August Hash Report

On-On, August was a slow hash month for me as I only made it to three events. I travelled to Garwood and Short Hills, NJ to run with the NOSE (North of Seventy Eight) H3 group. I like running in north Jersey because I can usually get in a good hill workout while drinking their beer, a great combination! The hash on Thursday August 18 was a combination Summit Full Moon H3, Summit H3, and NOSE H3 effort. No Genitals and Semper Feline set a nice trail thru the streets of Garwood with a single beer stop near Unami Park. We finished the night up with the On-after at the Station Bar & Grill. The following Thursday night I headed up to Short Hills, NJ for NOSE #126 hared by Deer Bitch. Luckily he pre-layed the trail because he had to leave quickly due to an emergency. Since Deer Bitch was also to be at the beer stop we were left pondering if we were actually expected to run the entire 3-4 mile trail without beer. Luckily, Douche Brag volunteered to carry everyone’s beer in a backpack so we wouldn’t go thirsty. Disaster avoided! We had the On-after at Scotty’s Pub & Comedy Cove in Springfield, NJ.

(Beer in the backpack and ready to run)

(Modern-day petroglyph?)

 

My third and final hash for August was with MDL (McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst) H3 on Saturday 27th. My dog, Traildog Sparta, and I co-hared a 5 mile trail at our favorite place to run, historic Whites Bog, NJ. We had a small turnout of only 9 counting the 2 dogs but good nonetheless. Bragadeer General and his dog Lager Dog (aka Traildog Danny), Tin Tin, Cunning Linguist, Kojak, Just James, Just Marie, Traildog Sparta and myself. I usually live-hare the trails but on this day I chose to pre-lay it so I could man the 3 beer stops. That’s right…we had 3 beer stops on the 5 mile trail! The second beer stop was set up on what I call Beer Island; but, on this day Beer Island was under water so what to do? Set it up there anyways (picture below). Besides, the water felt great on the 90 degree day. Another memorable moment that day was that my dog Traildog Sparta earned his hash name, “Autofelatio” at the circle. He earned it because he can! Finally, the evening ended with a live concert behind the Whitesbog General Store where Full Moon Risin’ played for about 2 hours.

(Setting trail)

(Traildog Sparta suggested this section of trail)

 (True trail)

 (Shiggy section)

(Traildog Sparta also added this section of trail)

 (Beer Island was underwater)

 (We used Beer Island anyways)

 (Full Moon Risin' first set)

(Full Moon Risin' second set)

 

 

 

July: The Month of the Hashrun (aka 9 hashes in one month)

July was an amazingly fun month for me. Even though I had to work I was able to fit in 9 hashruns before heading to my house in Jamaica on the 29^th. I started the month off full speed ahead hitting 3 hashes over the Independence weekend, missing only Sunday the 3^rd. The weekend started out Friday the 1^st with a very humid nighttime hash in Mays Landing, NJ hosted by the Bimbos of Jersey Hash House Harriers (BJH3). It was hared by What What and included about 7 miles of road, bike paths and trail. There were 2 beer stops, one in the woods and the second at the Tuckahoe Brewing Company. We finished off the evening with dinner and a very competitive game of Heads Up.

(Tuckahoe Brewing Company)

The next morning What What made us a great breakfast and then the 9 of us packed up for an approximately 25+ mile Bike/Kayak/Bike Hash, known as the KYBash once again hared by What What. She laid a relatively easy trail with only a few false trails. The intent wasn’t to confuse the pack too much but rather to lead us to our true destination, Winding River Campground. There we rented kayaks and were shuttled about 6 miles upstream to a launch point. From there we leisurely paddled down the Winding River, drinking beer, singing songs, telling ridiculous stories of past hashes and playing kayak-soccer with a beach ball we had brought along. Our first stop was a rope swing some locals had installed at a deep hole. I won’t put anyone on blast; but, I will say some were better than others. Alright, I’ll admit I should have stopped after my first near-perfect swing because it went downhill fast from there. Our next stop was to have a picnic lunch at the ruins of historic Weymouth Furnace. We had all packed food and beverage in our kayaks so we had a large assortment of choices. Nobody tried my peanut butter and onion sandwiches so I had them all to myself. They just don’t know what they were missing. After lunch we finished our paddling and returned to our bikes for another 9 miles back to What What’s house. Once again she supplied us with a much appreciated feast. There are rumors of an alleged kayak hit-and-run but they have not been confirmed as of yet. Well that’s two days down, two hashes done, and on Sunday He rested.

(Getting ready for the KYBash)

 

(Kayak soccer on the Winding River)

 (Swingers!)

 (Lunch at Weymouth Furnace)

(Weymouth Furnace ruins)

Next up was Monday the 4^th when I made my first of 5 trips to north Jersey to hash with the Summit H3 and NOSE H3. NOSE stands for the area North Of Seventy Eight, as in Interstate 78. These northern excursions took me places like Millburn, Florham Park, Raritan and Boonton, NJ the night before flying to Jamaica. I really enjoyed these as the hashers were great people and the trails included some hilly trails which the area around my home lacks. Brag-a-deer General, Just Asia and I also travelled to the Jersey shore to hash with NOSE H3 on Long Beach Island. That course was mainly on road, which I hate; but, since the beer stop and last mile were both on the beach it ended much more enjoyable for me than it had started. In case I didn’t say it already, “I really hate running on pavement”. I also hared our McGuire Dix Lakehurst H3 (MDL H3) hash #4 once again in Country Lakes, NJ. This was a going away party hash for one of our 4 founders, BCD (I can’t write her hash name here and still keep this G-rated). Due to temperatures cresting 100 degree, I shortened the trail to about 5 miles and added a number of additional water crossings to my original plan. The only injury on course was when I got stung by a hornet on the forehead as I live-hared the second section. Luckily we were able to use BCD’s back yard for the final time because we were forced into her garage for the on-after party when a late afternoon severe thunderstorm rolled into Browns Mills pounding us with heavy wind, rain and hail for about a half hour. There were other great runs and lots of yoga but this July will forever be remembered by me as my Month of the Hash!

(Traildog Sparta helping me scout hash trails for MDL H3 hash #4)

(A quick refreshment break while setting trail for MDL H3 Hash #4)

 (Water crossing? No, water trail!)

 (The now famous Camp Run-a-Mok)

 (NOSE H3 hash #120, Long Beach Island, NJ)

(NOSE H3 hash #121, Florham Park, NJ)

 (NOSE H3 hash#122, Boonton, NJ)

 (Summit H3 hash #1738, Florham Park, NJ...crossing the Passaic River)

 (Summit H3 hash #1738, Florham Park, NJ...crossing the Passaic River again)

 (Overachiever-first on site for the Summit H3 hash #1742, Raritan, NJ)

 

 





A Tale of Two Hashes

I was happy to be around for the Philly Hash House Harriers (Philly H3) hash #1930 which just happened to be the annual 3Balls Birthday Hash. While there are many hashes this one is by far my favorite because it always ends with a party at 3Balls’ “Barn of Amazement”. You’ll see why I call it that from the photos below. This year’s run was held in Tyler State Park on Swamp Road in Newtown, PA. It started and finished through the Schofield Ford Covered Bridge. The trail itself was approximately 6-7 miles with plenty of false trail markings, thorn bushes, hills, river crossing, slippery rocks, and even a live band playing as our pack ran through Bucks County Community College. Alright enough of the description, check out the barn below!

We’ve started up a new hash kennel for those living around the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst area in New Jersey. April 30^th we held our inaugural event, MDL H3 hash #1, forever to be known as Brag-a-Deer General’s Birthday Hash. It also doubled as a Philly H3 event. We held the event on the trails surrounding Presidential Lakes in Browns Mills, NJ. Brag-a-Deer General and I took turns with both haring (marking) the trail as well as driving the beer sled to the beverage stops. The true trail ended up somewhere between 6-8 miles. Everyone but one found the correct way through the forest and swamps. One was lost for about an hour and had to pay a penalty (a beer shower) for the search party being sent out to find her. When all accusations and penalties had been paid, the circle closed and we headed over to Brag-a-Deer General’s house for some great food, beverage, and a sing-along around a warm fire.  

 

December 2015 (part 1): The Post-op Trail to Recovery

30Nov – 6Dec (Week 6 post-op):

Tuesday, 1Dec15: I had a great run in the rain on the Monmouth Battlefield State Park trails. I ran the Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Green trails all end-to-end. I didn’t see anyone else on the trails but I did see 5 deer. This was my first run without the knee brace and, at 5.6 miles, it was my longest outing since my operation and everything felt great.

Wednesday, 2Dec15: After yesterday’s test of my knee without the brace I chose to rest my legs and spend an hour doing yoga. I followed along with my favorite yoga DVD (Yin Yoga) by Travis Eliot which gets deep into the connective tissues by holding each stretch 3-7 minutes. This is part of the Ultimate Yogi series of DVDs. I always feel so good after doing this workout.

Thursday, 3Dec15: With my body’s great response to yesterday’s Yin Yoga session I chose to do the same tonight.

Friday, 4Dec15: I had planned to run this afternoon but my dog Sparta was sick so I stayed in with him and continued to work internally. I started with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series followed by some Pranayama (breathing) techniques and finally 20 minutes of meditation. While I still wish I had ran I do feel really good.

Saturday, 5Dec15: Sparta and I ran the Whites Bog inner 4.1 mile loop after work. This was my second run without the knee brace. Everything felt great, I think the yoga the last couple days helped. The water in the bog must be getting cold because Sparta only jumped in twice. .

Sunday, 6Dec15: Keeping with my focus this week on muscular health, I finished today off with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series and 36 Sun Salutations. This was a good week and my body truly feels good after all the yoga.

 

 

 

7-13Dec (Week 7 post-op):

Monday, 7Dec15: Took the day off, no training.

Tuesday, 8Dec15: I ran the 4.1 mile Whites Bog inner loop with my dog Sparta after dark. After returning home, I added P90X Stretch (1hr) and AB Ripper X (15min) followed by the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series, Pranayama breathing and finally some meditation. Tonight was a great night.

Wednesday, 9Dec15: Today I walked 4+ miles after work on the Lawrenceville dirt track. Then later in the evening I did 36 Sun Salutations and ended with my Ultimate Yogi Gentle Yoga DVD (1hr).

Thursday, 10Dec15: I was going to run but I was really tired so I took a nap after work and decided to just workout inside. I worked up a great sweat with my Tapout-XT Muay Thai DVD and then cooled down with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series.

Friday, 11Dec15: Today I just worked on a lot of stretching, no structured workout. I finally got to the last of the blue berries I picked this year so I added them to my peanut butter and onion sandwich for some extra flavor. I used Vermont Peanut Butter Co. chunky because it's all natural and it's made in Vermont like me so you know it's good!

Saturday, 12Dec15: This morning I ran with Ted and Diane Hardies on Black Run Preserve trails. This was my first time there. They have some great trails there consisting of single and double track as well as dirt roads and they are very well marked. After Ted and Diane left I ran on the trails and sand fields around the superfund site just south of Black Run Preserve. The trails were nice but it was the sandy fields that made me work. It was like running on the soft sand down the shore; a lot of effort for not much speed. It was a great morning. Then I got a long-needed massage in the afternoon and finished the day with an hour of Yin yoga just before bed.

Sunday, 13Dec: Today I hiked the Batona Trail leg 1 (8.1 miles) from Ong’s Hat to Pakim Pond with my kids Asia and Kriss and our dogs Sparta and Honda. While I have ran this many times it was the first time I had ever slowed down to hike it. It was a nice change of pace and a great time for the family to bond. This was Kriss’s first time on the trail and Asia’s third time on this section. The trail was mostly dry and the unseasonably warm weather felt great at nearly 70 degrees. I don’t imagine it will be anywhere near that warm when we hike the next sections.