Pounding the Steroid Hill

To combine a LSD and trail running together with a whole bunch of fellow RBUs is nothing more than awesomeness. I headily put my schedule to pieces just to ensure I won't miss this call. Ian's been having loads of PORs heading towards TNF100 and I had to miss most of them to family & of course aidilfitri priorities. FRIM, perhaps one of the oldest dipterocarps gathering in Klang Valley. It treasure the best canopy one can simply get mesmerised - Gosh! How could I forgot to capture the photos?

Supposed to be the Lambung Act but Deo crossed it & Ziff malu-malu kucing sebab new Asics

I was rushing like mad to reach FRIM in time and it is so far from Cheras. Loke Yew - Jalan Maharajalela - Jalan Kinabalu - Jalan Kuching - MRR2 - FRIM. Lucky me traffic was peaceful but upon reaching FRIM, the place started to get hectic from joggers driving in. Everyone was there and we greeted each other with warm welcome. I missed them a lot and definitely from most of the running events.

Shuk was in the cheerful mood sebab dah lama sangat tanya bila nak trail?

As planned by our host, Ian, he headed the stretching bit at a nearby court. It was a short one but I trust it should do us good for the 15km trail we'll be pounding later. And as usual, jokes flew around the court with Nik hopping around taking photos.

First hit was the Dream Trail. My last ride here was ages ago. I think it is a 1.6km trail, though too short for a mountainbiker to drool but it was a holy grail. Just for notes, the trail was designed by Pat Brunsdon and Joe Adnan built together with loads of other fellow mountainbikers. It's cool that it can be shared with trail runners as well. Just hope that we should be looking for each other and at the same time keep it clean.

 

Look at that gorgeous Asics! And Ziff felt so comfortable, he fell asleep!

Syah lead the way while Ian was the sweeper. Everyone chose their pack. The enthusiasts managed to keep up with Syah, while the ones wishing to enjoy the greenery and haling in deep breaths stayed behind with Ian. I stayed with the green bunch most of the time.



The trailhead into Dream Trail. It was like from Alice in Wonderland

This turbo thrust climb is demanding for mountainbikers and runners

Finally the Jeep Track pulak for pacat inspection and a breather

We escaped the single track and into a wider trail. Jeep Track if I'm not mistaken. We started to meet more joggers along the trail. The pack stayed with the same bunch. I stayed with Shuk, Deo and Ziff, catching up with lots of unshared stories. The chit chat was the key. Like most LSD, we kill boredom and miles chit chatting. I like.



Model Brooks in action

If we stayed for another minute, more creativities will start thrown in. Saper start dulu ni?

Eventually the celebrities rolled in to join the regrouping

View of nearby Taman Ehsan and KL

We headed out towards the gruelling Streroid Hill, so what they're called by mountainbikers. I presumed it is the climb and indeed it is. Everyone was being shy for a moment there for whom want to pave the way. Even Syah was shy to expose his avatar skill up that steep exposed incline. I had to be the bad guy and started plodding up and thumping those calves and heart.

Look at that Mama!

It was not long before Syah started to smoke me and later came Crushio. My HRM was going bezerk with the melody of reaching Zone 3.  The first climb was too demanding. Fortunately there was a recovery platform to ease out those burning muscles. The last push was merely 50 meters away and I almost walk charging up towards Shuk.

Men at work

The last push

Phew! Reward at this point with gorgeous view of green hills tapi ada kekecohan sebab seekor lipas

I didn't manage to saviour anymore photos after this point. I was rushing to finish the run and headed home for my kids' Kumon at 10.00. And it was already 10 minutes passed 9! Aiyo! I had to lead the way down catching up with the front runners. The descending was indeed technical with erosions and stuff but once you have those legs rolling, there's no stopping nor slowing in between cause it will only bring disaster.

A quick stop at a hut for regrouping and I decided to cangkuk Syah this time for a bit of turbo pace. The rest followed but we were too fast. I was fast simply to catch up with him though at some points I regretted. Lol! It was a fast one and admiring those avatar calves of him gave me strength! Eceh! No lah...I was gripping my heart from exploding there.

We departed at a juncture and I made my way back to the parking lot for a Vroom! back to Cheras. I had to miss the coney dogs, the cake and the cangkung birthday celebrations. Happy birthday Ian. Nice to be your friend. Overall, it was a splendid run and I really appreciate the hosting together with the running peeps. Nice to be able to catch up with you guys again.

p/s. I have four pacat bites and I'm scratching my legs while typing this! Aiyo! So gatal meh...