Running at Wan Chai Sports Ground and Hotpot Birthday Dinner

100K is a long distance, to keep up my endurance, the most important thing is to have workout every day. Joined running for over 20 years, someitmes I love to visit different places to run and keep my interest and freshness on running.

Today is my good running friend Choi Tat Ming's 40th birthday. He is an outstanding runner as well as a representative of the Hong Kong Marathon Team.

To celebrate his important date, we will have a hotpot dinner at Wan Chai. Therefore, I choose to run at Wan Chai Sports Ground after work.

Unluckily, the typhoon signal was on. Therefore, Choi and his coach didn't show up at the sports ground as his club training was canceled. It is reasonable as the running club "The Chinese Sports & Recreations Association" (CSRA) is consisted of many youngster members.

Usually the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) reserves Wan Chai SG for their evening training sessions of its registered members and it is not opened to the public. Hence it is good for serious runners as no walkers, babies or residents nearby could come to walk in this sports ground and disturb their trainings. However, in recent years the marathon and running sports become more and more popular so more people registered to the newly formed clubs. Some of them are with greener coaches and members, while some takes hundreds of members to occupy the sports ground at a time without any booking. As a result, you may still see some indecent act or inconsiderate runners in the sports ground.

Anyway, some serious runners were still training at Wan Chai SG. I also met my friends too.

Due to the long travelling time from New Territories to Hong Kong Island, I only had about half an hour's time for tempo run.

After a quick shower I was in a hurry to the Chinese restaurant nearby to join CSRA's birthday celeberation dinner.






There are 4 birthday stars in total for June. They are lovely Dudu and Hoho twin sisters, pretty Kanako and smart Choi.

Wish them all the best in the coming year and achieve good results in running races!

We had a good time tonight and were all satisfied with the yummy hotpot meal as well as the icecream birthday cakes.

It's a friendly big family and most likely Siulek will join them in the coming year.

Sha Tin Riverside Big Fearless Team Training

Speed work can benefit trail running. For Hong Kong people, we usually train our fitness at sportsground after work on weekdays. Tonight I joined the training in Sha Tin Sports Ground.

Sha Tin Riverside Big Fearless Team is a simple and happy team. Runners joined together from a discussion forum and started their trainings.

The volunteer trainer Ryan did his good job to lead the team building up running capabilities and fitness. His training programme was scientific and effective.

Tonight the stronger runners took the 2.4K programme while the rest would ran 2K repetitions.

I was a bit late to leave office. Therefore, I could only join at the 3rd set after warming up. It was very humid and hot that I could hardly breathe! Lots of sweats dropped from runners. Fortunately, I could still run every set a little bit faster.

After the run, we had the dessert - fitness training. The first one was funny but it made our hands very painful as we required to use our hand to balance the whole body.

The second exercise was much easier for ladies as it focused onto our waist power.

This also evoked my memory of land training at Hong Kong Sports Institute when I was in the HKUST rowing team. Teammates, come on and Train hard. It's better, not bitter!

Enjoy the Silence of Midnight Run

Hong Kong people are usually busy and work until late at office. However, as a distance runner, I should run nearly every day in order to keep up my mileage and ensure my fitness.

As I left office at around 9pm today, I could only run on my own at somewhere near my home.

Going up the Nam Cheong Street, I can have a little bit taining on my thigh power. After reaching the Shek Kip Mei Reservoir Park, I started my tempo run for one and a half hour. The oval loop here is around 650m so it is much better than running in a sports ground. Moreover, there is a big grassland to run on. I love to run on the grass and it is less impact to protect my legs. Besides, it is a bit more like the trails!

Furthermore, I can have a free run of my mind during night run. I think about solutions for office work, or I could plan for a new target. The run can clear up my mind and makes me more clever. Haha~!

Never Give Up! 1K x10 Intervals at JSC

Recently Siulek encountered some unpleasant and unfair incidents at my sports clubs. The most effective thing to against the unhappiness is to have a great work out.

Tonight the other BC Runners followed their programme to have 800m intervals while Patrick only had a easy run. Siulek would like to stick with the 1K intervals, with 2 more sets than last week, which is my promise with my trainer long time ago.

The weather was hot with 30 degrees. Well... I don't think that's suitable for trainings but life must go on...

In my opinion, intervals below 1km is not approprate for trail runners, as we only require to train up our speed endurance and tolerance to lactic acid.

Siulek did so well tonight that she completed 10 sets on her own with consistent speed. It is expected that her endurance should be improved much by then~ haha~ ;P
In fact, I could be more concentrated when running alone. I was also delighted show some colours to those evil people look down on me.

Afterall, our main mission is to enjoy a special big meal after the tough workout. Unlike the other traditional running clubs which have dinners at the same restaurant every week, BC runners are much more creative to decide a new and different place to eat every night. That gives much motivation for our members.
Tonight we went to try a restaurant in Wong Tai Sin with Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine.

 The food is spicy but very very delicious. 8 of us finished all the dishes on the table within half an hour and required to order additional food...

Here is what we encored to order - Water-cooked Fish! We increased the spicy level to medium this time in order to taste the real feelings of the cuisine.

We all felt full and satisfied with both the run and the food.



A Taste of Trail Run - Sham Shui Po to Tai Po via Mac Trail

Kenneth went to Lantau Island early in the morning to have the M&M (2 Mountains) training with his friends. Therefore, lazy Siulek only started her run in the afternoon.

Living in Sham Shui Po, an old district with high population density, the only choice to breathe fresh air is to run up to the countryside parks nearby! Starting from Tai Po Road, I can run up to the Sha Tin direction and reach Kam Shan Country Park.

Turned left into the Kam Shan Road, it catch up with the Maclehose Trail section 6. From here it's a paved road with up and down, along the Kowloon reservoir and then finally direct to Shing Mun reservoir. This is a scenic trail no matter in what kinds of weather.

Although it's cloudy today, the reservoir view was still looked good.  From here, you can feel the nature and enjoy the slience beauty of Hong Kong.

 

Kam Shan also has an alternative name "Monkey Hill". To symbol this characteristic, there is signage with "Monkey" design. It has the highest population of monkeys in Hong Kong. As many monkeys live here, and many Hong Kong people came to feed them illegally, they become fiercer and may even attrack humans. Therefore, make sure your food store properly inside your bag, don't intake any food when you walk along this section, and avoid bring plastic bags! 

 

I had an experience that a monkey jumped onto my back because an apple was at the top of my racksack and the clever monkey saw it!

 

In another occasion, a silly man walking in front of me was eating banana. When the monkeys roared to him, he dropped his banana in the middle of the road. Soon many monkeys from both sides of the road rushed to get the small banana, then making my group and him in a very dangerous position.

None of us could get through the road after that.



Therefore, be aware of the monkeys when you run alone, especially at night time!

Luckily, today I could follow some male biker or hikers on the way and I could pass through the Kam Shan road successfully. In addition, it's the first time I saw country park-keeper from Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) was patrolling there. I felt much safer than before!
By the way, a hiker taught me that monkeys would be scared when you tried to take photos for them. I tried that, it works!!!

When you reach the top, that's Smgglers' Pass. It is the check point 6 of Trailwalker Hong Kong. Fewer monkeys there and you're safe. This afternoon I met Siu Wan, a friend from Hebe hiking assocation whom I knew for over 20 years. She's also an experienced mountaineering instructor!

 Today she practiced the route for Wilson Trail, which is partly overlapped with Maclehose Trail. That's why I could saw her.  Then we turned right and went upstairs to another trail path. And started to rain heavily. 

As Siu Wan ended her journey in Shing Mun, I lefter her and ran a bit faster to reach the Shing Mun BBQ site.

 

I got a bottle of sports drink from the vending machine and considering continue or not. As I only completed about 10km, I decided to continue.

Passed along the pineapple dam, I met Kin Hang hiking club's friends, Amy and her partner. They started their hike in Sai Kung early in the morning and planned to ended up with the Needle Hill.

Needle Hill is the same as its name, sharp and steep. Together with the other two consective hills in Mac Trail section 7 & 8, Grass Hill and Tai Mo Shan, they're the toughest sections for Trailwalker Hong Kong.


However, she is still beautiful and attractive to trail runners. After the rain, I could see the foggy Needle Hill.

Amy is a fast trail runner but she got injuiries at her chest and she was a bit exhausted after a whole day's hike. Anyway, after around 40 minutes all of reached the top!

From the top we can see the buildings on Kowloon side as well as Lion Rock. Another famous mountain in Hong Kong.

Then I carried on my journey on my own. Although it's raining and the sky came dark, I could see a few hikers on the way. This shows how Hong Kong people love hiking!

After going down Needle Hill, I reached the tail of Grass Hill. It's a lovely trail part and you can see the primitive part of countryside.

The grass hill part is a bit dull and long, but in the summer you will like it, since it covers with enough vegetation and tall trees that you will never feel the sun heat. Lastly, I reached the path junction at the top of Grass Hill.

 It's time to go down to Lead Mine Pass, the end of section 7 of Mac Trail. It's a bit slippery on the way, which I think is a good training for me. Due to lack of training recently, I was less skillful. Nevermind, I still have 3 months and practice makes perfect!

Finally, I arrived Lead Mine Pass and saw the gate at the foot of Tai Mo Shan. The left side will direct you back to Shing Mun. On the other hand, there is a small path on the right hand side is going to Tai Po. It's already 6 o'clock, therefore, I didn't have enough time to go up Tai Mo Shan or run around the long path to Shing Mun. Hence my only choice is go downstairs to small path on the right.

Thanks to the previous heavy rain. I've got chance to practice my stream passing skill, as the path turned into small stream after the rain! Well, it was not that difficult and I got passed.

I haven't walk to this path for a long time, therefore, I really forget where is the end of the path. I thought it was Tai Po Road, but in fact I saw some villages such as Sheung Wun Yiu and Ha Wun Yiu in the New Territories!



It took me some time to indentify the direction to the Tai Po Market station. The first thing to do was to bought some drinks from the 7-11.
The whole journey was about 20km and it recalls my old memory of trail running.



Heat Tolerance Run at Lunch Time

Heat Tolerance is important for racing in South East Asia. Fortunately, Hong Kong runners had lots of chances to feel the heat and humid weather in Summer.

 

The “Lieyang magic” stands for Training in Hot Sun, similar to names of moves in Martial arts. Many crazy runners of my running club, Lok Wah Runners Club gathered every Tue and Thu noon to enjoy a 5km time trial under the sun. And it proves that they benefit from that and can tolerant to race in hot days.

 

 

I work near to a sports ground that allows me to do such a silly act occasionally if I want. I need to rush out from my office and got changed immediately at lunch time. Having the run for around 30 to 40 mins, then have a quick shower and buy a quick lunch.

Done!

 

Runners are usually self-disciplined to do this kind of time-saving trainings. It's convenient if you are full of appointments after work and can hardly squeeze out some time to run. However, Siulek would rather enjoy a group run at night.

Mixed Terain Run at Mui Tsz Lam after Dragon Boat Race

Today is the Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival. After the mixed team race at aSai Kung in the early morning, I went back to my office to have some overtime special work.

After work, I ran along the Shing Mun River to Mui Tsz Lam Trail. Dragon Boat races could be found everywhere in Hong Kong today. Sha Tin is one of the race spot too. From the photo, the dragon boats were left at the Shing Mun River after races.  

Shing Mun River is an artifical river which the original purpose is for drainage but now it turns into a nice river after the government's effort of purification. For many years, Shing Mun Riverside is a hotspot for Hong Kong runners. Sometimes we may enjoy the breeze along the river. There is also a cycling track in parallel with the jogging trail. The Hong Kong Sports Institute is right there near Fo Tan. There is also a swimming pool, a rowing centre as well as dragon boat centre nearby. Hence, it's easy runners to arrange their cross trainings.

 There is also a seafood boat restaurant on the other side of the river.

From here, you may run from Sha Tin to Ma On Shan. This is the nice view of Ma On Shan Waterfront, which is also a good place for running.

But this time, Siulek turned right and go up to the hillside. Soon I reached the Mui Tsz Lam Road. It's a slope to go up to the village. Fewer cars so it's good for runners and cyclists.

Siulek also met some runners and a cycling team this afternoon.

At the top of the road, a notice board with map is provided. From here, we can go uphill and join the trails of Sai Kung Country Park. There are also short country trails. Today, Siulek will go to Mui Tsz Lam and Fa Sam Hang.

Actually, Mum Tsz Lam means a plum tree forest. So I turned into a path with many trees. I found that the old path was ocuppied by the villagers and turned into private site. The Sha Tin District Council had provided an alternatives with well-paved path.

After an hour, Siulek reached the top and a signage showing way to Fa Sam Hang. A middle-aged man was doing exercises there. He introduced me to another uphill path but as it was closed to sunset time, I would try the new route the next time.

It's a long way for going down. As "Hang" in chinese means "Pit" so the path was a bit wet. It's good for Siulek to experience the wet path too.

On the way, I also met 2 wild dogs with one of them was barking at me. Fortunately, they didn't follow me after I showed no response to them. It's really a big problem for running alone on the trails.

 

At the bottom of the trail, I reached another village and joined the road connecting to Kwong Yuen Estate. It's the road run for around 1.5km and from there, it took me around 3 km to run back to Shing Mun River.

 

I tasted a bit more trail run this time and expect to take more the next time!

Tuesday BC Runners JSC Fun Run & Big Eat

Every Tuesday night BC Runners has a gathering at Joint University's Sports Centre (JSC). B stands for BU while C stands for City U. We're all alumni from Baptist University or City University of Hong Kong.

Due to the growing participation of Universities in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, the sports sections from Universities had arrange training sessions at JSC. Both BU and City U students were taught by athletic coach Wong Tak-shing for the previous few years before 2013. Under Wong Sir’s supervision, we turned into a bigger and bigger running group with strong cohesion.

 
Although it’s off season in the summer, some members still continued to have their trainings at JSC at their own expenses.

It has yellow rainstorm this morning and showers in the afternoon, therefore, only 6 runners showed up tonight.

 

At around 7:30pm, we splitted into different groups and started our own speed work.

 

 

Patrick and me decided to have 8 sets of 1km intervals. Patrick is a guy with a little bit over weight. He likes eating very much and has expectation on his every meals. Last year, I introduced him to join the Trailwalker Teaching Room class. To be frank, I only hope he could lost weight and got fitter. However, I didn’t expect that he could complete his 100km trail run under 30 hours successfully. As a result, I am really appreciate his determination on his target and would not look down on him anymore.

With his guidance, BC runners could always find the best restaurants to have meals after run!

 

In order to enable Patrick to complete my programme, I slowed down a bit and set a 2.5 minutes rest in between the intervals. Eventually, Patrick could ran all sets under 5 minutes, which should be a new record for him!

After the run, it time for us to relax and share our joy. As tomorrow is the Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival and we all had a holiday, I suggest to go to a characteristic Thai restaurant in Shek Kip Mei, those Tom Yum Kung soup and chicken rice are very delicious.
This is our treasure moment. I am sure after I post this photo, more BC Runners will come back to run. Haha!