MT. SUKU HIKING DETAILED REPORT

12 May 2006

Departed from my house at 4.10 p.m. after fetching Wan Lin to Kelana Jaya to meet up with others. Departed from Kelana Jaya to Sungai Buloh rest area to meet up with other members. The journey to Kampar started at around 5 p.m. We had our dinner at Kampar. Later, we departed to Jeram. We stayed overnight at Jeram.

13 May 2006

Had breakfast at Jeram before departing to Simpang Pulai. I did not have to drive as Leong had offered to drive others to the entrance of Mt. Suku. The entrance of Mt. Suku is located after 32 km drive from Sinpang Pulai – Cameron Highlands road. Arrived at the entrance before time 0930. Started the journey at time 0930. Along the way to the summit there were two false peaks. Hikers had to hike almost all the way up to the summit. The steepness is approximately 45 to 50 degrees. We arrived at the summit after time 1230. We had our lunch on the summit.

From the summit, nothing much could be seen as most of the time thick clouds covered the view. At certain time, we could see the Simpang Pulai – Cameron Highlands road, Mt. Irau and Titiwangsa range. The summit weather was quite cooling.

We descended from the summit at time 1345. The trail at certain point was slippery and steep. I had to be extremely careful when descending from the summit. We reached the car park at around time 1645. Upon reaching the car park, I had some minor headache and had consumed a Panadol for relief. I had never experienced such condition before other than mountain sickness when ascending Mt. Kinabalu in 1996. This condition could be due to the body exposure to the cold wind on the summit after sweating.

I did not have any special feelings when reaching the summit of Suku. It was just a normal feeling that I had been to that place on that particular date. From my personal view point of this mountain, it is manageable to the beginners with sufficient level of fitness.

Each mountain has its own degree of difficulty. It is a challenge for a hiker to overcome it. No matter how tough you encounter in climbing mountains, you will still face the same problems when descending. In other words, there are ups and downs in our life and everything in this world is equal. I also agree with some people that when you have reached the summit of a mountain, it does not mean that you are great. The strong structure of the mountain summit will still be there for many years to come. It is just there you have been to that particular summit before on the specific date and time.

Back to Jeram and had our dinner at Kam Meng’s house.

14 May 2006

Had to leave early at around time 0800 (leaving Kam Meng and Leong) as Wan Lin had to rush back to his hometown at time 1430. Had breakfast at Kampar and then departed to Petaling Jaya. It was okay for me to miss the planned trip to Lata Kijang waterfall as there is always another chance to visit the fall in the future. Arrived at Petaling Jaya at time 1040.

11 APRIL 2006

Date: 11/4/2006
Time: 6.00 a.m.
Location: Bukit Aman car park
Activity: Run from the car park to Sri Hartamas and back to the car park via Bank Negara route
Distance: 20.2 km
Timing: 2 hr 7 min+
Split time: 31 min+ at Jalan Duta
57 min 36 sec at Petronas Station
1 hr 33 min+ at Jalan Duta
2 hr 7 min+

I missed my LSD so much. The last time I did my LSD at Bukit Aman was on 25 February 2006 i.e. 1 week before KLIM 2006. It has been 1.5 months I did not come to Bukit Aman for the run. My last LSD was on 12 March 2006 at TTDI Park. It has been 1 month I did not do my LSD.

This time I carry my new Deuter pouch for the run. This pouch is heavier than the New Balance pouch. I put my digital camera into the pouch in order to experiment the effect on my timing for the long run. Although the Deuter pouch is heavier than the New Balance pouch, I felt very comfortable using the Deuter pouch. I ran at normal pace to Hartamas with the pouch. My split time was normal notwithstanding with the fact that I had not been doing my long run for 1 month.

When I reached Hartamas station, I spent a few minutes trying to snapshoot pictures. Then, I continued with my run until certain point where I had to stop for a few minutes to fasten my pouch. I did not tighten my pouch properly at Bukit Aman. On my way back, I ran at quite a relaxed pace as I did not want to push myself.

Overall, I discovered that with additional weight from my digital camera in a heavier pouch, I still managed to maintain my normal performance and timing even though I had not been doing my long run for 1 month.

Note: In future, I’ll carry my digital camera for races if I am not serious on my timing and performance. I’ll post the photos when free.

PJ HALF MARATHON 2006 - MY HARD EARNED CERTIFICATE

I just received my certificate. This is my best timing in the half marathon since I started running in June 2004. It is never easy to achieve sub-2 hr timing. From next year onwards, this run will be known as PJ International Marathon 2007 and it will be held on 28 January 2007. Since started running the PJ Half Marathon 2004 until 2006, I had only came back empty handed once.

My past results are as follows:

2004: 2 hr 15 min 40 sec (Missed the finisher certificate by 40 sec) (Distance: 19.5 km)

2005: 2 hr 9 min 3 sec (Position: 176th) (Certificate of completion & medal)

2006: 1 hr 59 min 39 sec (Position: 150th) (Certificate of merit & medal)

My next aim is to get the certificate of distinction. The question of when will I get the certificate of distinction will be known on 28/1/2007. Have to admit that I have lost my speed for shorter distance run. I am no longer the LIM FANG HAU that I used to be in 2004 & 2005 (improving in most of the races I participated).

If there is a three tier grading for half marathon I'll participate in the half marathon until I achieve my target before swithching to full marathon. If there is no three tier grading for half marathon, I'll switch to full marathon.