Trails! Trails! Trails!

Completing two trail runs in a row was demanding for my maiden adventure. Dengan berbekalkan semangat kasut baru & the urge to be back on the nature's trail, I traded my weekend mornings with two trail runs into Bukit Kiara & Pangsoon.

On Saturday morning, about 9 of us gathered at Kiara Park. I've decided to join some new friends whom apparently are avid bloggers which I discovered the run from. Names I can recall were Ian, Syah, Shaq, Doris, Shuk, Shukran & wife & of course Kash, Nik & Cheramiche. Semua kenal through blogs. Hebat dunia sekarang.

The menu was to attempt the Salomon xtrail route. Cheramiche guided us via Pat's only established Kiara map (mountainbike's map actually). Nik was all over the place taking photos of the run. We waded through steep technical climbs of Flintstone's Playground & found ourselves on top of Penchala Link's tunnel. It was everybody's dream to be there. That was the spot that I wondered years back whether mountaibike trails passed that route as I drove into the tunnel every now & then. Trails around the area were a bit vague since mountainbikers seldom used these technical routes unless those with 6 inches droppies. Some singletracks were gone replaced by horse trails.

We made our way back to Bar-a-kuda & Snakes & ladders. Twin Peaks remained as before with all those ferns but the view of Pusat Sains Negara were covered by rubber trees. We burst down Twin Peaks towards Simpang Empat. I was enjoying every bit of the descent as though I was on my bike only without tapping on the brake levers. It felt so free & most importantly my knees didn't give up on me. Alhamdullillah.

Above the Penchala Link's tunnel. Akhirnya our curiosity terjawab

Our last stretch were 2K and part of the race track. Stumbled upon some mountainbiker friends & chatted away. Macam biasa, kalau berjumpa mesti mau sembang. It felt like reunion pulak. Hahaha. Apa taknya, Kiara trails used to be our weekend warrior battleground. I think my last ride here was 2 years which was only kept near to 2K & race track. During prime time, we often whacked our way towards Sg. Penchala & Segambut.

The run clocked almost 2 hours. We were awarded with an awesome weather before we wrapped up our post run meals (cokodok, salad, watermelon, 100+ : thanks to fellow sponsors). It started to drizzle as we hopped into our cars & left with smiles.

Senyum selagi boleh sebelum cekak pinggang kejap lagi

Come Sunday, I attempted the gruelling Pangsoon trail with fellow Camdekians. Semua nak test kasut baru. 6 of us. Though with some pains from Kiara's run, a promise is still a promise. We started a bit late at 10.00 allowing oneselves to secure domestic errands. My previous attempts up Gunung Nuang way back 20 years ago was nothing close to this method. Those years were either with a 10kg backpack or a day trip up to the peak hiking. The peak was always the objective upon setting foot at Pangsoon. But this time, we only attempted up to Kem Lolo...running! Peak of Nuang not in the menu.

Yes, the trail condition & elevation didn't change much. The continuing torment from the beginning to the end of the road was horrifying. The elevation gained in less than 5km was taxing every bit of our muscles. Giler kentang! Pom! Pom! Pom! Pakai ekzos besi pun takde makna. Hahaha! We were making small tiny running steps climbing those giant killer climbs. Walking with hands on our waists was not a good option. It will only strain more muscle & fatigue.

Kasut aneka rasa

Masih mampu berlari uphill

We managed to reach Kem Lolo an hour later feeling challenged & satisfied. The sight of descending back all those elevations was worrying. Can our knees survive? We stopped for a breather & some nonsense talks at Kem Lolo for 15 minutes before dashing off back down to Pangsoon. Suprisingly the agony was quick as we managed to constantly ran downhills, still with tiny steps without stopping too much.

Our last vertical before Lolo

Now, after two straight days of body banging, every point aches but it felt good. With these momentums, pursuing more workouts is not an option anymore. Do it.