Mount Nuang: Muddy trails

The peak..

It was muddy to the point of quick sand at certain sections after false peak..

some injury...

It's been ages since I've been up the peak. With TNF looming, I think it would be a good idea to do some runs up.

Arrived there around 8:30am before heading up at 8:40. There was KC's group going up as well, as part of their Kinabalu Climbathon, who had left 30min earlier.

With some consistent running uphills, I managed to reach the 1st waterfalls around 30min, then it's up to Camp Lolo, and soon it's heading up the muddy path towards Camp Pacat. Managed to reach Pacat at 1:20. KC and his earlier gang was there. I actually passed by Jason thiang before Pacat.

Then it was the almost vertical section where one have to use all fours to haul yourselves up. I found myself panting and really out of breath. Thank god I am not doing kinabalu, because the whole race up is basically pushing at what your heart can't tolerate for 2.5 hours!

Once i reached the false peak, I gulped down a powergel. I was abit worried, as I had only that for food. Just before reaching the real peak, bump with the Edwin (part of KC's gang) who was going downhill.

Reached the peak at 2:14. Sat down for awhile, then after 5 minutes it was back on the trails. Now the hard part is really the muddy and slippery path. I almost fell a few times. Scrapped my shin against some protruding root. The rocks were sharp and slippery, unlike clear trails like FRIM.

I tried to move fast enough, but my legs weren't working Running was reduced to jogging. Once i reached the first waterfall, it's another 4km. Tried running, but lack of energy is making me more delirious.

Finally reaching carpark after 3:46. It was my best PB from 4:15. But I think it wasn't the best of run. I could do faster if I had enough food, or fit enough to tackle the technicalities of moving fast. Instability was a major problem.

GPS route up

GPS route down

Bukit Hatamas Trails

Entry point..

That's bukit ketumbar...another one of my favourite lung busting steep trail.

Nice petite waterfall...

Thank god for these...

Don't let Pak Mo (Mahmud Taib) near this log...

Really? How nice...

This is overlooking the MRR2

Yes...some parts is 70 degrees...

Glad to make it out...

I knew about this trails just around my backyard, but not really having the motivation to check it out. Since TNF singapore is near, trails is a must for training.

So last Sunday, I decided to see if there's anything exciting about it. Bukit Hatamas can be conjured up as a valley of houses nested in between hills, and has quite a view. The hills to the east is actually hutan simpanan selangor.

View Larger Map

I didn't really know the entry point, so had to hike up an exposed slope, which then further connects into the main route. Now, the route really looks well established with some occassional hikers and lots of paper indicator thrown out by hashers. Since it's a hilly area, not all routes are runnable, but the downhill is exciting.

There seems to be checkpoints with tents where hikers gather for chat & rest. I decided to take the rightmost turn from these checkpoints and see where this leads to. Luckily I brought my HTC phone which has GPS. Once in awhile I would checkout my location just to know the directions.

After awhile I stumbled upon a clearing, apparently private property, and I soon realize i was looking at Venice Condo at the back. There were a pack of dogs guarding, so it's backtracking now. Then there's a small waterfall, and the route becomes wilder. All I was depending on was the old discarded hash markers.

Soon, I was at the top of a hill checkpoint, and then downwards, until I finally exited somewhere further north from my entry point.

I would say, it's a pretty nice place for some outdoor trail running/hiking. Further googling reveals there's another entry point (which is much popular) near Taman Cuepacs, which is not far from where I started. And this route actually goes much further in the north east direction.

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I've finally got selected for TNF 100km solo. Now, actually I am not pretty daunted by the distance. The distance is doable, based on my past experience in MR 25 last year. Question is, how fast I could run this.

Here's some tips for trails. Focus on fore foot landing. If you notice, during trails running, forefoot landing provides the best balance and quick maneuver. Trails are filled with roots, rocks, soft mud, which requires quick reflexes and ability to hold a grip, while you transfer your movement foreward.

Now running uphill will be tough, so if you can't run, then powerwalk. Some parts are really just too steep to run.

Another main thing to train is your core and upper body. Note that road running is really just using the same set of running muscles but not much on the upper body, while trails force you to do things like jumping, docking and sometimes using your hands to pull your body up.

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I can't really run for now, since fasting obligations. So, it's mainly trails for 20-30 minutes and upper body strength training.

PD Triathlon 2010: Not Ready

Swim was slow...

Coming out for the bike leg.

Run...

Yes, if there's any description with this race, it's not ready to race. I've slacked on training. Reasons are many, partly work and less interest in doing Tris. But I did add some intensity training during runs, and also devised new ways for swimming, which mainly focus on technical efficiency rather than more power. As for going the distance, not that many workouts.

The swim initially had me gasping for air. Felt kind of weak and lacking of strength. As usual, traffic was blocked by breast stroke swimmers, and it's not easy to navigate. Once got kicked in the mouth, but realizing we are all in this big soup, it's nothing to get angry about. Time exit from the water was 28.5min.

Ran to the bike transition, and it's off. Now it's guessing time to see if I still got the legs. Yes, I am not even ready to bike TT mode cause I haven't been doing much training in TT mode. Roadie mode, I've got plenty from riding across KL, but that's different. But I was glad when I could still push 40 above going solo for the first few KM, when the fast riders were closing in.

The usual suspects were to be seen, Simon Cross one of them. He was so fast on the uphill, with a few other fellows, that I had no guts to chase him down.

Then another huge group with Leanord Lim came by, and we are much stuck until the end of the bike course. The peloton was fast and almost everyone did their job pulling.

As I turned into the road for the bike transition, the guy in front crashed into the bushes while trying to unclip. Just hope he's ok, if not bruised.

Went back to park the bike, and grabbed a gel to gulp down while running. I was merely holding in around 80%, while thinking if I should put it all out. Saw Simon on the way back from the turn around, and he was as usual fast as lightning.

At the turnaround it was 21 minutes, which was kind of odd, cause I don't think I could run this fast. But it gave some hope if I could double that for the run. So that was that, and I quickly put the pace up to finish in 2:19:46 in 17th place age grouper.

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There's still a lot of work to be done. But one thing that I didn't regret was intensity training. I could at least sustain speed & power while not going bonkers. The one thing that you need is to maintain power output based on your cardio intensity, and not allowing that to fluctuate too much. So if you've done your homework in intensity training, naturally you could hold it longer.

PD Prelude

Beautiful sunday on PD

Broga ride group pic..

Julie was pretty fast. First time I saw her on this bike.

I am riding a Cervelo...with sandals. Now who needs carbon soles?

PD tri is coming and I don't feel much prepared in terms of training. Broga ride on saturday was marred with both tubulars having slow leak. It actually happened just before the peres climb. Thanks for Ishal's pump, I thought the tyres could last this ride.

Then just before klawang, the front tubular went full blast puncture. Had to changed that one with a new one; lucky for bringing a spare.

Broga was hot. Had to keep on rehydrating. Once tekala, I decided to call it a day and hitch a ride from Adli to home. Managed to crank only 138km.

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There was a Tri clinic going on Sunday (got the news from julie). I didn't actually want to cycle...swim and run would be enough. However, the option of getting some cycling training done came, with a bike borrowed from Uncle chan...

For the swim, it was 600m out and back in a straight line. Kayaks and boat were there to guide us. And the water was pretty clear and not choppy.

Cycling is more like cruising, and sometimes pushing it. Can't really pushed anyway with sandals on.

Running? I think I did 2km....too lazy to run the full distance.

Being here without the usual Tri atmosphere was real pleasing. Quiet, calm and tranquile.

Sometimes you wonder why the need to push our bodies. Ralph Dixon was there as well, and here's what he said about Marathon Des Sables this year, "You suffer for 6 months training, then you suffer another 7 days", and when asked would he do it again, it's a positive no.

I drove home finding the answer, and I think it lies with our inner desire to go beyond what we can comprehend. There was one thing I didn't mentioned after 5 days ride of 1200km. The aftermath is a feeling of hollowness. You feel your body is there, but your soul feels like it can seep out anytime. It's as if time has sped forward, and you had aged to 100. Perpetual fatigue that only makes you want to lie down and sleep.

And that went on for 2 to 3 days, before your senses normalize.

It's not something that everyone would like, but then the ones who does this are not many as well.

There are no limits

Enlarge

There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.

Sundown Ultramarathon 84km 2010: Sub 10

Before the run...

Passing Teh poh chye...

Sitting down at east coast park during the 2nd loop.





Finally finishing the race...

This year, the starting venue shifted from Changi Village to a bigger location. I was having trouble understanding the map until we actually reached there. Many of us were running. Choi, Kash, Haza, Richard Tang, Frank, Tey and I choosed the 84km while the others, marathon and half.

I had done the first sundown, which wasn't a pleasant experience. I'd just hope that this time I could run faster and having less cramps.

The race for ultras started at 6pm. All I was carrying is a powerbar and money. I think that would suffice. Was surprised to see Freddy and Melvin Lee (whom I met at RRS 2010). And seems like Adrian Mok was also running.

The horn blew, and we were all sent running. Drums were beating making us feeling good about it. But I knew it's going to be a long long time before coming back here. Managed to passed by Teh Poh Chye after 2km. But the fast ones were already far far ahead. I was just trying to get a good pace. Not too fast, and not too slow.

The distance is so far, you can't possibly risked it by pushing above what you're comfortable with. The cramps in my first sundown thought me that.

We ran along the changi airport for around 8k before hitting East Coast Park, which I admit was better that the boring and straight road. I managed to reached the u-turn after 21km in a time of 1:56. Then it was heading back from where we ran from. Didn't really like the path here because of the concrete pavement. So I tried to run on grass and on the other side instead. After 33km, I made a rough calculation, and looks like I could reach the marathon mark in less than 4 hours. So it was running a tad faster until the end of the first loop. Did the marathon in 3:59.

As I went into the transition tent, I noticed many had actually completed the first loop as well. Shows that these folks are pretty strong runners. Then went on to have a bread with honey, some raisins, went to the loo, and then was out in 8 minutes. As I exited the marshall asked "Are you ready for the next loop?".. That sounds odd,...it's not like I have a choice :)

So, on and on I ran on the same route again. By this time, it's the fatigue that's kicking in. The drink stations only provided water and 100plus, which was not pretty digestible. So, my motivation was, reaching East coast park and gulping some iced milo. But this time, I ran slower. Rather than killing myself pushing, I would just take this easy.

Glad to meet some volunteers at the park. One gave an iced coffee, which was fantastic. Lynette was there as well and had brought a milo. Managed to bump into Henry Yong, whom I met during MR25 and RRS.

Now, problems starting to crop up. There was chaffing in between the legs, so that was painful, but one that I could tolerate. Then there was the gut problem, which probably came after I had an ice cream at 34km mark. Didn't run too well for the last few k. With 2km to go, Alaw Law passed me. I tried to to run...but was on the verge of puking. So I walk the remainder until the last few hundred meters. Finished it with the time of 9:50.

Well, it wasn't good feeling afterwards either. I found myself puking a few times. Reminded of my Ironman this year.

The good thing was I had no blisters, no cramps, and didn't really felt sleepy.

My split:

Chip Time

0KM - 10KM 00:51:25

10KM - 20KM 01:56:36

20KM - 30KM 02:46:20

30KM - 42KM 04:07:23 (plus 8min transition)

42KM - 52KM 05:13:27

52KM - 62KM 06:51:17

62KM - 72KM 08:03:24

09:50:04

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Kash and Haza did well by finishing the 84km within cut off time. My hats off to them. I also qualified for TNF100km solo, but still am not sure if it's in the todo list.

In memory of Ngae

When Frank sent me the message of Ngae's passing, I was really in shock. It was just very hard to believe. He had been battling brain tumor for a year, and after an initial comeback in Putrajaya half IM, things doesn't seemed so well after that. He was having memory loss with even his best friend. But the reality of his condition didn't sinked in, after knowing more details from his wife's story during the memorial. If I had known that it was that bad, I would have paid a visit.

We know him as someone who is full of life, joyfull, and friendly. And he was one tough guy. He ran Marathon Des Sables, ran ultras, did 3 IM, and countless other races. His uniqueness stands out, and he's always a well known guy. He's sort of a rock to most of us. And of course, I think he's a bit crazy sometimes, running barefoot, and wearing a sarong. But he doesn't seemed the less minded of it. He just does things his own way.

Before I started doing ultras, I had gained some inspiration from him, especially on the 100km he did from Subang to PD. If this guy could do it, then somehow, I had hope, that I could do that as well.

I believe his passing would have us ponder our mortality. Death is something will come. But the bigger question is, did we live fulfilling lives? Did we try to savor each passing day? Did we fulfill our dreams? I think, Ngae has shown us that he had lived his dreams. He trains and puts a lot of effort into them, and that has inspired the rest of us greatly.

He'll always be in our memories, as long as we live.