As I set out the weather was stiflingly hot. 32oC and 75%RH. Just take it easy, I told myself, don't want to burn out and not be able to run on the weekend. As I exited HKUST, I decided to run my intended route "backwards". I knew this was the harder way, but still feeling pretty positive since Wednesday, I thought that, so long as I took it easy, it'd be fine.
This little shelter is perfectly placed for a rest (not that I ever do!), right at the top of the ~1.3km climb
Already tired after finishing the road section, I move onto the trail, where the real work will start. The first section of this trail meanders past some village houses before dipping into the valley
This section is normally the hardest part of the "forwards" direction. As such, it's all downhill in the "backwards" direction. Unfortunately, because of the uneven, irregular rocks here, you can't relax and cruise, instead hopping from place to place
I finally reach the waterfall, the heat and effort so far really bearing hard on me
As I tackle the trails, the repeated hard climbs and descents grind and I slow to a walk on the uphill sections
Sweat beads on my glasses and the liberal amount of sunscreen visible sure isn't helping either
Repeated sets of stairs like this slow me to a crawl. The fierce sun beating down
Finally finishing the trail, I decide to run "the long way" back to HKUST, and enjoy a flat paved 2km where I can pick my speed back up and prove to myself that the terrain is a significant factor. Overall quite a hard run, and not the easy cruise I was hoping for. I still plan to cut back on my "barefoot" kms in the next couple of weeks, hopefully letting my calves recover a little!
"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people." Bill Bowerman
Catch you on the trails!
~ Joe
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