we will need to volunteers to help hand out free water. The tent will be set up right in front of 3 crow in the middle of all the action. Again this race and the tomato fest is a big day for East Nasty – please plan on giving back a little to the best running group in the continental U.S. – You can run in the race, volunteer for a water stop or come out and cheer on the runners. Just plan on being there and wearing your favorite East Nasty shirt. We will be passing around a list tonight for those who want to volunteer for water stop during the race or the water tent during the east tomato fest.

Come out and join us tonight for a run then some socializing at 3 crow -  EAST NASTY 4 LIFE !!

Hello East Nasty - I am not sure how many of you ran last Wednesday but just in case you missed - it was hot as hell and I did not fare well out there. That's how it goes in the summer though - especially in the dirty south. It is going to be another hot one tomorrow but I feel like last week helped train me for it so I am ready. Plus just in case you have been out of the country for the past few days - the NFL lockout has come to an end and football is now upon us - what better way to celebrate by running route #9 that takes us around the Titans stadium and then back to the east side. Come out and battle the heat with us tomorrow and help send some positive vibes the Tennessee Titans way as we run around LP field. The Titans will be without my beloved Stache Fisher for the first time in 15 years and they are going to need all the help they can get. East Tomato 5k - August 13th

Our homecoming race is right around the corner and East Nasty wants to help make this years race the biggest one so far. The potato to tomato 5k group will be out there racing and we are going to have several ways to volunteer on that day and lend a helping hand. We will be manning a water stop during the race and will need some nasties to hand out water to the runners. If you are running in the race then that is great - we will be hosting another water "tent" for the east tomato fest that last from 10:00 - 6:00 and we will need to volunteers to help hand out free water. The tent will be set up right in front of 3 crow in the middle of all the action. Again this race and the tomato fest is a big day for East Nasty - please plan on giving back a little to the best running group in the continental U.S. - You can run in the race, volunteer for a water stop or come out and cheer on the runners. Just plan on being there and wearing your favorite East Nasty shirt.

Hope to see you tomorrow night for a run on the sun - EAST NASTY FOR LIFE !!!

Drew