My first test of the year, a local outdoor club hike/run race, was a success but not for the reasons you might think.  Yeah, I won the overall contest but that wasn't my main goal.  My main objective was to compete against myself and beat my best time from my earlier practice runs.  Mission accomplished!  I beat my own time by 30 minutes and ran a well planned race.  Most of my competition got lost on the course so pre-hiking the course ended up being a good idea after all.  The weather was the real surprise - into the 60's!  I was used to the cold winter weather and almost overheated near the end.  Luckily, I didn't run out of energy drink until the end.  We had to carry a backpack with 10% of our bodyweight plus your water, so I had to calculate how much was necessary but no more.  I also used 4 energy gels for refueling which helped me eat on the run - literally!  I must say I was most proud of the fact that I was the Heaviest contestant with the Heaviest pack.  Reminds me of the mountain bike racing days where I mostly competed as a "Clydesdale", the only class based on weight instead of age where you had to weigh more than 200 pounds.  Overall, everyone who finished had fun and were winners due to the fact that they set a goal and completed it.  Can't wait til the next one!

Happy trails!

Kevin