1/2 Marathon Training

Important!  Location Change!

Where: Centennial Park!  We meet in the parking area half-way between West End Ave and the Parthenon.

When:  9 a.m.  (We may move up to 8 a.m. soon, but not this week.)

What: Time on your feet.  Just an easy, conversational distance run on the 1/2 marathon course.

Novice: about 10 miles easy

Intermediate: about 11 miles easy

Advanced: 14 miles easy

Note: you need to either know the half-marathon course, or print off a map.  Here is where you can download a map.  You may want to have the map beside you as you read on...

Course:  We are going to run the first 8 miles of the course.  Then, instead of turning right on music row, we will continue on Wedgewood, cross 21st, and turn right on Natchez Trace.  We'll pass the Vanderbilt track and football stadium on our way back to Centennial Park.  The extra mileage for the intermediate and advanced groups will come from laps of Centennial Park.  The advanced group will do two one-mile laps before the course, and two after.  The intermediate will do one lap before the course run.

No brunch this week, but use this as an opportunity to revisit pancake pantry, or, if you are coming back to the East Side, try  Marche or Sky Blue Cafe - my two brunch-time favorites.

Speaking of eating...

Over the last couple of weeks, I have brought protein recovery drinks out to the long runs.  Why? Because, for some reason, you body readily accepts and processes calories within 30-60 minutes of a workout.  After that, your body starts to slow down the recovery process.  It has also been found that protein and carbs (in a 1g of protein per 4g of carbohydrate mixture) helps even more than just one or the other.   With these longer runs, it is essential that you do everything you can to aid your recovery.  Please consume the cough syrup recovery drink that I bring, or bring something yourself!  (If is topic interests you, here is a great article (Update 3/10 - link fixed...sorry, but this article is definitely worth reading!) from Outside magazine from a long time ago that highlights research by Ed Burke.  The guy who invented Endurox.)

Also, as we complete these longer runs we need to practice taking in calories during the run. As a general rule, if your race is going to be under 90 minutes, calories are not really necessary  In fact, I would recommend against them because they may upset your stomach.  But after 90 minutes, calories are essential to prevent a major bonk.   From now on, we'll have gatorade out on the course, and for a couple of weeks we'll have some gatorade gu-type things.   Now is the time (during training) to check out different flavors / types of gels to see what you like, ecause most of us will be out on the course for longer than 90 minutes and you don't want to be trying something new on race day.   Head over to Fleet Feet or NRC and check out their selection / suggestions or gels, blocks and various other ways to quickly get calories...

See you on Sunday.

Mark

Here's the story that NewsChannel5 did on East Nasty last night (March 7, 2012) East Nasty story on NewsChannel5

Shout outs to everyone (including board members Drew Jones, Rod Jones, Heidi Huerta and JP Cowan) who represented the group so well.

ENFL!

Wednesday Night Run

This Wednesday is Route #10: Benji. This is one of the routes where we cross Eastland ...twice. Both times are going to be at the busy corner of 14th and Eastland - make sure that you cross with care at the intersection. You want to run against traffic on Eastland, so be sure to cross the street at 14th before turning right onto Eastland so you can run on the other side. As always, we meet at the corner of 11th and Holly at 6 p.m.  (Be excited: more light starting next week!

Afterwards, Nashville Running Company is once again hosting their monthly Pint Night. Stop by the store after the run for some complimentary Yazoo brew.

Also, this week is the last week that we have someone signed up to clean the cups. Here is the volunteer sheet - please sign up to take a week!

Extra Mileage on Wednesday Nights

A decent percentage of runners on Wednesday nights run more than the designated route. Many people run 2 extra miles at 5:40ish, while some add two miles after they finish the route. Either way, if you are looking to add-on some additional miles, show up and let people know! Similarly, if you are one of those people who run extra miles before or after, announce it to the group and invite new folks to join in.

Thursday Night Workout

Long hills week #2. These workouts are hard, but give you amazing returns on your efforts. Meet Thursday, at the corner of 11th and Holly at 6 p.m. If you can run 5 miles, we will scale the workout to your ability!

Tom King Weekend

If you are running in the Tom King - good luck! If you are not running, you need to be at the East Nasty water stop. Since the course is an out and back, our water stop is both the first and the last water station. (Mile 1 and Mile 12)  We are located right under the interstate on Davidson. Here is how you get there from the interstate: get off on Shelby Ave, turn right on 5th, drive to Davidson, park. Get out of your car, walk to Davidson and turn right. You should see/hear us from there. We need people in two shifts: between 7 and 8:30. Then between 9 and 11.

In all seriousness, putting on races is difficult and this is one way that we can give back to the running community that has influenced so many of our lives. Please make an effort to come out and join us. It really is a lot of fun. If you have any questions, email Drew Jones at rdrewjones@hotmail.com.

Note: the 1/2 marathon is sold out, so let's get out there and have a great water stop!

See you on Wednesday.

Mark

Sunday March 4 - Tempo Miles

Where: Shelby Park - by the nature center

When: Sunday, March 4, 9 a.m.

What: Tempo Miles.

Novice: 15 minutes easy + 6 x (1 mile tempo + 1 minute walk/jog) + 10 minute easy

Intermediate: 15 minutes easy + 6 x (1 mile tempo + 1 minute rest) + 15 minutes easy

Advanced: 15 minutes easy + 8 x (1 mile tempo + 1 minute rest) + 20 minutes easy

Doing tempo intervals rather than steady state tempo runs has pros and con.  First, the con: it trains you to expect breaks during a race, which hopefully you will not be taking during the Country Music 1/2 or full.   The pros: it allows you to keep a faster pace than you would be able to without breaks - and it is not as taxing on your body as an 8 mile steady state tempo run.  (Which we will do on April 1...)

This is also a good week to practice negative splitting.   That means that our first mile should be our slowest and our last should be our fastest.   As far as our pace goes, start at about 40 seconds per mile slower than your time trial pace, and finish about 20 seconds per mile slower than your TT pace.  (Heart rate - 85% - 90% of your max...)

For planning purposes, starting next week we will be heading over to Centennial Park for three weeks.

Brunch is Back!

After the workout it's time to head over to Duane's for brunch!  It's only about a mile from the park, so no excuse.  The food is great, but at the end of the day it's a great time to really connect with your fellow East Nasties.  Everyone is welcome, especially if you are new to the group, or even new to town.  Check out the details here and sign up to bring something.

Tom King Water Stop

Next weekend, you have three options: (1) run the Tom King half or 5k, (2) help out with the East Nasty Tom King water stop or (3) give birth (this option applies to only a select few people...)

Everything we do at East Nasty is free, and we just ask that you guys give back once in a while.  One of the ways that we give back to the running community is to work a water stop.   But believe me, this is not your typical water stop...I guarantee that you will have a good time.  Next week we will have more details - but please pencil this Saturday morning activity into your schedule!

Friday night

Finally, remember that our good friend Kevin Kaz is hosting his second annual Funky Umbrella party at 3rd and Lindsey tonight starting at 9:30.  The Jones Brothers Experience will be the emcees.

See you Sunday.

Mark

Wednesday Leap Day Run

We won't have another leap year day on a Wednesday for about 28 more years!   So come join us at the usual place, the usual time.  6 p.m. at the corner of 11th & Holly in East Nashville.  This week we will be running Route #9: LP Field.

Thursday Night Workout

We are taking a 2 week break from our tempo running to do long hills!   We will be running down to Shelby Park and up Sevier hill.  The hill is about 1/2 mile, and should take people between 3 and 5 minutes to complete, then we will jog back down to recover.  We will do either 6 repetitions or 20 minutes of hill climbing - whichever comes first. Meet up as usual at 6 p.m. at 11th & Holly.

Tom King Water Stop on Saturday March 10th

For the past 4 years East Nasty has worked the water stop for the Tom King 5k & 1/2 Marathon - the best water stop any race has ever seen. The Tom King is on March 10th this year and we are in charge of the same water stop again this year. The 5k is at 7:30 and the 1/2 marathon is at 8:00. We will be stationed on Davidson underneath the interstate which is the turn around on the 5k course and the 1 mile / 12 mile mark for the 1/2 marathon. It is a great location to be at and all we need  is as many East Nasties as possible to be out there to hand out water and cheer on your fellow runners. The water, the cups and the music will all be provided so just show up with your favorite east nasty shirt on and ready to volunteer. This is really a fun event to be a part of and is one of the few times during the year that we ask you to give back. You can come and leave whenever you like but please plan on joining us out there. You can talk to Drew if you have any specific questions about the race and or water stop.

Funky Umbrella's Wicked Amazing Super Party

Our good friend Kevin Kaz is having his second annual (hopefully annual) party this Friday night, March 2nd at 9pm at 3rd & Lindsley.

Here are some details from Kevin: Friday, March 2nd at 9pm at 3rd & Lindsley. 3 bands - Ryan Cavanaugh, Captain Midnight, Sky Hi. The format is the same as last year. 1st band is loaded with musical talent. Make it an early night if you have a long run in the morning. 2nd band is a wild card. A little different, but rocking. 3rd band is all about party time. For those that want to stay up late and boogie down. Our own Jones brothers will be emceeing the evening. Here's a link to the Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/events/287067768022627/

New Orleans Half & Full Marathon

Be sure to wish good luck to all the Nasties heading down this weekend to run in the New Orleans Mardi Gras Half and Full Marathons! Let the good times run! ENFL!

Tempo #2

Sunday 2/26 - We are back at Shelby Park.  9 a.m.

First of all, last week's long run was epic.  This week we are back at Shelby.

During the course of our 1/2 marathon / marathon training, we have several different types of runs.  Of course there are those standard, obligatory (and important) steady state long runs.  That is where you just start slowly, and build into a steady pace that is about 1:30 to 2:30 minutes slower per mile than your 3 mile time trial pace.

Interspersed in these long runs we have 4 structured tempo runs.  We still run a fairly long distance, but for periods of time, we will run at or above our goal 1/2 marathon pace.  (Tempo pace, which is 85-90% max heart rate, or between 20 and 45 seconds slower per mile than 3 mile TT pace.)  This week is one of those workouts...  The first 2 parts of the workout are the same for everyone the bold part is different:

Novice (80 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 20 min easy + 5 min tempo + 10 min easy

Intermediate (90 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 25 min easy + 10 min tempo + 10 min easy

Advanced (105 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 35 min easy + 15 min tempo + 10 min easy

Note: You need feedback for these types of run.  Types of feedback include heart rate, pace and perceived effort level.  During the "tempo" portions of your runs, your heart should be between 85 and 90% of your maximum.  Your pace should be around 20-30 seconds per mile slower than your 3-mile time trial pace.   (If you don't have a GPS watch, I am going to mark the quarter miles on the 3-mile Shelby Loop.)  Finally, your breathing should never be auditory.  i.e. If you can hear yourself breathing, you are going too hard.

Calling All Parents...

Part of our mission at East Nasty is to support local businesses...because we love East Nashville and want to make it a great place to live and run.   Well a couple of East Nasties have gotten together to open a new baby & children's consignment store!  You'll learn more about Amanda Silvera and Casey Sloss soon, but their new store (called "Cheep Cheap") has their grand opening this Saturday from 10-4.  Cheep Cheap is located in the Porter Road East complex, 711 Porter Rd.

See you on Sunday !

Mark

Wednesday Night Run

The days are getting longer, the weather looks nice and warm - there is not a better way to spend Wednesday night than joining us for Run #8: Rick's Market (Coldest Beer in Town).   6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly in East Nashville.   And please: learn the route and volunteer to lead a group!

Thursday Night Tempo

A lot of us are already beginning to feel the benefits of the Thursday night workouts.  So if you are looking to run the half marathon, or if you just want to run in a faster group on Wednesdays, come join us Thursday.  Same time, same place as Wednesday - although we do start on time on Thursdays :)

Novice: 20 minute tempo, Intermediate: 25 minute tempo, Advanced: 30 minute tempo.

Spring Half-Marathon / Marathon Shirt

Ordering for our Spring 2012 race shirts (full marathon, half marathon, & plain) will close after Wednesday night!  You can get more info and order yours online over on the Shop page. These are the shirts that East Nasty will be wearing for the Country Music Half/Full and all other spring races. You can head over to Nashville Running Company to try one on to find the size that fits you best. Place your order today before you forget and miss out!

See you Wednesday night. -Mark

Sunday February 19 - Just logging miles

Sunday will be our last long run in Percy Warner Park, before we head back to Shelby Park for two Sundays of structured workouts.   Once again, this week we are just spending time on our feet.  The pace should be conversational, the duration is the same as last week, and we will have groups on the trails and the roads.   And the best part is that afterwards we will have brunch!

When:  9 a.m.

Where: Percy Warner Park under the Stone Gates the end of Belle Meade Blvd

What:  Novice: 80 minute run, Intermediate: 90 minute run, Advanced: 120 minute run

Looking ahead, we all need to do another 3 mile time trial in early March.  We won't be doing one as a group on Sunday morning, so you need to make plans to either: (1) do one on your own or (2) run a local 5k.  Personally, I am going to run the Tom King 5k before I head over to work the infamous Jones brothers water stop...Be sure that you print off the training program so you know what we are doing and where we are meeting!

Brunch

The best part of Sundays...the East Nasty brunch.   Check out this link right here.  All the necessary information is included.  Our gracious hosts are Nick Abruzzo and Christina Young, who live right close to the park off of White Bridge Road.  Please sign up and to show off either your cooking skills, your cleaning skills or your shopping skills!

1/2 Marathon / Marathon Shirts

Every year, we get East Nasty shirts for the Country Music half and full marathons.  In a race of 33,000 people, it's fun to look around and see a bunch of other nasties in the same gear.  This year is no different except (1) we are actually ordering them early so we don't have to stress over getting them printed in time, (2) we are ordering on line, and (3) we have a different design for marathon runners vs 1/2 marathon runners vs. people who just want a shirt.

We will be closing orders this coming Wednesday (February 22) at midnight!   We may have a couple of extras, but don't count on it.  So if you want to get yourself a shirt, or grab one for an out of town friend, place the order soon!  All the details are here.

Those crazy kids...

So a 17-year old Kenyan just won a world class half marathon with a winning time of 60:34.  That's 4:38 pace for 13.1 miles.  That's got to be the world record for juniors (18 and under)!  Wrong!   That record is held by Sammy Wanjiru - winner of the last Olympic Marathon, and perhaps the most talented marathoner ever - who ran 59:16 when he was 18 years old, but is now dead after jumping out of a window following a bad encounter with his angry wife.  It's really a pretty crazy story.

See  you on Sunday.

Mark

Wednesday Night Run

February 15, 6p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly we will run Route #7: Little Hollywood.  This week we cut back on the distance (3.2 miles) and run through a great part of East Nashville.  Make sure that you check out the houses as we run down Ordway toward the golf course.  Also check out the map and please volunteer to be a pace leader.

Shirts

Our Spring race shirts are ready to order!  Click the Shop tab above for more info and to order online. Lee and the NRC crew have invited us down to their store after the run to (a) finish the beer from their grand opening, and (b) try on the shirt in a warm, dry place. You can also head over to NRC at any time they are open this week to try on the shirts to get your size right before you order online. Shirts will be available for order through NEXT Wednesday the 22nd. Get your order in before then! Also coming soon: new casual 50/50 shirts for men and women, and probably Lululemon tanks for women. Stay tuned.

Thursday

We're got a couple of things going on Thursday:

(1) Thursday workouts.  6 p.m. at 11th and Holly.  This week we continue our tempo workouts with a steady state tempo run.  Novice and Intermediate will run 20 minutes, while the advanced will run 25 minutes.    The bulk of this run should be done at about 90% of your max heart rate - or about 30 seconds slower per mile than your 5k race pace.  Depending on fitness, the total mileage should be between 5.5 and 8 miles.

(2) NRC is hosting their first movie night.  They are going to show the movie "Unbreakable: The Western States 100" . Even though I know what happens, the movie still looks pretty sweet. The movie will start at 7:30, and if you don't feel like doing a tempo run with us, NRC will have an easy run from their place at 6:00.

See you Wednesday! -Mark

1/2 marathon training

This week we're back in Percy Warner Park just logging miles.  Nothing structured, just "time on your feet."   The purpose of Sunday's run is duration, not intensity.  And even though we're adding miles and hills, the entire run should be conversational.  Under 75% of your max heart rate - maybe peaking at 80% on the hills.   There will be groups running the road loops and trails.

Also, it's going to be cold...but being in the woods will keep you sheltered and out of the wind.  This is the precise reason why we run at Percy Warner in February...

Where: Percy Warner Park at the Stone Gates.  (At the end of Belle Meade Blvd.)

When: 9 a.m.

What:

Novice - 80 minute run

Intermediate: 90 minute run

Advanced: 120 minute run

No organized brunch this week.  But looking for something new?  Try Sky Blue Cafe at 700 Fatherland Ave.    One of the best brunches in Nashville.

In this post: Wednesday night run, being a good neighbor, want to run Chicago? Too Bad and Thursday night tempos.

Wednesday Night Run

Our run this week is Route #6: Riverside - about 4.5 miles. We cross through Shelby Park and head up Riverside.  For you East Nashvillians: it's easy to get turned around on this route - so if you live on the east side, please check out the map and volunteer to lead a pace group.  And everyone needs to look at the route sometime before 6 p.m. Wednesday night!

As always, we meet at 6p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly in East Nashville.

Being a Good Neighbor

Reflective gear.  Running with 200+ people on a Wednesday night is fantastic, but we have to operate differently.  This week I want to remind people to wear reflective gear.  Better yet, run with a light.  It keeps us all safer.

Want to run the Chicago Marathon?

Too bad.  It sold out in 6 days.  Yet another reminder (like the Mumford and Sons concerts....) that you need to be on the ball!  Seriously, big marathons are selling out in record time, and Chicago should be on your marathon bucket list.  (If you don't have one...you should create a race bucket list...)  So prepare yourself for 2013, and be sure that your ready when registration opens!

Thursday Night Workout

After 4 weeks of hill repeats - we are starting our tempo runs.  Tempo runs are the common thread through any training program - from the marathon to the mile, every distance runner should be doing tempo runs.  Tempo runs are "comfortably hard".  Meaning that you should be just on the edge of breathing hard.  That correlates to about 90% of your max heart rate - or about 25-30 seconds per mile slower than your 5k race pace.  Tempo running is usually done by time, and here is our workout this week:

Novice:  4 x (5 minutes tempo / 1 minute jogging)

Intermediate: 2 x (10 minutes tempo / 2 minutes jogging)

Advanced: 3 x (10 minutes tempo / 2 minutes jogging)

We meet on Thursdays at 6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly.   This week we'll be running down to LP field and running laps of the stadium.  I know, I know...boring...but this will keep us all together and in a well lit area.  We'll move to Shelby once the days get longer.  If you run a little bit on the sidewalk, you can create a perfect mile loop around the stadium.  Here is the loop.   The entire workout should be between 5.5 and 8.5 miles - depending on fitness.

- Mark

Just putting in the miles...

After a couple of weeks of structured long runs (a time trial and a tempo run), the next three weeks are just "time on your feet."  We're not even worried about how far you run!  We all just need to run for a designated amount of time.  Also, for a change of venue, and the addition of hills, we are going to be meeting at the Belle Meade entrance to Percy Warner Park (under the stone gates.)  If you have never run out there, this park is amazing, and only about 15 minutes from East Nashville.

Sunday morning, we will have several groups: novice, intermediate and advanced - and trail or road.  Whether you run trails or the road, everyone needs to run at a conversational pace - even if you have to walk some up the hills!  Your heart rate should be about 75%, peaking at 80% of your max on the steep hills.  How does this feel?  Conversational.  This run should be hard because of the duration not because of the intensity.

Workout -

Novice:  70 minutes (probably the 5.8 mile road loop +)

Intermediate: 80 minutes

Advanced: 100 minutes (white and red trails or 11.2 mile loop)

See you at the Percy Warner Stone Gates at 9am on Sunday! Remember, our workouts and locations of those workouts are outlined on our training plan.

Brunch

The best part of Sunday runs!   This week David Canas and family is hosting out in Brentwood.  Here is the information, including the Canas' address.   Please sign up to bring something!    It's important that we all contribute.

-Mark