Introducing the "@Paramed Network"

Powered by Applicint.

We are excited to introduce the @ Paramed Network.  The @Paramed Network is a network of paramedical vendors that Applicint is pleased to have as a part of our family.  Family members are able to offer their clients the superb service and software from the Applicint product set....Powered by Applicint.

Applicint offers its industry leading digital paramed product through our @Paramed Network.  Paramedical Vendors that are part of the @Paramed Network use Applicint's ExamComplete with their clients to provide fast, accurate and digital data collection for the Paramedical Exam Process with a production proven software package.

Applicint's ExamComplete is an industry leading process that enables carriers to collect information during the Paramedical exam in an electronic format.  This provides a highly accurate Paramedical Exam.  It delivers the results quickly in different formats to the carrier.

All this allows the carrier to issue policies faster with reduced cost.  Integration with Automated Underwriting Systems is a snap by simply using ACORD standard XML transactions to send statuses and data collected to the system.  Imaging is a snap with forms broken out and indexed immediately after the exam completion.

Just ask your Paramedical Vendor if they are a part of the @Paramed Network - Powered by Applicint.  If they are not, ask them to join our family!

A Little Competition...

A recent press release from Hooper Holmes has brought a little competition to our Digital Paramed world. Competition is a good thing on many levels. First of all, it brings validity to what you are doing. Especially in this case as just 2 years ago, Hooper Holmes thought that a Digital Paramed was not the smartest idea. I think they may have changed their minds.

Next, competition makes customers feel like they are not locked into a specific product that provides a service they feel they need. It gives them options. Those options make sure us vendors compete on price and, more importantly, service.

Lastly, competition proves that we have not only the best product and pricing but the best service. And if I do say so myself, we have great people and service!

Competition is good. And, in this case, the competition is downright flattering. From the sounds of the press release, Hooper Holmes is really trying to emulate our ExamComplete software. Just a couple of weeks ago, Hooper Holmes requested a demo of our software to review it so they could see if they wanted to use our software for iParamed. And just days ago, Hooper Holmes was pitching a carrier to have them help fund the development of their Digital Paramed. All this is flattering as we continue to lead the way in insurance innovation! Hooper Holmes is trying to follow in our footsteps. Best of luck to Hooper Holmes!

Dave Matthews Band Snubs Colorado

AGAIN!

OK. What is the deal? Dave Matthews Band released their summer concert series and again, Colorado is left out. However, Omaha, Boise and Utah are all on the list.

What has Colorado done to the DMB? Is it the fact that the guy can SELL OUT 4 shows in 4 nights? The contingent that DMB has in Colorado is large and die hard. So why? Let's also not forget that KBCO in Boulder really helped promote DMB in the very beginning.

So, DMB, why? And don't placate us with some stupid festival stop where you play half your set.

Pay For Performance in Sports. Youth Sports?

Most of my 3 readers know that I recently coached my son's Under 8 year old soccer team. It was a fun experience that I was glad when it was over...but I am looking forward to the Spring season already!

I think it also goes without saying that my HUGE readership knows I am a slightly competitive person. Which is why this year seemed to be a good year for me to start coaching the team. I can see that competitiveness in many of the boys on the team. The "flower-pickers" are dwindling....although there are still a couple.

As a competitive person, I always enjoy doing better. I admit that I also enjoy beating the guy (or girl) next to me! Call it a flaw. OK, enough with the dribble, onto the topic at hand.

One game this fall, late in the season, one of the boys scored a goal. He was so excited! I was pretty happy for him! He is not a bad player but not one of the stand outs either. I love seeing these guys light up when they make a great play or score a goal. His Dad, who never makes it to a practice and I think this was the only game he made it to, seemed pretty stoked as well (hell, Dad was even off his cell phone to see the goal!). It looked like Dad was giving a "high five" up in the air.

The next day, my assistant coach and I were at a soccer camp both our kids attended. He was telling me that the boy's father was pretty excited when the goal was scored. Also, that he held up his hand with five fingers open. I said yeah, I saw that. Then the assistant coach asked me if I knew what he meant by that, I said "No". It means $5.

Apparently, Dad was paying his son $5 for every goal he scored. I was pissed.

These kids are....well...KIDS! Really, you are going to teach your 8 year old that every time he does something good, you are going to pay him?!?

I had a dilema on my hands here. I really did not feel this was appropriate. How does this foster the competitive spirit? Or the idea of doing something good for the TEAM? What happens the next time this kid is going down with the ball and can pass it to an open player, will he or will he go for the "Pay-Day"?

I really did agonize over this. Probably too much. But it ate at me. So, for the final games, this boy played in goal or on defense. I know this was probably a bit juvenile on my part. But, how do you change this? How do you change what someone has, and is, growing up with? How do you teach someone that being competitive and achieving your goals is good enough? I don't know. I am not that good of a coach! :)

In the following weeks, I did ask a few friends if they paid their kids for goals or grades or other things. No. Good...

I really wonder what professional athletes think of this kind of action. Lance Armstrong. Michael Phelps. Since they are among my readership, please feel free to comment. :)

Love the game first...

Butt Crack Etiquette

Hello there Web-People.

I have been super busy lately with the sick family members (me included!), work and just about everything else.

But, this weekend the wife and I found some time to go out to dinner. We went over to Trinity Brewing Company in Colorado Springs. Good food, good beer, good tunes, good company. What could go wrong? Butt Crack can go wrong.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not a slave to fashion. Hell, I am still stuck a decade or two back. However, I am aware in the world that "low cut jeans" seem to be "in". For the past few years, we have seen low cut jeans with the top of the thong/G-string/dental floss peeking out. This was in its own right, annoying.

Saturday night went to a whole new level. Sitting there at Trinity, I was just across from the bar where all the bar patrons were nicely conversing and sipping their beers. A young lady came and sat down just across from my position at the table. She was wearing some of the "in" low cut jeans. However, she seemed to have forgotten her Dental Floss. I proceeded to enjoy my beer, food and company whilst getting shots of said girl's butt crack. I may have had dinner at the local Plumbers' Union!

So, I ask, what is the But Crack Etiquette? I was told by my wife that I could NOT snap a picture of it. OK; but you all reading my blog miss out! Should I have gone over to her and asked her to hike those jeans up a few inches? Or is this just a new trend that I have yet again....missed?

HP, Mac and the DAWG

Could this be....2 posts in 1 week?!?! :)

I feel better today. Went on a small run even. That felt good. I actually took the new dog, Tennie. Tennie went on a run with wifey-poo right after we got her. 4 miles and did great! A few days later she got to go on another run and did not do so well. I braved the task today she did well. We did about 2.2 miles (not long I know) but it was good to get her out. More importantly, I took her up the trail a bit. She did pretty well. Not too much sniffing. She stuck pretty close to me and in the places where the trail was wider, she ran right next to me. Tennie is adjusting to her humans so well.

This week was yet another crazy week. I think I finally got our new website done. Its getting the once over this weekend and should go up for this week's NAILBA conference. Between work, being sick, end of the season soccer party and just life, it was a busy week.

I did have another "it just works" experience with my Macbook this week. We have an HP Printer/Scanner/Copier/DoMaJiggy. Anyone that has ever installed all the HP drivers and their Solution Center know, it is a pain in the ass!! As a Product Manager, I have to ask HP; "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" I encourage HP to actually talk to their customers about what they want. I bet a lot of them just want to print or scan something....

Anyway, I digress. I had to scan something and decided to give a try on the Mac. Hooked it up to the USB on the HP Officejet 6400 (or wahtever it is). Did a quick Google of how to scan on a Mac (found it on MacForums which has been a great resource through the switch). I took the steps it told me to. And what you know, it scanned!!! No HP software needed to be installed. IT JUST WORKED!

This week should be fun. Lots of fun stuff in the hopper.

V and Being Sick

V! OK, when I was a youngster the original mini-series V came out. I was a sheltered, only child so my parents would not let me watch V because it was too violent. Well, not anymore! I get to watch the new V. :)

I actually got out and ran the past few days. Woke up last night in the middle of the night to get my middle child to get her some water (sick again, more on that!) I thought my knees were going to explode! Then, got up this morning with a sore throat and body aches. Basically, I have been catching everything the kids have been bringing home since the beginning of September. I am sick of being sick!

And of course, one of the kids has something again. It never seems to end.

I still have not found my groove with working at home yet. However, soccer did end this weekend so that should help a bit. Lots of activities all around. Dog is doing well except that she has decided pooping is better inside than out!! UGH! This too shall pass.

I Got New Glasses...

I figured after 10 years it was about time!

Oh and I got few other things as well. A new dog (just picked her up tonight) and a new job.

The most important, the dog. She is 1.25 years old and a yellow lab. She is pretty small but stocky. Her name from the breeder was Tennie and she knows it a bit so we are going to keep it. Tennie seems to dig the kids and is already attached to Brooke and I. She has already taken her place on the begging line while we are making dinner.

I started a new job on Oct 1. Finally got that offer I could not refuse. It is a BIG change as I am now working from home 100% of the time. The company is a start-up so travel (unless client funded) will be minimal. Working from home has been a switch. I go days without leaving the house. It is hard to separate the house and work. Once I fall into my groove I should be fine.

One of the nice things about working at home is I can pop out for a run a bit more. October has been busy with everything going on. All 3 kids were home and we think 2 of them had H1N1 (typical symptoms of Swine Flu but never got them tested). The older 2 spent several days at home and the baby just 1. The baby has a bit of something now but does not seem to be the same symptoms as the others and/or H1N1.

Coaching soccer this year has been fun. The boys can be a bit challenging but they are really a blast. Their results have been mixed. I realized today (at our 8 AM game!!) that we have not faired so well with these early morning games. Aidan's soccer has been great this year. I have not been able to make it to all her games with coaching the boy's team but she is doing awesome! She scored 3 times today!

That's about it. I won't rant about anything today since it has been a while since I posted anything. But I heard some good stuff on NPR today about how to the environmental push! :)

3 - 2 - 1 - 2

Yesterday I finally hit the top of the Peak for a run at high altitude. I like to do this more often than just once and not a week before the Ascent but…I will take what I can get!

The workout that I did is a modified Ladder workout. A Ladder is when you start at the top of Pikes Peak, rundown 3 miles to A-Frame, run back up 3 miles. Rundown 2 miles, run back up 2 miles. Rundown 1 mile then back up 1 mile. I learned the modified Ladder last year and after 2 friends twisted their ankles about a week or two before last year’s Ascent, it is a main stay of mine now. The point of the modified Ladder is to still get the high altitude training but lessen the risk of running down (not to mention the stress on your body!). Anyone who has ever hiked the peak knows how rocky the top mile is. Avoiding running down that is key.

So, a modified ladder is 3 down, 2 up, 1 down, 2 up (3-2-1-2). I did this yesterday not only for the training but also just for a mental check off. I will (hopefully) feel better in the race being on familiar trails. The last 3 miles is tough but I like it. I geeked out and took a few pics on the trail! Here you go.

3 Miles to the top. Elevation, 11,500 feet. This is A Frame.

The view of Colorado Springs from A Frame.

2 Miles to go to the top. Elevation, 12,700 feet

Looking up the trail from the 2 miles to go sign.

This is at almost the 1 mile to go sign. This is a long traverse that is just a nice confidence booster. There is an Aid Station during the Ascent right in the middle there. They actually run hoses down from the Summit house!

1 Mile to go. Elevation is about 13,000 feet. The distance between 2 and 1 to go is less than a mile but it all evens out once you get to the top...

The Cirque is just a few feet past the 1 mile to go sign. This is the home of the El Paso Country Search and Rescue Kazoo Band during the Ascent! Last year, they opted not to play the Kazoo but were handing out plastic trash bags (it was a BAD year in 2008!).

The 16 Golden Stairs. There is nothing F-ing Golden about these! The 16 'stairs' are actually made up of 32 180 degree switch backs. This is longest quarter mile of your life!

I don't remember which "Stair" number this was but you can see the Summit house up there.

"I am done." That is about all the smile I could eek out after my workout! It was tough.

WOW! A New Post?!?

Its been a while since I posted anything…again. We have been pretty busy lately. Summer has gone by quick and the 2 older ones start school next week!

We have been pretty busy so far. We ran the Barr Trail Mountain Race in July. Brooke beat me but only 4 minutes this time! I have the Ascent this Saturday. My training has been pretty lacking but I am still hopeful to finally break that 4 hour mark!

Most importantly, there is a new coat of paint on the house! Woo-hoo! This was a lot of hard work. Not by me, but by Brooke and her Dad. :) I was in charge of moving the scaffolding and holding the ladders. We also have 6 of the last 7 windows in the house! So, we have been just a little on the busy side.

Everyone will be headed back to school in the next few weeks. We opted not to do the Nanny thing this year (our Nanny from last year is working on her Masters and has to go full time this year). We will be using a neighborhood preschool for the ‘baby’. I plan on working from home a couple of days a week. It may move to even more than that depending on what happens. I have also agreed to take on Cullen’s soccer team as the coach this year. I am pretty excited about it. I went out and bought a whistle and a clip-board. I really am a geek!

Twitter

I have been getting questions lately from people about Twitter. I decided to put together this presentation in case people want to learn, sign up and getting going on Twitter. There are a lot of resources on the web in regards to how to use Twitter for lots of different things. This is just a beginners' guide in my little mind. I hope you enjoy it:

Twitter

View more documents from guestea292b1b.

Value Experience (VX)

The Value Experience (VX) has been knocking around my head for a few weeks now. Thanks to a little banter with @pbultema from CodeBaby on Twitter (thanks Patrick!); it seems to have knocked some things loose.

I was thinking about how we have evolved from 'User Interface' (UI) to now calling it 'User Experience' (UX). As product managers, executives and entrepreneurs, we want strive to create an experience for those that use our system. But, it goes beyond the 'users'. We strive to increase sales, market share, install base, etc, etc. To accomplish these goals, no matter what kind of a company you have, we have to look beyond the 'User'. We have to provide an experience at all levels of touch that our product and company has with the "outside world".

For this, I have started using the term Value Experience (VX).

VX is the experience that makes up our product(s). It certainly encompasses a good UX but the value that is gained from that UX, may be different for different people. We have to understand our market. For example, if I have a flashy, cool UI for an insurance application what does that get me? What if the page takes so long to load, none of the agents actually can get it filled out? What value have I brought my product? None.

At the core of the VX is understanding your market. No. Scratch that. It is not “understanding your market”, it is being an expert in your market. How would I know whether or not a flashy UI with talking graphics is going to resonate with my market? Be a market expert. This is not just for vendors to take on this role but the buyers and business champions that buy these products. You too have to know what your market is.

I am not picking on flashy UI applications in particular, I love them! But, they do have a time and place. The VX touches many other pieces of the company as well. Sales, Marketing, Support (Do not forget about support!! So much we can learn from here!), Engineering, R&D. I will touch on different areas of my vision for the VX in additional posts through the next several weeks.

Need to post...

I know, I know. Been a while. I have had good intentions!

Good Triathlon this past weekend. The official results got a little messed up so as soon as they are up there, I will detail the race.

Twitter Challenge!

This is for anyone on Twitter or not!

The Lance Armstrong Foundation received a $25K challenge if their CEO makes it to 25K followers on Twitter by May 29th. Get involved! Let's make it even bigger. Pledge to make a donation of whatever if he makes the goal. $1, $10, $25 or whatever you can!

If you don't have a Twitter account, its simple and free. Just go to www.twitter.com and get an account (you don't have to if you just want to donate but you will miss out on some of the fun!).

Pledge your donation as a post on Twitter and append it with '#LAFTC', Lance Armstrong Foundation Twitter Challenge. Let's see how viral we can make this fundraising effort. The LAF, aka LiveStrong, does so many great things. Check out thier website at www.livestrong.org.

I will also put together a Twibe for LAFTC.

I will periodically post the pledge totals on Twitter with the tag '#LAFTC'.

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!

For Twitter-gins a post would look something like this with the tag:

'I am in for $25! #LAFTC'

Since I am posting this during 'working hours' I may be doing another fundraiser to temporarily replace my salary! ;) This is my lunch hour...

Biking, Running...What is the Third One Again?

Yes, as the title would suggest, my swimming has been lacking so far. But, my first (and so far only) Tri of the year is only a 500m open water swim.

I have been running and biking pretty well. Yesterday I had a nice workout on the trainer in my office since the weather, for yet ANOTHER weekend, has been crap. I was going to hit the pool after but no one could watch the kids.

Today, I had a nice brick. Hit the bike for about an hour (on the trainer thanks to the weather again) and then braved a run Barr Trail to the top of the W's. No thunder or lightning so the run was unenvetful except for the rain coming down. It was actually warmer than last year's Ascent! :)

And by the way, do not discount trainer workouts for the bike. Unlike being out on the road, you do not get the nice coasts downhill. you are working the whole time. I have been giving my hamstrings a nice workout on the trainer lately. Hopefully this will pay off in the Barr Trail Race and the Ascent this year!

My Essential Tools - For Work Anyway

My Essential Applications

For some reason I decided to do one of those posts where I go through and describe the things I just cannot live with out. At least from one perspective, applications I use for my job. If you don't know, I am a Product Manager for a software company.

Microsoft Disclaimer: I use MS tools. I know there are great alternatives. I just have not made it over that hump just yet. For the sake of this post I will be referring to MS tools (MS Word, MS Excel, etc) but I fully recognize that what I am using these for I could use other "brand name" tools that are similar.

1. Microsoft Office

I had to lump these together. I spend most of my day "coding" in Word, outlook or Excel. The hot days are when I get to use PowerPoint. Fact is that I spend so much time everyday writing documents, editing documents, creating spreadsheets, answering emails, etc. These tools are certainly essential to what I do everyday

2. Microsoft Project

I have to communicate so much information for so many different stakeholders along the way that MS project helps me keep it all together. Dates change? No problem; input the new date and MS Project (provided you know what you are doing and set the plan up right from the beginning) calculates the changes. I love it! Couple MS Project with other tools like SharePoint and project Server, you have got yourself a nice way to manage projects, products, departments, etc.

3. Microsoft Visio

OK, this is the last MS product, I promise. MS Visio allows me to create diagrams of processes and systems easily and quickly. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well that should make the Product Requirements Document (PRD) a lot shorter :) ! When presenting to my development staff, the more complex you can make the diagram, the more they like it. Just kidding. My development staff likes pictures...so does my 2 year old.

4. Blackberry

I am addicted to the CrackBerry. I recently upgraded to the BlackBerry Bold from AT&T (I like the Verizon network better, why can't we use the same phone on any network!?!). I love this thing. The UI is better than the old UI. I believe the Storm has the same UI but I have not heard great things about the Storm (I have not heard too bad either but no one "Loves" the Storm that I know).

5. TweetDeck - www.tweetdeck.com (and TwitterBerry for the BlackBerry)

How can anything Twitter be essential for work? I am still working on that. But, I use the search functions in TweetDeck to keep an eye on my competition and trends. I know before anyone else when iPipeline has a press release out. I am also using Twitter to network and research. As you have probably guessed from past Blog posts, I am a proponent of Twitter. TweetDeck helps me organize lots of different searches, Direct Messages, replies as well as integrates with URL shortners, TwitPic and many other features. Also, Tweetdeck is an Adobe AIR application. So if you download it, it will also install Adobe AIR.

6. Balsamiq Mockups www.balsamiq.com

Its simple. Make mockups that mean something. It is an Adobe AIR application. The 'controls' that are included in the base product make it easy to create screen mockups. I use their mockup tool to create mockups or even on web presentations to show what we are discussing and get buy in from stakeholders immediately. The tool is very inexpensive ($79 for a desktop install) for what you get. Balsamiq is also using Twitter and Facebook to not only get the word out about their product but also to provide updates. Periodic mockup templates are published and announcements are done via Twitter. Balsamiq as a company is doing very well. I love the ISV model and their business model. Peldi - Want to put me on your Board of Advisors!?! :)

7. Straight Forward Tools

This is just a simple collection of templates that are great for Product Management. I stepped into this role with when there never had been a formal Product Manager before. I used the Straight Forward Tools set of templates to help me design Product roadmaps, produce standard product info sheets and standardize on PRD and other document formats. To a lesser degree I have also used the 280 Groups free template sets to base some things from.

There are certainly many other tools that I use but these few are essential to my day to day.

Twitter Plugins

Playing with a couple of Twitter plugins. One requires Flash 9 to view, the other is just HTML based. Had to mess with the template on Blogger to get the Flash one to dispaly properly.

Let me know if you have any problems with the view!

Using Twitter

I have been using Twitter more and more lately. Not necessarily to post things but for research. You can find some good info out there! Also, I have set up searches on TweetDeck for several items.

One thing I have found while 'playing' with Twitter that there are a lot of questions from people about how to use Twitter for business, to make money or what Twitter is? The last one is my favorite! :)

I have found 2 really good examples of using Twitter for your business lately. The first comes from the Colorado Springs branch of Modis. They have started using Twitter to send out open positions that they have. They post the highlighted skills and a link to the position details on their website. A fast, cheap method of advertising! (Note - I am not looking for a job, just thought this was a good use of Twitter).

The second example was the Colorado Springs Pride Soccer Club. I have 2 kids that play soccer for them so our weekends are filled with shuttling between fields. This Spring has been bad for soccer schedules in Colorado Springs. Snow, rain, and...very little sun! Pride is now using Twitter to update game statuses! Instead of having to call all the different coaches, then the coaches calling the parents (I am sure there are a couple other levels of calling trees also), you just check Twitter. Plus, I may be out at another game so I won't get the message about the next one being canceled. I can just check Twitter on my phone. School districts, governments, etc could us Twitter in this way as well.

Now, neither of these are going to cure cancer or save lives but it is convenient (I still think the best use of Twitter was the status communication method in the Southern California fires a year or two ago!). Kudos to both organizations for embracing this new medium!

I must pass along my advice to both (and future) organizations...keep the updates relevant. I (and I have to assume at least a few others) do not want to hear about every little thing that you do or opportunity. That will make me unsubscribe and defeat the usefulness of what is being done.

Friday Night Excitement

Last night I dropped our oldest off for a sleep over at a friend's house. When I got home, my neighbor walked up to me. Wanted to let me know there was a Mountain Lion roaming across the street. The lion had picked off one of our neighbors dogs, a Chow.

The Division of Wildlife sent someone out. They found the remains of the dog. When they were trying to get the collar off the dog, the lion came back around the corner. The Division of Wildlife guy, Matt, decided it was time to go get his shotgun.

The lion came back to the carcass 3 times while Matt was standing just 10 feet away. He decided the Lion needed to go. He called in another Division of Wildlife guy to bring a trap. Apparently, if he had shot the lion with a tranquilizer, the lion basically just gets really pissed off. It takes about 10 minutes for the sedative to take effect and the lion just runs around and in populated area, this can be bad. As a difference, a bear will just climb up a tree and fall asleep.

The lion decided to just take a rest up the hill. We all got a good glimpse of him, and he of us! The fact that he seemed pretty at ease with all the activity confirmed the Division of Wildlife's thought that he had to be moved. They set the trap with the remainder of the dog carcass.

I ran into Matt this morning and they caught the lion!

I did not get any pics of the lion unfortunately. He was just out of range to get a picture with the lense I have. Maybe next time.

You Never Know on Race Day

In a word, BRUTAL.  This year's Pikes Peak Ascent was BRUTAL.  Usually, the weather for the Ascent has a nice sunny start and you can stand to be in a tank top.  Not this year.

Let me start out this post by letting you know it may be a bit long.  I felt really good going into race day this year.  My goal was to beat 4 Hours.  Actually, it was to crush it.  I figured, if I can keep up a good pace, keep my heart rate between 150-160 and just keep up with my training pace, I could do it

At the start, we had what most would consider mild temps in the mid 50s.  But, the rain dampened everything.  Living in Colorado I am a little light on waterproof running gear.  We don't have a big call for it here and if we do, I just run the treadmill at the Y.  We started off the morning layered up with a T-Shirt, cycling arm bands, a long sleeve moisture wicking shirt and my running wind breaker.  Before leaving the house I thought to grab a trash bag just in case.  I had the trash bag on before we even started.

We started out the race in the first wave (We being my wife and I.  Also another friend who took off to win her age division in 3:16!) at 7 AM.  The gun went off and the mass push up Manitou Avenue began.  Everyone says the secret to this race is in the start.  You have a little less than half a mile of relatively flat road running before turning left up Ruxton to the Barr Trail.  The key here is not to go out too fast and use up all your energy but also not to go too slow and get trapped up on the trail.  I still have yet to figure out this secret.  :)

GPS signals were a pretty weak all day due to the cloud cover and weather.  Luckily, the landmarks are well marked and your splits are usually done from those.  I took it easy up Ruxton and onto Hydro Street.  You meet up with the trail just past the end of Hydro.  Up to this point is probably the steepest part of the trail.

Once on the trail is where you learn if you started out right.  I was in the slower part of the pack.  It is hard to pass and takes a lot of energy to dodge the extra rocks in this part of the course.  I usually settle in and wait until the trail opens up past the Experimental Forest.  Just past the 2nd aid station is the "Top of the W's".  This is the end of the initial set of switch backs.  I was about 5 minutes ahead of my pace here!!  Woo-hoo!!

The course starts to level out a bit here (all relative) and you have a few little flat parts and even some short downhills as you approach the No Name Creek/Experimental Forest aid station.  Again, I was still about 5 minutes ahead of my pace here.  Once you come out past this aid station, there are a few switch backs and a short climb to the flattest part of the course.  It is fairly flat (again this is all relative with an overall 8% grade in 3.2 miles) with some slight rolls.  You can see the section highlighted in the pictures below:

Barr Camp is a little over half way between.  It is 7.8 miles from the start and there are about 5.6 miles to the finish from here.  However, you should be there in about half your time.  I was at Barr in less than 2 hours (1:56:28 to be exact).  Coming out of Barr Camp for the next 2.6 miles is the worst part of the course in my opinion.  I think the 1.6 miles from Barr is the longest section of the course.  This is where the rock steps really start to make their appearance and are there to stay.  Running on this section difficult as the elevation gain with the rocks makes it hard.  Also, this is probably the hardest section of the course to train on.  There is no way to easily get to Barr Camp so I tend to neglect the training in this section.

Coming up this section I decided to take a bit easy and refuel a bit before hitting above tree line.  I knew it would be cold up there so I wanted to make sure I had the energy and calories to push through.  At 4 miles to go to the summit (about 1 mile from tree line and A Frame aid station) I took a Gu.  Unknowingly, this would be the last Gu I take.   The last mile of this section went pretty well.

I got to the A Frame aid station.  I knew this was good.  I knew the trail from A Frame up.  I had been up 3 times doing runs so I felt confident I could make up a bit of the time I would loose from Barr to A Frame.  Coming up to the aid station one of the El Paso County Search and Rescue members was belting out a weather report.  "26 Degrees and snowing on top!  If you don't have warm weather gear you might want to think about heading back down!"  I was not about to head back down.  I could feel it was considerably colder than at Barr Camp and the wind was whipping through the trees but I was not going to endure 10 miles back down!

At the beginning of this story I mentioned what I was wearing but forgot to mention I was wearing shorts and had not packed long pants.  I still had the 3 layers of clothing on but had stuff the trash bag in my backpack by now.  I had donned my gloves between 4 to go and 3 to go (3 to go is the A Frame aid station).  I powered on grabbing some water and grapes at the aid station planning another Gu at 2 miles to go.

As we went up, the weather got worse.  Just out of the trees the winds whipped across the mountain with snow, sleet and grapple (basically VERY small hail pellets that hurt like hell when the wind is blowing).  As we traversed southward on the mountain (the trek up is now a collection of switchbacks zigzagging across the top of Pikes Peak), the winds were fierce.  The grapple and sleet pounded every bare inch of your body.  It felt like thousands of little needles pelting your skin.  I covered my face with my gloves to help.  By the time I made it to the 2 miles to go sign I was wet and frozen solid.  My hands could not work.

I stumbled off the trail and pulled my trash bag out.  Donned the trash bag and started up again.  Stopping made it colder.  I wanted to get that last Gu but my fingers would not work to open the pack and then get it out.  As we got further up the trail we hit out last aid station about half way between A Frame and the summit.  I got some water and a handful of grapes.  The trail was now about 2 or 3 inches of packed down slush and ice.  Not the best footing for making it up the peak.

The whole time I only looked 3 feet in front of me hoping not to be the guy that they had to rescue on the trail after falling down The Cirque.  The Cirque is just less than a mile to go from the top, and was a welcome site.  From here, the trail gets pretty rocky and there are plenty of rock steps to slow you down and in this weather, slip on.  The traffic jam from here on up was constant.  A death march trudging up America's Mountain.  I had not looked at my watch since A Frame; the face was pretty much frozen over.  I had no idea where I was at on my goal.

The last .4 miles of the Peak is known as the 16 Golden Stairs.  This is a collection of short switch backs with large rock steps at each turn.  One "Stair" is 2 switch backs.  So, if you are counting, 32 switchbacks.  Just about each switchback in this section was stopped with people taking it slowly.  The rocks at this point were covered in sheets of ice.  The trail was just packed down snow going over the rocks.

Finally, I made it to the finish.  I read the clock, it said 4:20.  I missed my time.  Not by a few minutes but by a lot!  I was pretty disappointed.   There was a large line of people trying to get through the finish.  We were all stopped.  My fingers did not work so one of the poor volunteers up there had to grab my bib number.

I picked up my check bag, got my finisher's jersey (pretty cool long sleeve technical shirt) and headed into the hut on top of the peak.  I was so exhausted and cold I did nothing but shake as I tried to change my clothes.  Finally I made it into some dry clothes and caught a van to the bottom.

All in all, a really shitty race.  My official time ended up being 4:19:59.  Still well above my goal.  Approximately 1800 racers started the day out between the 2 waves.  760 of us made it to the top.  They started turning people away at A Frame at about 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Would I do it again?  Yes...