KEM PACAT AKU DATANG V 2.0 & KEYPOCHI-ING @ WATERGATE 16HOURS 2014 (JAN)

Me & Gme, My New Substitute Partner In Crime Ehh... =P

Hello there to all my fellow followers (silent) and loud ones.... My dearest brothers and sisters in the running community... It's already Chinese New Year in the year of Wooden Horse... May this year will bring lots of huat and prosperity to all of us...  Gong Xi Fa Chai! Huatt arrr... Hopefully... =D

Without further ado, I would like to share with you guys out there on my not so recent hike to Mount Nuang (4 January 2014). This is a revisited trip after my debut hike there. All the previous details is right HERE. This was kinda an impromptu plan for me and Gme Azmi. I invited him to feel the wrath and beauty offered by the forever Majestic Nuang.

Both of us had a scrumptious sinful nasi lemak with a bull's eye egg for our breakfast before our trip. It's a must based on my previous Nuang hike. It was still a cold cloudy and windy weather that fateful Saturday morning. I was worried about the uncertain weather so I've decided to bring along my jacket. So circa 8.30 am, we started our hike at the Nuang base camp. I've learnt from my previous mistakes in underestimating the right amount of hydration before so this time around I brought along 1.5L of water and 1 bottle of Gatorade for the hike, while Gme brought along 3L of plain water and 1 bottle of Gatorade too.

At first, all we wanted to do was to hike until Kem Lolo. Just want to test the water for Nuang newbie hiker like Gme but somehow I failed to recognize the changes around the Kem Lolo (all the new safety ropes and such) and we accidentally realized it after we asked a fellow hiker that was descending from the peak. We actually had passed the Kem Lolo and almost reached Kem Pacat.

Pose2 running along the mystical bamboo forest... Priceless!!!

The first 5km of trail route from the base camp was quite challenging and the bamboo jungle was gorgeous as always. These bamboo jungle reminded me of the stunning scenes from Hollywood film like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Us with the mysterious tortoise... Kura2 bunian kah? Shhh... jangan tegur bukan2...

One of the most mysterious and mystical entity that we encountered on our way up Mount Nuang was we found that there was this BIG tortoise was eating a mushroom in the middle of nowhere up there. It was Gme who was shouted in shock once he saw the mysterious tortoise. How on earth did this creature managed to find its way through the rugged muddy steep terrain? We took some pictures with as the proof... Just as we predicted it was long gone once we passed by the same spot on our way down. Creepy... much...

 We reached the famous Kem Pacat after 2 hours and 44 minutes of hike/rest. There were many hikers chillaxing around the camp while eating their meals. It was almost 12 noon and we started to feel a bit hungry as it was a bit chilly and misty. Feared of the heavy downpour along the descent, we decided to cut the break short and quickly made our move immediately after we took some picture around Kem Pacat, including the famous must snap picture of this unique entangled roots/branch.

We took a breather once we reached back to Kem Lolo. I took this opportunity to wash my face and cool off my drinking water with the icy cold river. The  river looks tempting for a quick badak berendam session but we have to descend asap. Looks like I have to revisit this nice river for the third time soon. Hohoho....

Took a quick break at Kem Lolo... The water was sooo tempting and icy cold! 

Met with Syed Ali, Ayumi and their hiking friends once we reached the beginning of the steep route to Kem Lolo. They were taking their lunch/cigarette break. Took some pictures together with them and off we go, still fearing the possibility of the heavy downpour along our way back. My instincts was damn right. It started to drizzle at first and the first wave was bearable. We decided to run in the rain to avoid the drench. We were pretending as if we are the Ultra Runners who were running on a trail in a heavy rain. Bila lagi kan nak feeling2 Ultra Trail Runner... LOL!

Me, Gme, Syed, Ayumi n her friend at the last wakaf before Kem Lolo

When we thought that it has stopped to rain, we were dead wrong. The second wave of downpour was even heavier! The torrential rain changed the landscapes where there were puddles of mud and streaming mini rivers along the way down. We had to be extra careful running/jogging the decline as there were many slippery stones and trail route. I had enough of tripping down incidents along my way down from Kem Lolo.

Finally, safely reached the base camp drenched wet!!!

Finally we reached the base camp after 2 hours and 18 minutes. We were so relieved as we were super tired and hungry by that time. That's 15km of good LSD hill + trail run workout. The maximum elevation was 3,392 feet from the sea level. It took us 5:03:12 for our hike/jog/run trip overall. We had our scrumptious late lunch at Dusun Tua warung as we were starving and fatigue like hell. Kihkihh... Oh, thank goodness I escaped the viscious itchy leech bites while Gme had 2 bite marks at his feet... Thanks to my Compressport Calves Sleeves... =D

The starting line of the venue with a stunning view of Putrajaya at night

I reached home circa 5.30 pm and rest a bit before I dashed to Tmn Seri Empangan, Putrajaya to witness the flagoff/honk-off the participants of Water Gate 16Hours Ultra event. I was just in the nick of time to had some photo ops before this Awesome Ultra event. It was an inaugural Ultra event organized by PACat Adventures Team, supported by Le Sabuns Ultra Malaysia team. At first I did registered by this event. But somehow I didn't proceed with the payment and I wasn't mentally prepared for it... Hewhew... Banyak je alasanku kan... hehee... Oh well, WG 16h 2015 perhaps? =D

One for the album guys... Everybody looks sooo happy2 jolly..

I offered my help and became the accidental volunteer for Check Point aka WS 2. It was really a great experience to see these relentless Ultra runners doing their loops nonstop. Some of them were already in a league of their own. Names like Auntie Shine Teh, Yimster, Ultra Maman, Rayzeef, Madame Karen Loh were no stranger to the Ultra running community. They were my Living Legend and very down to earth too. I was totally inspired seeing them in action.

Ultra Yimster still looked so fresh...

We Love Our Giyomi Pose With Maman!

Rashid, Sis Suzie and I - Extra Volunteer for WS2

Me & Rashid, The Dynamic Duo of Le Sabuns Ultra Team.... hohoho... Like Batman n 

Abg Zaini and Sis Lina, the ultra running couple in the making on that very night. Razinah, my team mate for TNF100 Thailand managed to clock in 67km++ too Well done guys... Woot2...  =D

Me goofying around with Arman's foldie bicycle... Felt so good to cycle around the WS... Hihii... Dah terima hidayah nih xlama lagik nih... =D

After keypoh-ing here and there untill almost 12am, I went back home to catch some sleep and had to DNS my 1st run of 2014, MPIB Run due to the sore muscles, injured knees and lack of sleep after the Nuang hike/run.... So sad but that's reality hehee.... Suck it up and move on yaaa... However this WG 16H was an awesome Ultra events. It was a really well organised event by runners for runners. The weather at that night was cooling and windy too due to the heavy downpour all day long before. Lots of food and drinks for them,  cheap registration fees too. Would love to give it a try next year... =D

Till then... Toodles!

P/S: Wish me luck for my debut TNF 100 Thailand this coming Saturday, 8 Feb 2014. Really nervous as I'll be running along Razinah as we took the TNF 100 Duo challenge. Let's run in the wilderness of Khao Yai National Park! =D

LSD POJ + Maiden Nuang Hike + Deuter Trail 7K Fun Run = Super Packed Back 2 Back 2 Back Insane Weekend!

Owh hello there to all my fellow readers, followers, my brothers and sisters in Runninghood... Have a Happy Productive Tuesday to all of you. I would like to share my 1st impromptu back 2 back 2 back madness activities during the last weekend and how I reap the benefits from it indirectly. Hehee... So, here we go!

Jangan lupa dapatkan #KuihSiputBonda Azrul Adnan aka Roy... Bagus untuk runners ni... Sesuai dimakan selepas LSD! 

Squash & 23K LSD POJ (Friday, 10 May 2013)

As usual, me and my colleague, Nizam has planned to play squash every Friday evening after  work, around 5.30 pm. We just played it for fun and polished our rusty skills after the long hiatus. But still, I sweat bucket loads. Gosh! So, after 7.15 pm, I drove to POJ since I've promised to do my last LSD before the Hat Yai Marathon with Kak Nannoor, Razinah, Izman and Baman by 8 pm. 

Let's hit the wall, shall we? Ada gaya Azlan Iskandar x? LOL... Brangan giler! 

Thank goodness, it was a pretty windy cooling night for us to do LSD. I saw many runners gathered around near POJ not knowing that they were there for a night run, photo session and for a cause, to show their support too. Kak Suzie and Arman was there too, so I was told by Razinah. 

Me and Kak Nannoor targetted to do 25 - 30km LSD, while Razinah planned to do at least 15k. I followed Kak Nannoor easy peasy pace during the LSD session, while Izman and Baman did their LSD run at their speedy chatty pace, my goodness! Razinah could not keep up with both of us since her knees had not been fully recovered from her recent Mount Kinabalu hike via Mersilau Trail. In the end, I have to be satisfied with my 23k, while Kak Nannoor and her 20k, Baman (18k), Izman (15k) and Razinah (14k) since it has already started to drizzle a bit by midnight. As expected, I saw our living legend Sifu Ultra Ray was doing his LSD at his blistering speed of light pace. Full respecto! 

Done with my LSD run, I went home and dozed off right away. Circa 5 am, I woke up and went to fetch my hiking companion at Klang to go for my 1st hiking ever. The last mountain that I hiked before was Mount Angsi, located in Negeri Sembilan in 2000. Earlier on, Zinov invited me to join him and his fellow running buddies to run the trail in Mount Nuang. I agreed to join but I'll just do the normal hiking since it was my 1st time to hike this majestic mountain. Plus it was the highest peak in Selangor (1,493m)! Yosh...

Mount Nuang - Maiden Hike (Saturday, 11 May 2013)

We gathered at the starting point at Kampung Kuala Pangsoon, one of the three trail trails going up Mount Nuang summit. Me and my friend started the hike first around 7.30 am, while Zinov, Kam and Khairi Muin took their sweet time. At first the trail was runnable with a mild incline along the way towards Camp Lolo, the famous camping site but we decided to just keep on hiking since it was still a longggg way to go.

The first incline, spotted a few hikers were ahead of us...  

 Zinov and the gang overtook us when we were resting at the 2nd cement hut. We heard the torrential sound of waterfalls near Buluh Minyak rest stop (W6) and tempted to take a dip since it was getting hotter and humid. I slipped and fell into the stream as the stone was very slippery when I asked my friend to take my picture... Adei, basah sudah stokin ku... 

 

Pose2 glowing after soaked my trail shoes at the water falls... Hahaa... Need to change new trail shoes asap!

We managed to reach Camp Lolo shortly after that and decided to move on as it stated on the signage that it was 1.2 km away but it will take 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Camp Pacat. With our high spirits, we soldiered on the steep inclines of slippery vine roots and muddy trails. Luckily it was not wet and super slippery. Zinov and his Ultra compatriots were seen making their way down  when we were still braving ourselves and kept on hiking up. Super fast indeed! @..@

Camp Lolo straight ahead.... Not that far though... 

 As we could almost see the sky clearly through the trees, I knew that we were about to reach Camp Pacat in no time. However, I totally underestimated the toughness and humidity of Mt Nuang offered as we were running out of drinking water, isotonic drinks and food. My friend was started to feel lethargic and running out of energy as his stamina was pretty low. We decided to call it a day and headed our way back. I had to descend slowly since he's started to feel extremely tired and dehydrated. We had to take several breaks along our way down. He even dozed off to recharge back his energy as we were hiking on an empty tank. I kept on motivating him to keep on moving faster as I could hear the soothing torrential sound of waterfalls near Camp Lolo was getting closer and closer. It was a bliss to sip the icy cold water and we immediately took our dip there to cool off the body temperature and quench our thirst. Thank goodness! \(^O^)/

Almost there, yet so far away... The altitude was super challenging with all the humidity issue

After that the we continued our journey back to the base camp and stopped again at the 1st waterfall near W6 to take some pictures and soak in the soothing waterfall. Once we were more refreshed and started to feel the hunger pang, we kept on hiking down. I had to stick close to my friend since his legs started to cramp and had to walk slowly. (Tulah liat jogging and exercise bagai lagi, kan stamina dah ke laut..) I brought his backpack since he's getting very very tired. It was getting scorching hot around 2.30 pm. Luckily I brought my cap and shades with me. Finally we reached the base camp around 4 pm. It took us almost 9 hours altogether for our inaugural hike. My calves were very sore after the awesome hike. Sakit tapi nikmat LOL! I guestimated that we managed to cover around 10-12km on that day... Looks like I will have to revisit this Sleeping Beauty once again for my unfinished business, to conquer the summit. Game on Nuang! =D

Deuter Trail Fun Run 2013 (Sunday, 12 May 2013)

I almost forgotten about this trail running event until Rashid told me that he'll be sleepover at my house on that Saturday. This is because I could not join this event at first, since it coincided with the actual date of Borneo International Marathon and GE13 date (5 May). After they came out with the new date, I immediately signed up especially when announced that the first 700 entries will be given a Deuter pouch bag worth RM55.00. Although the registration fee was a bit rip off for a 7KM Trail Fun Run, but the running tee was a very good quality one. Love the design too. 

Luv the blue colour... It matches my running shorts too... Ngeh2...

On that Sunday morning, we took our sweet time to prepare ourselves, since the event started at 8 am. At first many runners were worried about the microwave heat from the morning sun. Luckily it was slightly overcast and we were running mostly in the shades of the trail. Every runner was given a yellow lily wristband each for a safety reason, perhaps. Hehee... We were flagged off 8am sharp and we were running on the tarmac for almost 2km before we headed for the 1st incline. As I entered the trail route, I had to overtake some of the runners who were started to walk in  as the route was very narrow, only one person. And I fear that it will be getting more congested once the women and junior category started to pour in soon. 

Deuter Trail Fun Run Route... Love the winding ups and downs trail route.... Want more of this please! *Adrenaline junkie mode activated

I really enjoyed running along this trail. Love the undulating ups and downs trail. All the inclines were insanely steep that I was forced to walk once. I could never get bored running in palm oil estate trail with a breathtaking view of Putrajaya Lake from far. It felt like going for a roller coaster ride along the route. Means more adrenaline pumping actions too for me. Almost tripped twice when my legs were getting jelly. And I stepped on a sharp root @ stump and felt the pain since I was wearing my Pure Flow 2 road running shoes only. Looks like I have to invest in some trail running shoes before my Mount Jerai Challenge Run next month. GoTrail is on my mind right now. 

The most anticipated picture of me running on the EPIC Putrajaya Trail Bridge ... I'm all hyped up!!! =D

We were served with a drinking bottle, which was not convenient at all. Must be their 1st time organizing this kind of event. After 5km, I could hear the loud sound from the main stage and I knew the finishing line was not that far anymore. So I fasten my pace doing the downhills like mad yet cautiously. Felt like a superhero at that moment with some kungfu steps. Hahaa... Then we were ushered into the final stretch of the route, eight challenging ant hills. It was meant for the extreme mountain bicycle route. I have to tackle all those eight steep bumps on one go as it was such a thrilling experience as I was afraid I might slipped down. Hehee...

As you can see, my facial expression in this picture... Super cuak I tell you.. Totally priceless... Hahaa!!!

I finished my trail fun run in 51 minutes for 6KM . Not bad at all since I've been tormented by the merciless Nuang before this event. It seems that I've been prepared for this run without me noticing it. Thank goodness. Hiking Mount Nuang was a good call after all. Hehee... Fuhhh... 

Well, after the race, what else to do other than taking lots of funky post race pictures together with my friends. Many familiar faces were spotted around the venue. Met Khairi Muin, KingKadok, Idot #gengkakilari and Speedy Dayat. 
One thing about the event, there was no isotonic water being provided after the run. Just zam-zam drinking water and mineral only. The unique finisher token could have been a little bit heavier because it looked pretty cheap piece of wood. Other than that, it was a very well organised event, with lots of marshalls, volunteers and photographers along the route. Almost got lucky during the lucky draw... Sigh hehe... Looking forward for more trail running event like this next year... Double loops (12K) perhaps? Hehee.. =D  

We Are Runners Must Take Pose... Erk, what was I looking at? Hot chicks? LOL...

The "All You Can Jump Your Heart Out" Pose... Hehee

Me and Rashid menempel2 masuk picture bersama Kadok, Idot and her girlfriends.... Huhu...

Met with the legendary super fit Khairi Muin (Read: NOT Khairy Jamaludin LOL!) again after the Nuang rendezvous

Congratz Rashid for being the Top 20-ish... Belas2 katanya... Super laju orang tua nih...Even on trail! 

My "Must Show The Yellow Lily" pose... Kurang kemachoan I, Muahahaa!!! 

Fruits of my labour for the day... Love the shocking pink-purpleish lightweight pouch bag... Will use it soon in Hat Yai! 

Next review, my 2nd back-2-back running events last Sunday, more insane and intense nonetheless... Boleh nanges woo.. T..T 

Till then, toodles!