First Experience of Trail Running

My ultimate running goal is to run in as many places as possible. Without hesitation, I signed up the KRI-Bukit Kinding Trail Run at Tanjung Rambutan in Ipoh without much idea of what is actually trail running. Not long after this, sohkeong showed me the Salomon X-Trail Run which would be held on the same day as Singapore Marathon (SCSM). Since I am not going to SCSM, I am very interested in participating this event to fulfill my goal - run, run in as many places as possible...

Later, I searched the web for more information about trail running. Ohhh... it is not as easy as what I have thought! My weakest point is balancing, but trail run would require me running down some slippery hills... and my "kiasi" character (scare to die) will hinder me from "running " efficiently (don't talk about running, walking down is already a problem!)

However, after reading some The NorthFace 100 (TNF) reports including this one and this one, suddenly I feel the urge of doing trail run... and hope that I could participate TNF 50K Duo category in the future!

So I decided to invest on a good pair of trail running shoe even though it would cost me a fortune. I checked with the Organizer of Salomon X-Trail Run whether they would give any Salomon discount voucher upon signing up the event. They would, but during race kit collection which would be a day before the race. This is too late.

Thanks to the Organizer, they took the extra effort to make arrangement with the shoe vendor so that I could get the 30% discount voucher now! Anyway, it still costs me a fortune even with the discount! I promise myself, I will make this pair of shoes into full use with lots of trailing running and light hiking next year! LOL


Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra GTX

Today, I tried the shoes for the first time in FRIM's Rover Track. The track is an easy one, but it still took me 44 min to complete it to and fro (not sure about the distance, and you know I am not fast runner lar). The shoes are fantastic! The Salomon's quicklace system is very cool! However, there are some reviews in Amazon that it may break easily, so I hope that this is not true.

I find that I have to be very focus when doing trail run to make sure I won't trip or fall, it is tiring but really fun! I do feel more pressure and little bit of soreness on the knee caps when running downhill. With my current weight, I have to be extra careful, I think I won't add too much distance yet in trail running until I lose more weight and able to run on the trails more efficiently.

I welcome the idea of adding varieties by doing some off-road running. It is still a long way for me to build towards running in TNF and Genting Trailblazer, I believe I will catch up!