Hooked on East Nasty

I'm hooked. I'd been hearing about East Nasty, a running group in Nashville, for quite some time now but didn't really have the nerve to go. I kept nursing fears about injury and pace, and didn't want to be the girl bringing up the rear of the pack. Yes, I do realize there has to be someone who does it, but still, I didn't want it to be me. So today, I finally was brave enough to try it out and I loved it. Love love love. I don't know why I waited so long to check it out. It felt like running in a race without numbers, and everyone was so supportive of the other runners.

EN does a rotating set of 12 runs and today was back at #1, a 3.1 mile figure eight. I figured it was a good distance to start me at, plus it was all of a gorgeous 78 degrees today. When I arrived, there was a giant pack of spandex clad runners, some with pups, all set to go. I think that maybe there were 100 in all? (I don't have a method for estimating that, but there were a lot) I started out pretty fast (probably too fast) at about a 9:10 mile, but settled in at around around 10ish. There were more hills than I was expecting, long ones too, but I think I did a pretty solid job of powering up those, even if my pace dropped a little. Since I run mostly flat courses, the hills were pretty challenging, but I looove the relaxing momentum of running downhill. Anyway, I ran pretty well I think, and at the 5k mark, my watch said 30:23.

REALLY!?!?!? On a super hilly course, less than two months post recovery, I shaved 3 minutes off my 5k time. Ecstatic. Now I'm dying to see what I can do on a flat course. I've been planning on running the Purity Dairy Dash 10k for the mid-distance, but now I'm considering shifting down to the 5k for the fun of it. A sub 30 minute 5k would be awesome. Things to think about... :) Although my IT bands feel pretty awesome, I bought a tennis ball a few days ago so that I can work on my peroneal muscle (peroneus longus) in my calves. They are both awfully tight and are a bit sore. Hopefully some self-therapy can take the edge off. It's amazing how much lower body anatomy I've learned with this injury!

Anyway, I had an awesome salad-esque dinner when I got home. I tried to make the Mediterranean Chickpea Patties from Carrots 'N Cake, but since my food processor is hand operated, the puree never got quite smooth enough so they kind fell apart. They were still pretty tasty, but i couldn't coat them in flour without them breaking into pieces so I just went without. Also, tonight I was out of lemon, so instead I mixed some olive oil with Greek yogurt (plus salt and pepper) and that was an amazing dressing.


All served on top of a salad w/ peppers, tomatoes, and onions, plus an Ezekiel English muffin on the side. Yum. (Check out the original recipe; they photos are much nicer!!)

Anyway, I need a good night sleep, but as a farewell, here's the little one. Martha was being a doll tonight and was begging to have her picture taken. :) I have the sweetest pup in the world.


G'night!