The Pink Crawl Continues

So we're two official bars into the pub crawl, but there was that guerrilla check at the train station...so I guess that means I'm overdue for an update!

Guerrilla Beer Check- Melting Pot
Bar Check 1- O'Neill's Pub
Bar Check 2- Moon's Family Pub

Pictures!

SVH3 Pink Pub Crawl

I solemnly swear I am up to no good. IT'S THE SILICON VALLEY HASH HOUSE HARRIERS PINK PUB CRAWL!!!!

From here on out, following the La Roja Amber I just chugged, these post will get progressively more ridiculous. Here's photos of the train ride!

How to Deal with Runner's Knee

I remember the first time Runner's Knee paid me a visit- It was the year 2000. I was but a young lass struggling to make varsity on my high school cross country team. We had reached our turn around point about four-and-a-half miles into the trail when my knee began to twinge. Within a half mile that twinge had turned from mildly annoying to a searing "oh-my-god-what-the-hell"; it felt as if a little dwarf was inside my kneecap pickaxing away for diamonds.

Artist's rendering.

Runner's Knee sucks; it is something almost every runner is going to have to deal with at some point. Running through it can cause further injury and really the only cure (if you are the type who refuses to change shoes and form) is ice, ice, rest and ice. Now, most of us have read Born to Run, and it is fantastic; but personally I am not interested in barefoot running, especially on the streets of San Francisco; I fall into the type of person who refuses to change her shoes out thus spending time on the couch giving my knee frostbite. In that time, I've started to notice a trend in how recovery plays itself out:

1. Stubbornly run through it. Now, I don't necessarily advise that this is your first course of action, but if you must run through the searing pain, at least be smart about it- grab a knee brace or tape up, take it at least a little easy and for Ryan Hall's Sake, ice after you run! All of these can be accomplished during a 10.2mi run from the Ferry Building to Sausalito. In fact, there happen to be several bars along the way that will gladly let you sit and ice your knee with a cold beer. And by "ice your knee" I mean "drink a Racer 5 and talk about how great the weather is".

2. Stubbornly run through it while looking like an idiot. When my knee started annoying me this time around I ignored it at first, then stubbornly ran through it and then stubbornly ran through it looking like an idiot. Imagine if you will the Tin Man trying to run down a hill having just run out of lubricant for his left leg- that is basically what it looked like. This weird hobbling mass moving fairly quickly, half her body in perfect running form and the other half looking like her leg had been replaced by a plank of wood. There's only one word for this, "Graceful." 

3. Admit defeat and prop that leg up. Look, there's no shame in admitting that you need to take a day off; especially when you put off going to the bathroom because your 100 year old office building has women's restrooms on the odd floors and your office is on the tenth floor and you'll be damned if you're going to ride the elevator just one floor because that is silly. 

4. Continue to admit defeat and meet friends for a drink or five. You know, maybe there's something to this whole "not running every day after work and getting to hang out with people" thing. A girl could get used to Martini Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays,Wine Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Fuck Yeah Fridays...

5. Wake-up and remember why you stopped drinking and started running. It's not like I don't drink at all, I'm a Hasher, c'mon. I just had stopped drinking from 6pm to Midnight on weekdays that end in "y", pushing off the alcohol until 7pm or so, after a nice run, and kept it on the moderate only going out a couple nights a week. There's something about that extra hour, 2-for-1 Specials, and the damage you can do to a keg in that time; it has the ability to remind you that you aren't 21 anymore, the liver is not as evil and worthy of punishment as you once thought, and drunkenly stumbling up Lombard isn't the best idea for that knee you've been trying to heal.

6. Go to the gym. Sitting on my ass drinking Tricerahops and hoovering samosas and chicken tikka masala into my mouth hasn't been doing me any favors- time to go to the gym! First thing to remember is that this gym trip isn't about dreadmill sprints or squatting half your body weight- it is about physical therapy. Drop the weight on your leg presses to 30% of your usual, or if you really want to be crazy: avoid weights on your leg all together. Runner's World and ABC Body Building have a great articles about Runner's Knee and ways to help move the recovery process along while strengthening your legs to avoid it's recurrence.

7. Ice, Rest and Recovery. Let's face it, the only true way to recovery from Runner's Knee is physical therapy focusing on strengthening the leg, icing and resting. Don't be a fool and go balls out tearing down the trail when your knee is acting up- listen to your body. Ice a couple of times a day, for about 20mins each time, take an anti-inflammatory, chill out for a week. If you've been running hard enough to get into this situation, chances are a few days out of your Asics aren't going to set you back too far; being an idiot extended this bout of knee pain for an extra five days. We're runners, we're stubborn by nature- when the body quits our brain is busy getting cattle-prodded by our hearts to push us on-on; but unless you're Oscar Pistorius pre-Valentine's Day, chances are you want your legs in tact. Honor thy knees, guys.

LA Marathon - 3/17/13

Goodness gracious have I been remiss in posting! My apologies, I hope you're all ready for another update in lackluster performance and sentimental ramblings (no seriously, it gets a little teary at the end). You are? Good; let us talk about the Los Angeles Marathon!

Now, it must be said, that the LA Marathon is pretty awesome. Inspired by the 1984 Summer Olympics, the marathon has been running for twenty-eight years and as such, these guys know how to put on a good race. The course, being A-to-Z winds down from Dodger Stadium and circle jerks you through Downtown Los Angeles before spitting you out near Echo Park. From there, you run past brunching hipsters in Silver Lake, down through Hollywood, under the steeples of Chateau Marmont, flying past of bevy of drag queens dressed as cheerleaders in lovely West Hollywood, and into the posh neighborhood of Beverly Hills where they've shut down Rodeo Drive just for the sweaty masses. From there you tackle the last hills of the course with a low grind through Century City, Westwood and the VA on Sawtelle where the LAH3 Mile 20.5 Beer Check stands like an oasis! From there, it's an easy jog own San Vicente where you, as one woman shouted, "run until you hit the ocean and turn left."

Being from the Southern California area I can say with full confidence that the LA Marathon shows you

some of the best parts of the city. Sure, they leave out Pasadena, Alta Dena, Culver City, Venice and a few other awesome Los Angelean spots, but the ground they cover is pretty fantastic.

While the majority of the runner were lacking the basics of running etiquette (walkers right - runners left, look before you change lanes, don't stop directly in front of someone, etc.), I was continually amazed for the entirety of the 26.2 miles by the sheer number of participants out there. Every time we hit a hill it looked like the Hayes Street Hill at Bay to Breakers- mass amounts of people. People everywhere, as far as the eye could see. While I generally prefer my r*ces small and contained; or as one Harriette put it- "in a field of non-amateur runners", there is something to be said for the fact that I crossed the finish line (with a very un-impressive clock time of 5:29, Garmin time of 4:54) with dozens of other people; and by dozens I mean I was bobbing an weaving the entire last half mile to get around the mass amounts of human flesh sidling along the race course. it was nuts! So at least the amateurish spectacle of the LA Marathon guarantees that you are never alone while running, which in it's own way is rather nice; avoiding the Ghost Town and what not.

All that being said, running the streets of Los Angeles early on a Sunday morning almost felt like saying goodbye. I've been in the Bay Area for almost two years, and every trip back to Long Beach or Los Angeles reminds me that I very much so do not live there anymore. Sure, there's family, Hash Family and friends in the area, but there's also favorite restaurants that no longer exist, theatres I once frequented have been demolished and office buildings now stand in their place. It's never easy to go back to a place that your grew up in, when your roots have been so firmly set hundreds of miles away; somewhere around Mile 11, just after Head First caught up to me, I started pointing out favorite bars and telling stories about "this one time in high school we rove own to Melrose for the day" and it hit me- I'm from Los Angeles. 

As much of my childhood was tied up in the 93551 zip code, Los Angeles played an equally large part in structuring who I am and the way I see the world. Running those streets brought that message and the memories home- tagging along to my little sister's auditions in the building that now has a seven story BioShock Infinite banner hanging from it. Running through WeHo past a bar were I had far too many martinis and ended the night throwing up in bushes while Davey Havok asks a waiter to bring me water. I ran past more first date spots than I can count on two hands, an ex-boyfriends apartment, the restaurants where I had my 19th, 21st and 25th birthdays and the boutique where I purchased my dress for Senior Prom.

SoCal, and Los Angeles at the heart of it, is very much so where I am from and the LA Marathon gave me the opportunity to spend a few hours running the streets saying goodbye. A pretty awesome experience, if you ask me.

To avoid ending this write-up on an super-weepy note, here are some great highlights from the r*ce:

1. Being St. Patrick's Day, the amount of costumes on course was incredible! Mickey & Minnie Mouse were there (this being the third time I've run a marathon with the couple), numerous leprechauns, the Green Lantern (seen above) and even the LA Marathon race tee was bright green!
2. Cheering Stations! Aside from the "Wall of Cheer" at Mile 18, which turned out to just be a hundred or so pissy pre-tweens twerking on sedatives, so much of the city came out to cheer on the runners; embracing the road closures and donning costumes you could really feel the love from the locals. Good on ya, LA!
3. Beer checks! Yep, multiple. LAH3 sets up camp every year near the corner of Sawtelle and Ohio at approximately Mile 20.5 of the marathon with beer, bagels, bananas and water for the runners in need. But beyond then, around mile 24.5 in Brentwood we started seeing little printed signs reading FREE BEER which led us to a lawn party on San Vicente, with four kegs filling Solo cups for people like Head First and I. Awesome.
4. The LA/SF Challenge - introduced just before the LA Marathon last year, the LA/SF Challenge celebrates idiots like me who run three to four of these death marches a year and rewards us with a joint medal (seen in that first photo) so that we can wear all three at the same time an sound like a cw being lead out to pasture. Check this link for more information, an I hope to see you in San Francisco this June!

SFH3's Bay2Blackout

Boston has a marathon, France has a little bicycle ride, and San Francisco? Well, we've got Bay to Breakers! Going into their 102nd year, it only makes sense that the San Francisco Hashers have created an event around this historic footr*ce, and thus may I promote to you: Bay2Blackout!

Now, while I know a fair amount of you are either drunkenly laying by a pool at OCHHHs Betty Ford Rehab event, or tearing through department stores for that perfect ensemble to debut at Portland H3's Green Dress Weekend, just bear with me for a second because May is right around the corner and here's what you have to look forward to at SFH3's Bay2Blackout Weekend:

• Three days of hashy-trail goodness
• Three days of drinking yourself into a coma
• Three days of making residents of the Castro feel like they simply didn't up the ante enough on their costumes
• Three days of Hashers from around the country and the world!
• Three days of food and drink discounts at selected venues across the city
• Costumes
• Beer
• Ballbuster Trail
• Trail for Smart Hashers
• Pub Crawls
• After parties
• Pre-lubes
• Did I mention trails? Ok, good.
• Now, what about beer? Did I mention it? Because there will be so. much. beer.

Tickets are on sale now! You can register here.

If that hasn't rustled your jimmies enough into booking a flight and hotel, here's a better breakdown of events and themes:

• Friday: 
• Costumed Hash R*n- Sodomy & Gomorrah!
• Pub Crawl
• Dance Party, Dinner, and Beer!
• Saturday: 
• Costume R*n- The Beer Garden of Eden!
• Ballbuster, Trail OR Pub Crawl
• Live Music, Dinner, and Beer!
• Sunday: 
• Bay2Blackout Drunken Stumble (surprise beer & shots included)
• Theme: Noah's Other Ark (we didn't make the cut)
• Food and Beer!

OK, if you aren't excited now you should visit your physician for a cardiogram because something is terribly wrong with you.

For those of you palpitating a little more than usual right now- take a Xanax and check the links below for information regarding rego, hotels, and more!

Rego Information

SFH3 Info Page

Facebook Page

Hashpace! (Must be able to LogIn)

Just in case you're the frugal sort who doesn't think a short weekend in San Francisco will satisfy your travel needs, the local Kennels put together an entire WEEK of hashportunities to destroy your liver. Check out this line-up:

5/11 Fog City H3 - Get your day dRUNk on!
5/12 EBH3 - Brave the bridge troll and visit the East Bay!
5/13 SFH3 Tour De Franzia – Two time winner “Best Trail of the Year”
5/14 Barbary Coast H3 - Arrrr ye?
5/15 BARH3 – It’s at a bar, what more do you want?
5/16 Gypsies in the Palace H3 – Anal B2B kickoff with shiggy, Gypsies, and The Bucket!
5/17 - 5/19 Bay 2 Blackout!
5/20 SFH3 Pink Tutu R*n – Dust off your shame and grab a Tutu!

C U in San Francisco, HEEEEEEEEEY!