Hard Core Hash

I made a resolution in 2011 to run 12 events that I have never run before, so today's Hard Core Hash was perfect. The only other Hash I participated in was the Freezing Cold Hash in Edison and wanted to try a Princeton hash house harrier event. Races are scarce in January & February so when I came across this one, I figured I would jump in and join fellow RVRR runner, Mark Strawn.

Hashes are not really races, but more of social events with some drinking along the way. The meeting spot was the intersection of Agress Road and Rising Sun Tavern Road in Millstone, NJ. The hash was to start at noon, but I hear most hashes don't start on time, mainly because we are drinking before hand. This was a small intimate hash with 17 hounds, one hare (Mark Covitz), and Max a very friendly pooch.

We hit the roads at 12:26 and into the snowy woods we went. There was some running, but we all soon realized that knee high snow was not conducive to jogging. The hare set out a good course through the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area with plenty of hills. I would like to see this course in the spring because it must truly be beautiful. Tough to see the beauty with 2 feet of snow.

We hit the first beer stop after 45 minutes of slogging thru the snow. Not sure how they got a case of Coors in the middle of a 6300 acre preserve, but it tasted great and less filling, ooops wrong beer.

My running shoes and socks were soaked at this point, but not cold so another 20 minutes of running would be fine. I decided along with Mark and a few others to take the long way back to the start. The rest of the course was not marked so we followed the hare back, which took a lot longer than I anticipated. We did some running, but it was getting harder so it turned into a snowy hike. My thighs were starting to get tired, but I knew we getting close to the finish.

Met up with every one at the finish and enjoyed a few beers and lots of pretzels. These guys and gals were a great bunch of folks and I am sure I will hash again with them.

Got home and took a 45 minute nap because I was beat despite the 16 oz Wawa coffee. I woke up to make my Stromboli, but I won't go into it because it turned out bad. It tasted good but had no bottom because it exploded in the oven. I need to work on my stromboli more often.

On-on fellow runners. Looking for a few good races in February as well as a few new running friends.

Short Ribs & Snowshoes

Snowstorm #4 was in the process of dumping another 17 inches on South Brunswick so I decided to make a slow cooker hearty meal for the family. I came across this Guinness Short Rib recipe in a recent issue of Men's Health. It looked really good so I knew I wanted to try it.

The snow started coming down at 6:30 am on Wednesday and according to the weather folks, it wasn't going to stop until Thursday, so I needed to get out of the house to buy the ribs and Guinness. I am not a huge Guinness drinker but I like to drink it every so often and I don't usually have it in the house. My only concern was that Glendale Liquors wasn't open until 10am. I left at 8:45am and once I left the house to get the ribs, I wasn't planning on going out again. I didn't think the roads were going to be bad so early, but I was wrong. Once I get a recipe in my head, I have to make it, so I needed to get everything in one shot.

I got the ribs, then headed over to the liquor store to get the Guinness. The recipe would only take 4 hours in the slow cooker so I didn't need to do anything for a few hours. I got some work done then headed out to shovel and plow.

At 2pm I began prepping the dinner. I browned the ribs and cut the veggies and threw everything in the crock pot.

While that was slowly cooking, I decided to go snowshoeing. I tried it last week and it was fun. I did about 2 miles on the shoes which felt like 4 miles with my Brooks. This time I was planning on going out for 30 minutes through the woods behind my house. There are some good trails and it leads to Woodlot Park.

I headed out the door and through my yard and began running. It had stopped snowing briefly and the sun was out so I though it would fun. This time around it was much more difficult. The snow was so deep that I really had to pick up my feet and the snow was flying all over my legs and ass. I did this for about 6 minutes and decided just to hike. I was mildly disappointed, but I just started using the snowshoes so I have to work out the kinks. I hiked for about 20 minutes and returned home before it got dark. I was hoping to see some deer but that never happened.

Dinner was ready at 7pm and Leigh, Mike, Ro and I enjoyed the short ribs. I also made some polenta and biscuits to go with it. I think they all enjoyed it. Leigh and I also shared a Guinness with the dinner.

Freezing Cold Hash - Edison, NJ

Ahhh the Freezing Cold Hash. I am not much of a hasher but I do like this one. Ken Vercammen is the organizer of this annual event and puts on a good show which he does much of it by himself. This year it was particularly difficult because he was coming off knee surgery and was limited to how much running around he could do. He got a lot help from fellow runners like Mike W, Dan Fabrizio, Jim, Chris (bartenders), Charlotte and SueAnn and Brian Borden.

If you are not familiar with a hash, it is not really a run but a gathering of folks. Some bullet points on hashing

• To promote physical fitness among our members
• To get rid of weekend hangovers
• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
• To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

The Freezing Cold Hash starts at the Law Office of Ken Vercammen. There is lots of drinking before, during and afterwards. There is an official bartender and he was mixing margarita's in a blender that probably hasn't been cleaned out from the previous hash run.

The run also starts at a weird time, 10:17, which I am not sure the reason for that. Before heading out we all take a group photo in front of the office. This year Ken had the largest crowd by far. There had to be over 200 hashers.

Off we went through some one's backyard and into an open field. The course is laid out that morning and there are false turns to throw us hashers off. I was running with good friends Taugh Lynch, Tommy Ryan and Brennan Davis. I also knew the guys & gals from RVRR. Everyone seems to go there own way and when you find the right direction you yell, on-on to let people know you have found the way.

Taugh and I got split up from Tommy and Brennan and we ended up running with Janet (Taugh's friend) Lianne and a few others. We were confused and kept running into Pizza Box girl, who was dressed up like a pizza slice including an old pizza box attached to her. There were lots of folks dressed strangely.

After running up and down through some of the superfund sites of Edison we finally found the correct trail but we had to hop a 5 foot barbed wire fence. Not really my idea of fun, but luckily there was a snow pile on the other side.

I think we were the last 6 back to Ken's office. No food or beer left so we headed to the Green Derby. This is a dive bar across from Ken's office. Place is actually a lot of fun. The crowd in the bar was huge and festive.

Ken gives out awards and not the categories you would image. Best smile, Miss congeniality, banana eating and special talent.


I hope to do a few other hash runs this year to get a different take on it.

Hamilton Hangover 5 Mile Run

After a great night out with the wife in New Brunswick for New Year's eve, I wasn't planning on racing today after I found out the Westfield race was canceled. I had a few martinis and woke up a little sluggish, but by 10:30 I was feeling better and now wanted to run a race. The only choice was the Hamilton race at 12:30.

I got myself together and off I went to the race. One of my running resolutions is to run races in 2011 with friends and not go to races alone, but here I was going to my first race alone. I did run into Eric Davis which is always a pleasure. He is a great runner and a good person. Another resolution is to run at least 12 new races in and around NJ.

The 5 miler was changed to a 5K due to the snow conditions which was bit disappointing but not really a big deal. The crowd was larger than usual since the only other New years races were Hillsborough (no race day entries) and Westfield which was canceled due to poor park conditions (pussies).

I wasn't planning on running hard so I positioned myself behind the front runners knowing full well I would get off to a slow start. My first mile was 7:40 but that was only because it took a while to get over the start line. I ran my 2nd & 3rd miles in 6:52 which felt good. I finished in 22:04 which was fine for me.

Next up is the always fun Freezing Cold Hash.