Team Hammock

Keeping Nashville Warm

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:30:57 -0600

The countdown is on: Operation Stand Down (ODS) is only 10 days away, and we Hammock folks are hoping to collect enough coats, hats, vests, gloves and scarves to provide warmth for Nashville’s homeless veterans this winter. A few weeks into our efforts, Team Hammock has already collected enough winter apparel to fill up my car—but we’re still hoping to receive more donations. According to the ODS Web site, the military term “stand down” describes the movement of soldiers in combat to a safe place for rest and recovery. From Oct. 17 to 19, many of Nashville’s homeless veterans will learn more the programs that can get them to safer places—and off the streets. They’ll learn about access to medical care, employment opportunities and disability benefits. Plus, the vets will be the recipients of a few hearty meals and enough clothing to keep them warm this winter. If you have winter clothing items to donate, we’ll be happy to drop them off for you. Just bring your extra warm woolen mittens to our office at 3322 West End Ave., Suite 700 (the big pie-shaped building at the corner of Murphy Road), and we’ll make sure your generous donations get into the right hands.

Operation Stand Down

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:36:02 -0600

In November 2007, the Homeless Research Institute reported that veterans make up 25 percent of the national homeless population—a shocking statistic, considering veterans only make up 11 percent of the national population. Every fall, Nashville-based Operation Stand Down, a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting homeless veterans with the community, holds an event to help these vets access medical care, employment opportunities, counseling services and a few hot meals. Unfortunately, many homeless vets are out of touch with programs set up to aid them such as social security, VA medical benefits and food stamps. Recent changes in the economy make it almost certain that more American veterans—and other people, too—are ending up on the street every day. Here at Hammock, we spend a lot of time talking to, writing about and meeting those who have served our country, since we help produce magazines for the Marine Corps League and the Army National Guard. That’s why we’re asking you to get involved with our work for Operation Stand Down. In addition to taking monetary donations, OSD accepts donations of winter clothing items like coats, hats, gloves and wool socks. If you have extra coats hanging in the closet that you’re interested in donating, we’ll do the work for you: Just drop them off to us 3322 West End Ave., Suite 700, and we’ll make sure they get into the right hands. Or bring them by the event Oct. 17–19, at a location to be announced.

Oh Pshaw!

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:31:57 -0600

The Hammock spelling bee team swapped paint with 10 other great teams in the 15th Annual NALC Spelling Bee on Sept. 9, and, after sustaining some sheet metal damage, finished out of the money for the first time in 4 years. The evening's theme was NASCAR, so the track was littered with racing terms. Hammock ran into trouble on the word "monocoque," literally "single shell," which is a term used in auto and other kinds of design. We overcorrected by spelling it "monococque," and spun out in the "chicane," another racing word we heard last night. A non-racing word that quickly became the most-uttered term of the evening was "Pshaw," a somewhat archaic interjection that was more polite to say as teams fell by the wayside than what most of us were thinking. The winner of the evening was the law firm of Neal & Harwell, who ran neck and neck with Davis-Kidd Booksellers until nosing ahead on the word "inchoate." They sealed their victory by correctly spelling "shibboleth." Beemasters were author Ann Patchett and her husband, Karl Vandevender. Both of them struggled at times with pronunciations and joshed with each other throughout the event, which was entertaining—when it wasn't distracting. Hammock congratulates Neal & Harwell on their victory, but cautions them not to get too attached to the traveling trophy. We'll be back next year to reclaim it.

Spellers, Start Your Engines

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:46:24 -0600

Megan, Jamie and Bill regained the championship trophy at last year's NALC Spelling Bee (where the theme was, obviously, pirates).

It's spelling bee time again, and Bill, Jamie and I are gearing up to reprise our roles from last year on Hammock's winning team. The 15th Annual Nashville Area Literacy Council's Spelling Bee takes place Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Nashville Public Library, so if you're in the area stop by to cheer us on! This year's theme is NASCAR, so I'm guessing we'll see some dueling No. 8 and No. 24 t-shirts—and hopefully some stick-on mustaches, too. But besides planning our costumes, Bill, Jamie and I (ok, mostly I) have some studying to do to ensure the checkered flag is lowered first for us. Because if we win, Jamie has promised to take a victory lap around the library garage. But I bet we could convince her to do a burnout, too.

Squashing Some Litter Bugs

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:55:49 -0600

Led by the intrepid Barbara Mathieson, who is serving a two-year term on the Metro Nashville Beautification and Environment Commission, a few hardy Team Hammockites trekked to western Davidson County, Tenn., on Saturday to do our part for the Great American Clean Up. In addition to filling piles of garbage bags with fast food debris, bottles, cans, cigarette butts and other gross litter, we also braved the snaky banks of the Harpeth River to properly dispose of a couple of realty signs. (Who hurls signs off a bridge?) Join us for next year's "Keep Nashville Clean and Beautiful" project--it's a dirty job, but we promise lots of laughs.

Great American Clean Up

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:17:35 -0600

Each year between March 1 and May 31, Keep American Beautiful sponsors the Great American Clean Up to encourage community involvement in keeping America Beautiful. According to the kab.org website:

In 2007, Great American Cleanup volunteers collected 200 million pounds of litter and debris; planted 4.6 million trees, flowers and bulbs; cleaned 178,000 miles or roads, streets and highways; and diverted more than 70.6 million plastic (PET) bottles and more than 2.2 million scrap tires from the waste stream.

This Saturday, May 17, some of us from Hammock Inc. have volunteered to clean up along McCrory Lane and Charlotte Pike in western Davidson County.

Team Hammock's CM Marathon Wrap-Up

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:52:14 -0600

Team Hammock at the
Country Music Marathon.
[Flickr set]

Team Hammock enjoyed its first try at the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon Saturday morning. The rain cleared in time for the start, and it stayed cool. We had a blast. We raised a little money, lowered our resting heart rates over the time of training, enjoyed a course-side tent experience (Thanks, Carrie!) and had some fun. We really appreciated our friends who joined us by donating money, running with us or cheering us on. First of all, thanks to our contributors. You've made great teammates. Thanks to your generosity and to our matches, we are donating $1,600 to four worthy organizations. We will contribute $450 each to the Nashville Adult Literacy Council, Nashville Zoo and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. We've also made a $250 donation to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee on behalf of the law firm of Salas & Slocum, who graciously allowed us to set up our tent on their parking lot (and only made us sign a one-page waiver). Hammock had nine walkers and runners make it across the finish line. We may hold the distinction of the longest-travelling half-marathoner of the day. Patrick Ragsdale, who planned to run the full marathon, was nursing a foot injury that was nagging him all week. Patrick made it to 16, then turned back and finished on the half marathon course. If you're counting, that's a 23-mile run. And yes, Patrick is on crutches today. Check out this Flickr set of our photos from Race Day. Our Team Hammock race tent was a welcome sight near mile 8 on the course. Those were our handsome red balloons flying over Music Row. Next year, look for the Hammock blimp.

A 'rex-cam' view
of the race.

Rex took the time to capture the experience of running in this phenomenal event with his hand-held high-def video camera. Check it out here. More than 30,000 people were registered participants, and it seems like half of Nashville turned out to cheer on the runners. The energy of the whole day makes me proud to have this great an event in my adopted hometown. I've been a participant in other major races around the country. I'm not sure there is a better one than ours. Stay tuned to other Team Hammock events. I'll blog more about what we're doing next. We're committed to more than just running. We're trying to integrate our work and our passions with our work in utilizing all the tools of social media to reach goals. Let us know how Team Hammock can work for you. Later: Thanks to Lynne Boyer for shooting some video of the Team Hammock Spirit Squad.

Team Hammock visits the Country Music Marathon Expo

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:48:10 -0600

If you don't mind getting dizzy watching Rex's random camera-work, you can sense how much fun Team Hammock is having preparing for its first big event in this video from the Country Music Marathon Expo:

Come Join Us Race Day

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:25:50 -0600

View Larger Map

First of all, thank you to all of you who made contributions to the team. We're on track to donate more than $1,000 as of today. We will be matching contributions you've made with matches up to $250 from Hammock to the Nashville Adult Literacy Council, Nashville Zoo, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. We will also be making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee fon behalf of Salas & Slocum, who are donating their front yard for our tent set-up. Thanks again for participating with us in this winning effort to help out some well-deserving organizations. We'd love to see you on race day. If you are running, look for us around mile 8, to your left on 16th Avenue (Music Row headed toward the Roundabout) in the parking lot in front of the law firm of Salas & Slocum. There, rising above Music Row will be a pavilion festooned with Hammock balloons. We'll offer a big "Hooah" or "Oorah" to you when you pass us by.

Special parking instructions: During the race, 16th & 17th Aves. are closed so park to the east or west of those streets.

Underneath our Team Hammock tent will be a table groaning under the weight of a spread of breakfast savories and assorted morning beverages. If you are watching the race, come by and watch it with us and enjoy what we'll have to share. No word as to whether the reunited Led Zeppelin will appear for this event at our tent. I think at this late date, it's unlikely. But we'll have music and it will be appropriate for kids of all ages. If you are somewhere else on the course, look for our team members wearing the home white uniforms of Team Hammock and cheer for us. Representing Team Hammock from Gallatin, TN Patrick "the Hometown Kid" Ragsdale; Winchester, TN's Barbara Mathieson; Hailing from Phenix City, AL, Rex Hammock; from Aberdeen, MS, Kerri Davis; from Montevallo, AL, Jamie Roberts; the pride of Paintsville, KY, Lena Anthony; Columbia, Ohio's own Megan Pacella; Barbara Logan from Memphis, TN; and John Lavey from Annandale, VA. Everybody be safe and have a good time. Bonus link: Here is a Google Maps "Street View" of approximately where the Team Hammock tent will be. We hope to see you there Saturday morning.
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Raising Money and Counting Down

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:47:42 -0600

A week into our fundraising efforts, Team Hammock has raised more than $600 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council and the Nashville Zoo. Thank you to our supporters! We will continue to accept donations until the Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon race day on April 26. We're happy to report the team is injury-free. Patrick R’s training is going so well (he ran 17 miles on Sunday), he announced that he’s ready to run the full marathon. Go, Patrick! Over the weekend Barbara M. ran the first nine miles of the course to avoid any surprises on race day. Her words of wisdom: Be ready for the hills of Battlefield and Belmont. Lena ran 12 miles, Megan P. walked seven miles and Kerri walked 8 miles on Saturday. Jamie squeezed in training of her own during an eight-mile hike (with a not-so-light backpack) through Frozen Head State Park. Despite their training regimens being sidetracked in March, both Rex and Barbara L. —finished eight-mile runs this weekend and are back on track. This week some members of the team will squeeze in one final long run or walk before they begin to taper down the miles and begin resting up for the big day. Join us on race day for snacks and to cheer on the runners and walkers at the Team Hammock station at 1611 16th Avenue South. We’ll be there from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m

Running for Kids, Adults and Animals

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:18:49 -0600

Team Hammock is entering the homestretch of its training programs. Our nine runners and walkers are ready for April 26, and sharing their training successes, and setbacks. Our runners are up in the double digit range on their long runs.

Rex can often be seen on mornings at the entrance to Percy Warner Park carrying a section of telephone pole up the steps to the road. My own training is going OK (I've had better years of running training) but I'm hopeful that my summer buzz cut provides me the aerodynamic assistance I'll need a month from now. We have unveiled our plans to use this experience to give back to a couple of charities that we are involved with as a company, and as individuals. We are offering you a way to join our team if you'd like, and even get one of those super cool technologically advanced shirts you can use to run in, or else, just look sporty. Join our team and run with our uniform for the race, or just join us in spirit and make a donation. We'll make the donation on your behalf and power it up by matching dollars. If you want to spectate, I'll share details of where we'll be on race day with food, drinks and fun, next week.

Training ideas, Race day planning...

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:51:03 -0600

Seven weeks and counting till the Country Music 1/2 marathon and your coach, (that's me) is behind in his training. I suffered a sledding injury to my tailbone on Saturday. I'll be ready but my mileage is a little bit lower than I'd like right now. My teammates seem to be in full gear. Barbara M. ran 10 miles this weekend. Kerri walked 7.5 miles. We are finalizing a couple of items about the race day (Saturday, April 26). Number one, we expect to have a Kintera site up shortly so we can raise some money from friends and family, as well as make our own corporate donations. We will make it possible for donors to choose from among several worthy causes when they make a donation. Here's a small advertising note for Kintera. If you've never used Kintera as a part of a not-for-profit raising money, or never seen this easy-to-use technology, you need to check it out. Also, we are finalizing the location of the Team Hammock hospitality tent. We will have a place to go and spectate, support the runners, eat food, drink coffee and other beverages, and enjoy what has become like another holiday weekend in Nashville. Stand by for the details. I promise this will be the place to be course-side.

There are other races that occur before the 1/2 marathon. A new one that takes place in my neck of the woods, and near Hammock's offices is the Richland Creek Run, a 5-mile run to support Greenways for Nashville, held Saturday, April 5 at 8 a.m. The race begins outside Cohn Adult Learning Center, also home to the Nashville Adult Literacy Council, an organization that will be one of the beneficiaries of Team Hammock's Country Music 1/2 marathon's fundraising. The race makes its way through Sylvan Park and onto the Richland Creek greenway. Hammock's own Lena Basha serves as a board member for NALC. The Richland Creek Run is a great tune-up for the 1/2 marathon. And, as someone who observes these things, I think they have the best t-shirt of any race around. Good luck in your training.

Why Do People Run Like That?

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:19:32 -0600

As I ran past a group of youngsters waiting for the bus in my neighborhood this morning, I heard a child ask, "Why do people run like that?" I wasn't sure if he were talking to me or not, so I waited then called back, "to stay in shape." I run for a lot of other reasons. I love the runner's high. I love sweating, when I am running. I feel cleansed by it. I run because for so many years, I couldn't run. Although I enjoyed walking and cycling, I just didn't feel as great as I do when I run. Why do you run?

10 Weeks Until the Country Music Marathon

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:43:36 -0600

The Country Music Marathon is 10 weeks from tomorrow. Our runners and walkers at Hammock have entered the critical 10 weeks till race day stretch. We have a couple people on and just off IR right now (Barbara L. on, Patrick R. back in the game) and others who are just cranking up their training (yours truly among them). We have plans for our Team Hammock Spirit Station (we'll keep you posted), and the ever-important after-party. I'm checking to see how much Led Zeppelin will charge to play again for the after-party. I think that would be really a cool thing. As the player/coach for Hammock's Country Music Marathon team (think Will Ferrell in the soon-to-be-released movie Semi-Pro), I thought I'd pass along a couple of tips I've learned from my years of being a running geek. As I am neither a sports trainer, nor a physician, I will stick to general principles and link to real experts. 1. Can I start training now? Yes. With a couple caveats. I would dissuade anyone from starting now and running your first half-marathon, but for joggers and regular runners, the schedule on a couple of the below sites can get you fit enough to run in 10 weeks. Or, just walk it. Most training regimens for the half marathon are around 16-17 weeks. Marathon Rookie is one I'd heard of, and probably the gold standard for beginners is(Jeff Galloway's) method. There are plenty of others. I actually googled "10-week 1/2 marathon training" this morning and found a link to a local runner who has a site called Pet Peeving. He has a 10-week schedule that assumes a base of running already, and is focused on him finishing the Country Music Marathon. Ben (he's also a marketing guy who is studying the idea of pet peeves in marketing) we wish you well. His site is based on the principles of Marathon Rookie. 2. Register for the race at http://www.cmmarathon.com. Do it now. This thing is not exactly Hannah Montana ticket popularity, but it's a big deal. 3. Have good enough shoes to train and race in. I like Team Nashville because owners Terry and Robert are serious about running and it reminds me of running stores like Moss Brown and Co. that I grew up with in Georgetown, that emerged in the aftermath of the jogging boom of the 1970s. Talk to them about training. There are places that will x-ray your feet. This gives some people great comfort. I think it's a bit gimmicky. Note about Team Nashville, they don't sell Nikes and some other brands of shoes. They don't talk about Nikes and some other brands of shoes. You can ask them why, but I've never dared. If you aren't in Nashville, find a good store. Stores that have stuff piled everywhere and aren't overly slick are likely a good store. Stores with teenagers that are wearing fake athletic uniforms may not be good at helping you choose shoes. 4. Don't stress out. As important as mileage is rest from running, sleep, good eating. Basically live your life. If you can work up to running 10 miles or running/walking 10 miles before the race by yourself or with a friend, you can finish 13.1 miles with 22,000 other people around you and your friends and neighbors cheering you on. 5. The Country Music Marathon is a first-class event. It's fun to race. It's also fun to watch. I've watched it many times, and am amazed at how great a time it can be. Team Hammock will be as focused on the off-course events as the on-course events. 6. Do some good with it. You can harness your training to raise some money. At Team Hammock, we are assembling an online tool that will allow us to raise some money for causes we support. There are plenty of good ones out there. 7. Don't run through injuries. Seriously. At this stage of your life, Coach isn't going to play you because you're gutting it out. Orthopedic surgery is expensive. Soreness is to be expected. Pain and suffering isn't. It's better to err on the side of being smart. Don't think other people care if you aren't training. If you really get hurt, you're always welcome at the Hammock Spirit Station. 8. Have fun.

Da Zoo Run Run Run, Da Zoo Run Run

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:07:46 -0600

The Nashville Zoo's 5K Run on Jan. 26 was chilly, but fun and a personally important moment, reports Barbara Mathieson, our production director, who was an avid runner for many years and is working toward running the Nashville Marathon later this year: "This afternoon, I completed the Zoo Run Run 5K (3.1 mi) in 30:14 minutes, a 9:47 min. pace of which I’m pleased. My weekly long run has been 4 mi. I’m aiming for five miles this week to keep building toward the half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles. Not bad for someone whose orthopedic surgeon said seven years ago, “You’ll never run again. Forget about it.”