P.O.R. III - Gunung Nuang

As Kash would have said it - running up to Lolo Camp in P.O.R I was an overtrain for TNF Singapore.

Today, we were at it again, running/walking/crawling up to the peak! Talk about over-training, huh.

I do not have the pics with me, partly because Nik was not with us today, but I shall update this entry once Ian update his.We started off at 7.45-ish after few failed attempt to call John. So today, it was only me, Ian, Che, SS and Zul (who we first met at the International Coastal Cleanup 2009 at Sg. Congkak the day before) running. Zul later retired into his first hour running.

We made good progress into Lolo Camp which was swarmed with 20 campers or so, and proceeded towards Pacat Camp. I must testify that the trail started to get tough, similar to Genting Trailblazer trails with more steep inclines and challenging course. But the trail is very well marked, except that many sections are wet and slippery, but many areas totally runnable.

I was of course, high on my steady stream of asam boi, tried to keep track to all the superhumans I was running with. With my long legs sometimes an asset into jumping off the rocks and stream, my height has also become a commodity in finding balance and heeding the hanging branches etc.

Once we reached Pacat Camp, we took a breather before heading up again, as our timekeeper faithfully updates up on progress (notwithstanding our calories burnt so far). With Ian at the front scaling up, and Che at the back sweeping, we reached Puncak Kasih (betoi ka? sounds a little bit kinky), and from here the trail seemed to offer a little break, with some downhills (which mean some uphills later) but through many slippery rocks. The landscape has changed slightly with less dance foliage and rocky trails. As the weather started to close in, the temperature drops and we could see our bodies steaming off.

I could barely lift my feet off the ground at this point and had to take more breaks. This old city engine is not well tuned yet to higher altitudes, but we went on and I seek strengths off those guys, and we finally made it to the peak of Nuang at 11.11a.m., with fine cool weather, with some sun and clear sky. We indulge in our supplies, and headed down after 15 minutes or so of rest.

Now Che led the way, and sometimes I was left running on my own with no sight of them. Running down is more strenuous on my knees, and slippery logs and rocks slowed down my pace considerably. By this time, we have encountered many climbers heading up and being a good sport that they are, we are not short of words of encouragement and smiles (thanks folks!).

The rest of the journey is very much predistable - we fell down, we ran down, we meet people, etc etc. Fast forward, we reached Pacat Camp and regroup, and soon Lolo Camp (where we had a good dip in the cool water, and refill our bladder). Over here I fell (again) while tiptoeing on the rock, and soon had a major cramp on both legs (above knees, near groin area). Then we reached the gravel road soon enough and started running down, which was always a pleasure.

We reached the carpark by 13:50 I think. All's well, we (at least I) had a great run, and major blast. We ran 6 hours up and down, at great inclines and altitude (my next week's lower body Strength Trainings are covered), and according to SS, burnt more than 4000 calories. This calls for a major lunch soon! If anything, this trail run is comparable to a marathon (duration-wise), but total distance covered is about 18km (rasanya lah). With the absence of my LSD these days, I'll take today's run as a full marathon (I am entitled to say whatever in my blog, lah kan).

Alhamdulillah, we were all well today. We were a little hungry, of course, but have had a great workout.

Next week will be some light trail run, most probably at FRIM to taper off.