After the Olympics Fun Run, Siulek left immediately and rushed to Tung Chung Park, stored my bulky luggage, and met the other runners at Tung Chung MTR station. They are Terry (Dog), Peter, Tai Wai from the left handside. Same as me, Tai Wai also did the Olympics Run this morning.
When I formally started trail running in 2005, I was introduced to the Lantau trails. Those are trails with big rocks, high steps and paths with mosses. There are many popular tops at Lantau, such as Lantau Peak(934m), Sunset Peak(869m), Lin Fa Shan(760m), Nei Nak Shan(751m), Yi Tung Shan(749m), Kau Nga Ling(539m) and Pok To Yan(529m). All the above mentioned hills are with bad temper. They are high and with sharp increment of height. If you think the lower one is easier, you are totally wrong! The routes are much forbidding which high demand of fitness is required.
To be frank, I hated them! Usually after one day's training, I was totally exhausted and can hardly walk on the next day. However, I got much benefit from those trainings and became stronger within a few months.
Since I have enrolled TMBT, I planned to have training on the Lantau Island. However, it's a bit far away from town. Moreover, I thought it's unsafe to train alone on the adventurous routes. And the major problem is, it's difficult for Siulek to get up early on weekend and join running with the other runners. Today is a good chance for me.
Starting from Yat Tung Estate, we jogged for 2km and
arrived Wong Lung Hang Village. Then we
could see a BBQ site and a river on the left hand side. Some villagers enjoyed
their swimming there. We went up to the Wong Lung Hang Country Trail opposites
the BBQ site. It’s rather slippery. Many novice runners called it “Wong Lung
Hang” but it should be wrong. The real “Wong Lung Hang” is a stream on the
other side. The stream trekking of Wong Lung Hang requires rock climbing skills
and climbing equipment which is quite challenging.
Although it's not sunny today, Siulek sweated much due to lack of training. Luckily, Peter was not in good fit and he was willing to walk at my back. Although I only tried to continued my steps with steady speed, surprisingly I could reach the top of this part of trail within the normal standard!
We all felt very happy to reach Sheung Tung Au as it's near to Yi Tung Shan. It's almost finish for the first top today!
Soon after we reached the top, it started to rain!
Then we passed the Lan Tau Base Camp and Yi Tung Shan, followed by a series of downstairs steps. The characteristics of Lantau paths are all big and slippery steps. It's all wet due to the foggy nature at the tops.
At the bottom we reached a arbour at Pak Kung Au and there was many wild cows.
A sad news happened several weeks ago that a group of wild cows at Lantau were knocked down and killed by drunk drivers.
For many years, there is no more farmer in Hong Kong and cows were left and survived alone in the changing world. They become residues in city although it was their peaceful home long time ago.
City people have taken a lot of spaces from the nature. It's better to reserve some places for wild animals to build their home. They looked lovely, did they?
Well... Siulek still looked fresh by that time.
The three strong guys were in a hurry to run up to Lantau Peak after a short rest.
Around an hour, we eventually arrived the peak!!!
It's the first time for Terry to land on Lantau Peak. You can see how excited was him!
The most toughest part for Lantau Peak is not the uphill but the risky steps when going down. When going through the big steps, Siulek felt painful for my F
asciitis symptom. A special technique of relaxation was required. And the only motivation for Siulek is the curd bean dessert at Ngong Ping.
Although I've got enough water with me, I still decied to follow Peter to eat and drink something at the store near the Buddha. It's a little bit out track from the two peak route. Tai Wai and Terry chosed to continue with the original route. But it's just a leisure training for me, why not?
Ngong Ping and Buddha are famous tourist points in Hong Kong. When Siulek first came here 20 years ago, it's only a peaceful small village. I could feel the power of Urbanization!
To went back to track, we required to follow the tramlines. We the ran into the Nei Nak Shan Country Trail. It's runable but includes lots of ups and downs.
It became annoying with the cloudy sky. However, after we reached the middle of tram station, the view was clear.
Siulek felt a bit tired by then.
We then got into the famous Ngong Ping Rescue Trail. Soon I saw a lots of hateful slippery wooden staircases. My legs hurted!
Despite the lovely scene of this route, there are many many small stairs. There is even a warning sign to stop people continue their walk.
Oh~my God!
Well, the beautiful view was the only sweet.
It's such a nice picture!
However, I would never enter this rescue path during a rainy day again!
The end point is the Citygate Outlet. We completed our run by 5 hours, including the rest and eating time. From te shopping malls, you may buy many discounted running shoes or sports wear. Lots of big brands such as Adidas, Puma, New Balance and Nike have an outlet there. Have a look and you won't be disappointed!
To conclude, I had a real taste of trail race today and I believe I could benefit from this hill training. Of course to be adapted to the TMBT 100K, longer training should be arranged in the coming weeks.
Today's training is based on the route of Sunto Two Peaks. For those runners who are interested on this route, you may refer to the following information. Noted that proper training is required!
Date: Oct 6, 2013
Location: Tung Chung, Lantau Island, Hong Kong (start / finish same place)
Start time: 8:00am
Distances: 15km & 21km
21 km – Lantau 2 Peaks – (1705m elevation gain, 1675m elevation loss - total gain/loss 3380m - Max elev 937m) - A very tough hill climbing course that you need to train for. Tung Chung, Wong Lung Hang road, Wong Lung Hang trail stairs, Sunset Peak, Pak Kung Au Water CP, Lantau Peak, Ngong Ping Water CP, Nei Lek Shan contour trail, 360 Rescue trail, Tung Chung Citygate. Four hour 15 min (4 hr 15 min) cut-off at Pak Kung Au will be in effect meaning those arriving after 12:15 or 4 hrs 15 min after start will be re-routed down Tung Chung Rd to Shek Mun Kap to rejoin the end of the 21km route.
TRAINING IS NEEDED FOR 21 km 2 peaks category - Please make sure you do hill training before competing in this category as you will be climbing some of the biggest peaks in Hong Kong.
Since Siulek got problem in blogging with a small screen on mobile, she would continue after returning home.
We all felt very happy to reach Sheung Tung Au as it's near to Yi Tung Shan. It's almost finish for the first top today!
Well... Siulek still looked fresh by that time.
The three strong guys were in a hurry to run up to Lantau Peak after a short rest.
The most toughest part for Lantau Peak is not the uphill but the risky steps when going down. When going through the big steps, Siulek felt painful for my Fasciitis symptom. A special technique of relaxation was required. And the only motivation for Siulek is the curd bean dessert at Ngong Ping. 
We then got into the famous Ngong Ping Rescue Trail. Soon I saw a lots of hateful slippery wooden staircases. My legs hurted!
It's such a nice picture!
Today is the worldwide Olympics Day. Every year Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Assoication organizes a short fun run to encourage Hong Kong people to join the sports. This year it is scheduled to be held on 23 June 2013 (Sunday) at 7:45 a.m. in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. 
It is a sports carnival by combining the elements of a fun run, display booths, games session, lucky draw and various cultural performances to encourage people from the community to implement the theme “Move, Learn and Discover”. 
As the sponsored teams, we were able to start at the starting arch. Before the start, Mickey and Minnie went out to cheer runners up and took photos with the honorable guests. 
I was the overall champion 2 years ago. After I knew there is no prize nor ranking for this race, I tend to enjoy the joy of running by accompanying my friends. It took me less than half hour to complete this route. Easy job for me!
In addition , it was so happy to met an old friend who was working as a volunteer in the race.
