Midday Heat Finale - Thursday the 21st of July, 2011

A final lunchtime run along the trails that surround UST didn't go exactly according to plan (my running partner twisted his ankle and we had to take a diversion) but wasn't a bad ramble along familiar paths anyway.


Narrow and steep


Crossing this little stream


Dirt steps weave their way down to the flat paved road at the bottom on our diversion

Sometimes things don't go according to plan, but roll with the punches, keep moving and you'll get there in the end.

Dodge and Weave!
~ Joe

Urban Blur - Tuesday the 19th of July, 2011

A quick, late-night 10km to make up for the semi-failed run the day before. Apologies for the blur, the photos looked fine on the tiny LCD on the back of the camera!


Wet bike paths and deep shadows


Crossing the road at Tiu Keng Leng


One of the many underpasses on this route


Bright hot spots


Reflected blur

Also,sorry for the lateness of this post, with the move back to Melbourne only a couple of days away now things have been in crazy over-drive!

Power-on!
~ Joe

Photos with old friends - Monday the 18th of July, 2011

Running (ha ha) out of days to cover my favourite trails around HKUST, I headed out along an old favourite: down to Po Lam along the trails and back up along the roads.


Passing through Tai Po Tsai on my way to the start of the trail


Beautiful tree-lined dirt trails


Enjoying the small details


Looking down the trail towards Hang Hau. Heavy haze visible in the sky


It's been a while since I've been able to snap some good photos of the reptilian wildlife along the trails (they normally dart into the undergrowth before I can ready the camera), but this guy waited for me to take a few snaps before leaping into nearby grass...


Where I got another couple of snaps of him!

Despite all the time off I wasn't feeling the best during this run, but as I get back into the groove in this last week and a half, I expect that to improve. Really going to miss the VERY convenient access to beautiful trails in Hong Kong.

It's the fii-nal countdownnnn...
~ Joe

Saying goodbye, one route at a time - Thursday the 14th of July, 2011

Just a short, easy run along the waterfront to keep the legs moving.


Wet and hot. It's tropical summer in Hong Kong.


The moon illuminating a small patch of clouds above the city lights


Hung Hom Ferry Terminal on the right with HK island on the left

I rather enjoyed this very easy run in my barefoot shoes, and I suppose that's a good thing looking back because it was very likely my last run along that stretch of waterfront for quite a long time.

Things are moving fast now. I'm back living in Hang Hau and in just over a week, I'll be back in Melbourne!

Run hard, see all the things!
~ Joe

Slowing Down - Monday the 11th of July, 2011

If there was ever a sure sign that I needed a little down time, it was on this run as I cruised down a long hill only 5km into the run and couldn't get my heart rate to drop below 165-170bpm. It's been a reoccurring thread in a couple of my last posts, but it was really hammered home in this one... Despite the 3 days break since my previous run, my legs were feeling fatigued right from the start of this run. Of course, the very hot and humid conditions weren't helping and the heavy air pollution was probably also playing a part... But I was just tired...


Crossing the bridge before starting up the hill. The view from here is normal pretty great with mountains stretching out across the horizon. In these heavily polluted conditions, I could barely make out the closest peak.


A bright red seed-pod part of the way up the hill.


Safe slopes save lives... It's amazing the amount of concrete that's poured on even slightly steepish slopes around HK, but I suppose history has shown that heavy rainfall and steep slopes make landslides a common occurrence.


A panorama at Tseung Lan Shue village. Kowloon Peak obscured in the haze.


More bright red as I head back towards HKUST.

Not a great run in any way really, I was very happy to get back and cool off. This time, I took the warning and have decided: no more hot lunchtime runs this week. I'll probably throw in a few night-time waterfront 5km runs to keep the recovery happening but am aiming for about half my normal weekly kms. Hopefully I will be recharged and ready for a couple final long trail runs to say goodbye to the beautiful places I've ran.

Down and up again!
~ Joe

Running on Empty - Thursday the 7th of July, 2011

After my awesome run on Tuesday, I was pretty fired up to get back out on the trails. Unfortunately, my legs were still a bit fried (running in the heat really takes an extra toll), but I decided to run anyway, along my other post-work trail/road route.


I was a little late leaving work, so the sun was quite low in the sky even as I headed out along the roads towards the trail.


I spotted some caterpillars munching away on a shrub, so jumped a fence to take some snaps of them, only to find that my camera's battery gave out after only a few shots.

And that was it!

When I started the run, the battery showed yellow (1 of 3 bars remaining) and in the past, this has been more than enough to get me through a run. I was pretty disappointed not only by how quickly it dropped to red, and then to shutdown, but that there was no battery "bounce back". In the past, even with a depleted battery, I've been able to wait a while (say, an hour) and I'd have just enough charge for a couple more shots.

I was counting on it, in fact! After the battery died initally, before I even reached the trails, I thought that I'd just forego any photos till I was up high on the trail, and then at least be able to snap a couple of sunset photos... but no dice! The battery was well and truely dead.

As for myself, by the time I got down to Tiu Keng Leng, I was starting to feel pretty drained as well. As I approached Hang Hau, I was a little skeptical of my ability to maintain any decent speed even along the flats, until I reached the final hills, where I was sure I'd have to walk. Well... things there faired far better than with my camera, and two runners turned onto the bike trail I was following ahead of me. Nothing like just being able to ride someone's coat-tails to maintain speed (of course, when he realised that some big Western dude had been following him for a little while, he sped up, but that wasn't a problem, I'm a pretty expert coat-tail rider!).

At Hang Hau village I turned off towards the hills, starting the grind up the first hill I was pleasantly surprised how was my legs were taking it, and I continued up first hill, then the second one... Bounce back! Awesome! Being able to fully run the final two hills was an unexpected bonus. Perhaps my endurance is a little better than first appearances, but it sure was hard work!

Work hard in the heat, so you can work harder in the cold!
~ Joe

Homage to our Sun - Tuesday the 5th of July, 2011

On my long Tuesday night run I got to experience the most breathtakingly beautiful sunset in memory. I ran up along my Half High Junk Peak route and managed to get to the top of High Junk Peak at the perfect time to watch luminous finale. While the photos don't do it justice, I've got plenty of them, so let's get started!


Deep blue skies and unusually bright sun for 6pm, when I was departing


The sun casting long golden shadows just before I turn onto the trail


The sun was far too bright for me to even look toward it here, I had to put the camera between myself and the sun!


Things still pretty bright as I continue up the hills


Long shadows and golden light


The dark-side of the range


In what has become my banner photo, liquid gold pours through the gaps in the mountains, reflected off the tops of the towers, as I climb ever higher


The city


Ribbons are often used as markers for difference races and orienteering activities. This one is tied to a shrub just before the final climb onto High Junk Peak


While climbing the hill, I found this guy. He didn't sit still for very long, and I couldn't quite get as good a photo as I wanted


I was originally planning on just spending a couple of minutes at the top of High Junk Peak, admiring the view, but when I got up there, I found a grasshopper sitting atop the trigonometric post I normally climb. I spent 5mins taking photos of him!


The grasshopper was quite happy to be photographed. The sinking sun and city visible behind him.


After a while I coaxed the grasshopper off the post and climbed up there myself. I was enthralled by the sinking sun, melding into gold, then into a red orb. I couldn't tear myself away till every glimmer had sunk below the horizon, moving on to light another part of the world


A river of gold. Lion rock visible just right of centre


I really love this shot, and it's my current desktop wallpaper. If anyone else would like a full sized version, just let me know.


The city coated in pastel tones


As the sun darkens to red, the intensity of the moment heightens


Painterly


I imagine the sun moving around the world, with a sunrise on the other side of the Earth. It was one of those rare moments you can faintly paw at the sheer scale of things. Honestly, such a strong emotional moment


After the sun sinks, I make a move to get off the top of the peak. It's quite a treacherous descent, and preferable to make it in the light! This was halfway down off the trail, the light still hanging in the sky.


As I cruise back towards HKUST along the roads, there's still intense colours left in the sky


The moon rises as the light fades

Although not a super physical achievement (especially with a 15min break in the middle), this run was an awesome reminder of why I do what I do. I feel very privileged to be able to get out and experience these natural wonders. I dearly hope I can vividly recall this night so I can compare it to the next amazing encounter.

Chase the Golden Hour!
~ Joe