ING Georgia Marathon Pace Leader

Atlanta now has a Spring marathon (March 25, 2007) which ING and Mizuno have graciously decided to sponsor. The folks at the ING Georgia Marathon wanted a diverse group of pace team leaders from the Georgia running community,so the marathon staff asked people from Team Phidippides, the Atlanta Track Club, and the Galloway Training Group to participate. Being a member of Team Phdippides, I was given the opportunity to be a pace leader for the inaugural ING Georgia Marathon. I ran with a pace group in my first marathon which was the 2002 Chicago Marathon. My pace leaders were very enthusiastic and helped me meet my time goal, so becoming a pace leader is my way of giving back to the running community.

I will be leading the 4 hour and 30 minute pace team along with a very fun and enthusiastic Team Phidippides teammate, Kira Wilsterman. Our goal is to have fun, show off the different areas of Atlanta (including the hills), and get everyone to the finish line in 4:30!

My Ironman Video

I decided to take all of the photos and finisher videos of Eric and me from IMLP 2006 and put them to music using iMovie. I hope you enjoy my first attempt at creating a movie.

Ironman Calories In and Calories Out

The longer you participate in an endurance race, the more fueling and hydration become important. Therefore, the Ironman can be viewed as an eating contest. During my 12:54:12 Ironman, my 130 pound frame burned approximately 8000 calories. My body mostly burned fat for energy during the bike, but the body needs glycogen to burn fat. The body stores approximately 2000 calories in the muscles and liver as glycogen, so I knew that I needed to eat throughout the race in order to maintain a consistent pace all day and not bonk.

So, what did I eat?

2:00 AM

• 1 Vanilla Ensure Plus
• 1 Vanilla Boost

5:30 AM

• 1 banana
• 1/2 plain bagel

On the Bike

• 3 Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Clif Bars
• 2 bananas
• 12 Gu (various flavors)
• 3 bottles of Gatorade Endurance
• 3 bottles of water
  
• 8 Endurolyte tablets

During the Run

• 9 Gu (various flavors)
• 1 orange
• 1/2 banana
• 8 Endurolyte tablets
• 8 oz. Chicken broth
• 1/2 bottle of Gatorade Endurance
• 1 or 2 bottles of water
  

After the Race

• 1/2 slice pepperoni pizza
• 1/2 orange
• 1 serving Endurox Drink (Fruit Punch)

All of that food over the course of the day totaled approximately 4800 calories. I was a little hungry before the race and several times during the race; however, I would rather be hungry and in control of what goes into my stomach than to feel bloated or have stomach cramps.

A few days after the Ironman I weighed myself on a clinical scale (the one with the weights on it that does not lie), and I weighed 127 pounds.

Why do an Ironman?

This video has provided motiviation for many of my friends and fellow Ironmen, and I am hoping that it will help provide some answers to those who ask "why?"

There are those who say they can and those who say they can't; there are those who say they will and those who say they won't. I like to say that I can and will.

More Ironman Photos from ASI Photo

I have uploaded the photos that the professionals took during the 2006 Lake Placid Ironman. Enjoy.

Professional Ironman Lake Placid Photos

Aug 3, 2006 - 30 Photos

2006 Lake Placid Ironman Race Day

Thanks for Barb and EBeth for taking great race day photos:

2006 Lake Placid Ironman

Jul 26, 2006 - 40 Photos

Prerace
Eric's and my Ironman race day started at 2 AM when we woke up to drink Ensure Plus and Boost meal replacement drinks. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night due to nerves, so we wanted to make sure that we got a start on our fuel for the day.

We woke up around 4:45 AM to get ready and head over to the race. I was happy that I drank the meal replacement drinks at 2 AM because my stomach would only handle a banana and half a bagel due to nerves.

Barb and Joel, Eric's Dad, were troopers to get up with us and help us carry our bags and bike pump down to the race. It was still a little dark at 5:30 AM when Eric and I showed up for body marking. After getting our numbers and age applied to our bodies, we headed into the transition area to hang up our swim-to-bike and bike-to-run bags. We would've turned in these bags the night before, but it rained a lot and we wanted to make sure we had dry gear for race day. We then headed over to our bikes to pump up our tires and remove the "bike pajamas". We had strategically placed garbage bags on our handlebars, seats, cranks, and rear drivetrain to make sure our bikes weren't too wet. I also double checked to make sure my bike was in the right gear.

Eric, Barb, Joel and I headed down towards the swim start for a bathroom break and to turn in our bike and run special needs bags. Eric and I carefully applied Body Glide to the parts of our bodies that would need it and put on our wetsuits for the swim. After handing off our clothes and gear to Barb and Joel and saying goodbye, we headed off to the swim start.

Swim
After waiting in line with 2200 other athletes to cross over the starting mat, Eric and I entered Mirror Lake. Eric was able to find Elizabeth and Katie on the beach before the swim start, so we said "hello" and Katie gave us a good luck kiss.

Eric is a good swimmer, so he headed towards the start line. I originally planned to stay at the back with the slower swimmers who were standing on the beach; however, I noticed a very large, open area of water between the start line and the beach. I slowly swam out to this area with two minutes before the start and treaded water until the cannon went off.

The swim went much better than I expected. I had heard horror stories of people getting pushed under water and getting their goggles kicked off. However, none of that happened to me. Starting in the open area had proved to be a good move. I was able to get my stroke rhythm going and only had to stop and go around a traffic jam two times.

A few days before the race when Eric and I swam part of the Mirror Lake course, Eric showed me that the ropes used to hold the buoys were only eight feet under water and very visible from about 10 or 15 feet out. I tried to swim fairly close to the buoys and watch for the rope underwater so that I would not have to sight. This tip helped me tremendously. I don't swim in a straight line when swimming in open water, so I used the ropes under water to help me swim 2.4 miles instead of 2.7 or 2.8 miles. I also tried to draft as much as possible. When drafting in swimming, as long as you are anywhere in a person's wake, which starts at the front of the swimmer and flows outward and back, you will gain some advantage. Whenever a better swimmer would pass me, which was often, I would swim next to them for as long as I could and then would swim behind them for as long as I could.

I was surprised and happy to see my first lap at around 42 minutes, and I maintained that pace for the second lap to finish the swim in 1:24.

At some point during the swim it rained very hard; however, I really didn't notice it. I do remember looking up at one point and seeing something that looked like rain; however, I assumed it was all of the splashing from people swimming and kicking. The only other eventful part of the swim was seeing the "frog men" or "pushers" under water. It was kind of creepy to come up on underwater divers blowing bubbles up at you during the swim. The divers had their cold water gear on which made them look very unusual. They do serve a needed purpose of making sure that people are not pushed under water during the crowded parts of the swim at the start and around the two turns. If anyone does get shoved under water, the pushers push the swimmers back up to the surface.

T1
After getting out of the water, there were many volunteers knows as "strippers". When you come out of the water, they were shouting at me to get my attention. I went over to two guys who promptly started to "strip" my wetsuit off of my upper body. As soon as they got my wetsuit down to my waist, they said, "lay on your butt," and they started to pull my wetsuit off of my legs. The whole process, which normally takes me around 30 seconds or so, took only three or four seconds.

After getting my wetsuit stripped, I was off for the quarter mile run to the transition area to pick up my swim to bike bag. Many volunteers were calling out my number so that another volunteer could run and get my swim-to-bike bag for me. I took my bag and was directed towards the women's changing tent.

I put my bike helmet, arm warmers, and shoes on along with my race number. A volunteer told me to leave my bag as they would put it back for me, so I shoved my wetsuit, goggles and swim cap into my bag and headed out of the changing tent. After a quick stop at the bathroom, I found my bike at the same time as a volunteer did. There weren't too many other bikes on the rack as swimming is not one of my strengths, so my bike was easy to spot. I grabbed my bike and headed out for 112 miles.

Bike
I quickly rode out of the transition area and found my family along the race course. They were waving and ringing their cowbells, which put a huge smile on my face.

Eric had given me another good tip about the Lake Placid Ironman bike course. Just outside of town is a two kilometer climb with an aid station at the top of the climb. Eric said to leave T1 with only one water bottle and pick up another bottle at the top of the climb. That way, you save a little weight on the climb. I had been sipping only water for the first 20 minutes on the bike to let the blood in my body move from my arms to my legs. After picking up a bottle of Endurance Gatorade at the top of the climb, I started sipping Gatorade and eating Gu.

I had to swallow my pride and ride a very conservative first lap of the bike. So many people flew by me like I was standing still; however, the Ironman is a test of endurance. I knew that I would be able to catch many of the bikers on the second lap of the bike.

The bike route was beautiful, after the first two kilometer climb, we hit a nine mile descent into the town of Keene. That descent was FUN! My only issue was with people braking on the downhill. The roads were good without many turns, so I felt safe. After Keene we rode for around eight or ten miles on fairly flat or undulating roads. This road is very good to catch up on eating, so I ate a Clif Bar each time I got on this section of the course. When we got to the town of Jay, we had a three mile climb into the town of Wilmington. From there we rode a seven mile out (and seven mile back) road with rolling hills and two good half mile climbs. From Wilmington we headed eleven miles back into Lake Placid with some very good rolling climbs. This part of the ride was beautiful as it passed Whiteface Mountain and High Falls Gorge. The climbs back into town are named, Little Cherry, Big Cherry, Mama Bear, Baby Bear, and Papa Bear. As you can imagine, there are many people who drive or bike out to the climbs to help give you energy up the hills.

After the climb back to town, the crowds really start to pick up. The bike course passed by the swim start, which was still packed with people, and then passed through Lake Placid on Main Street and between the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and the Ice Hockey Rinks. I really felt good with all of the energy from the crowds as I headed out for my second loop.

I saw my family again waving their cowbells. I tried to push my pace a little more on the second lap while still conserving energy for the run. As predicted, I passed many cyclists on the second lap like they were standing still. This was especially evident on the hills heading back into Lake Placid. I sat in my saddle and spun up the hills at a high cadence. My legs felt okay, but my shoulders were starting to ache. I was surprised to see that I rode negative splits (i.e., my second lap was faster than my first lap) on the bike. I did move up 400 places on the bike, so I was glad that I took the first lap easy.

The aid stations were scattered about every ten miles on the bike. The aid stations were equipped with many volunteers handing out water bottles, Endurance Gatorade bottles, Gu, PowerBars, and bananas. Each aid station also had several porta-potties. I did need to stop a few times because I was eating a lot and taking liquid every time I ate or took Endurolyte tablets. The aid stations even have volunteers who sole purpose is to hold your bike for you while you use the bathroom - a very nice touch : )

T2
As I rode into T2, there was a volunteer who took my bike from me and directed me towards the bike-to-run bags and the changing tent. Once again, many volunteers were calling out my number, and I was handed my run gear. I ran into the women's changing tent and immediately had two women attending me. The first woman helped organize my gear and started packing my cycling items in my bag. The second woman got me water for my Endurolyte tablets and sprayed sun screen on me. Both women kept asking me how I felt and helped me get through the transition area quickly. After another stop at the porta-potty, I was off for 26.2 miles.

Run
I felt really good at the beginning of the run, but I tried to slow my pace so that I would have something left for the second 13 miles. I passed my family around mile one, and they told me that Eric was at least 30 minutes ahead of me. I thought that I might be able to catch him; however, that never happened. Around mile three, my body started having a conversation with my mind about stopping and walking. I am very happy to say that my mind won, and I continued running the race while walking at the aid stations.

The aid stations were equipped with many volunteers along with water, Endurance Gatorade, chicken broth, Coke, salt, Vasoline, Gu, PowerBars, chocolate chip cookies, Fig Newtons, bananas, oranges, grapes, ice and sponges soaked in ice water. All of the volunteers were great and very encouraging. Everyone's race number has their name on it, so I heard, "go Sue" many times during the race from the volunteers and from the many spectators. Hearing your name really gives you a lot of energy.

One of the interesting aspects of the 26.2 mile run of an Ironman is that you never "hit the wall". I felt tired on the second lap of the run; however, I never hit the wall like I have when running a marathon.

The run was beautiful, but long. The course left Lake Placid and headed out towards the Olympic Ski Jumps, which are amazing to see in person. TV does not do the size of the jumps any justice. The run continued along a road that was fairly flat with a few undulating hills. There were two fairly significant climbs on the run back into town. I never saw anyone run up those hills as most people walked at some point. I tried to run up the hills until my heart rate got too high, and I would walk up to the crest of the hill.

The second lap of the race was tough as I was feeling tired and sore; however, I managed to keep my slow pace going. About three miles from the finish, I started to get a little choked up thinking of all of the work I had put into this event. I started having trouble breathing, so I quickly tried to concentrate on the race and getting to the finish before the 13 hour mark.

Two miles from the finish, Barb and my Mom and Dad ran/walked up the final hill with me as spectators called out my name. The run goes through the town of Lake Placid and then shoots out along the road next to Mirror Lake for a mile. Barb and my Mom and Dad left me at this point to head to the finish and wished me good luck. I picked up the pace during the last mile as I was very excited to finish during daylight.

Several friends and Ironman Finishers (e.g., Gina Steadman, Bobby Wheeler, and Kim Lieb) told me to milk the finish. So, I did. As I ran around the Olympic Speed Skating Oval and passed through the bleachers to finish, I held my arms up encouraging the spectators to cheer, which they did. You can watch my finishing video here:

boss.streamos.com/wmedia/ironman/video/2006/lakeplacid/finish.wvx?starttime=4:37:12.00&endtime=01:00:00.00

Postrace
An Ironman is hard and painful. I was very tired and sore when I finished. After collecting my finishing medal, goodie bag, and silver blanket, I got my finisher photo taken and attempted to find my family. I found my family and got some pizza and water. Eric told me that I would start to feel better after 15 minutes, which did happen. Barb had been getting updates of my times and progress from her Dad over the phone, so she told me how I faired on the swim and the bike. As I started feeling better, the entire event started to sink in. As my sister would say, I felt like I was wearing big pants!

I will never say "never", but I don't think that I will sign up for another Ironman in the near future. Even though Eric kicked ass on the hilly bike, he says that he prefers a flat course. So, he has plans for Ironman Florida in 2009 or 2010. As for me... : )

2006 Lake Placid Ironman Race Finishers

Eric and I did it! Here are our finishing stats:

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NAME	SUE HACKETT
BIB NUMBER	2214
AGE	38
PROFESSION
STATE/COUNTRY	GA USA

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	POSITION
1:24:39	6:42:58	4:32:52	12:54:12	1132

RACE LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	POSITION
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi. (1:24:39)	2:13/100m	1776
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT	56 mi. (3:22:57)	16.56 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT	56 mi. (3:20:01)	16.80 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (6:42:58)	16.68 mph	1378
FIRST RUN SEGMENT	13.1 mi. (2:13:36)	10:11/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT	13.1 mi. (2:19:16)	10:37/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (4:32:52)	10:24/mile	1132
TRANSITION			TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE			9:12
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN			4:31
PENALTY			TIME
TOTAL PENALTIES			--:--

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BIB NUMBER	OVERALL PLACE	TOTAL TIME	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	DIVISION PLACE
2214	1129	12:54:12	HACKETT	SUE	32/106

SWIM DIV PLACE	SWIM OVR PLACE	SWIM TIME	SWIM 100M PACE	T1
83	1776	1:24:39	2:14	9:12

BIKE DIV PLACE	BIKE OVR PLACE	BIKE TIME	BIKE PACE	T2
34	1307	6:42:59	16.7	4:31

RUN DIV PLACE	RUN OVR PLACE	RUN TIME	RUN PACE
27	845	4:32:53	10:25

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NAME	ERIC RAPISARDA
BIB NUMBER	469
AGE	33
PROFESSION	CONSULTANT
STATE/COUNTRY	MA USA

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	POSITION
1:09:56	6:01:14	4:33:37	11:58:43	677

RACE LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	POSITION
TOTAL SWIM	2.4 mi. (1:09:56)	1:50/100m	794
FIRST BIKE SEGMENT	56 mi. (2:58:16)	18.85 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT	56 mi. (3:02:58)	18.36 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (6:01:14)	18.60 mph	592
FIRST RUN SEGMENT	13.1 mi. (2:09:49)	9:54/mile
FINAL RUN SEGMENT	13.1 mi. (2:23:48)	10:58/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (4:33:37)	10:26/mile	677
TRANSITION			TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE			8:28
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN			5:28
PENALTY			TIME
TOTAL PENALTIES			--:--

---

BIB NUMBER	OVERALL PLACE	TOTAL TIME	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	RACE DIVISION	DIVISION PLACE
469	676	11:58:43	RAPISARDA	ERIC	M30-34	128/279

SWIM DIV PLACE	SWIM OVR PLACE	SWIM TIME	SWIM 100M PACE	T1
130	794	1:09:56	1:51	8:28

BIKE DIV PLACE	BIKE OVR PLACE	BIKE TIME	BIKE PACE	T2
109	582	6:01:15	18.6	5:29

RUN DIV PLACE	RUN OVR PLACE	RUN TIME	RUN PACE
142	855	4:33:37	10:27

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Here is Eric's commentary on our Finisher Videos:

in my video, you will first see a guy struggle to get across the line. once he’s through, you’ll see me in the back by the green awning grab Katie and say hi to barb and the hacketts. i then make my way down the chute.

sue on the otherhand, ignores her family and instead seeks the glory and praise of the crowd as she hustles toward the line towards the right hand side of the chute.

Marathon Training Tips for the Beginner

After posting the advice that people have given me for the Ironman, I thought about some marathon training advice that I have given to some first-time marathoners:

• Words of encouragement: "Just Do It" : )
• Even though you are only running 20 miles as your longest run, it will prepare your body for 26.2 miles. You will feed off of crowd support and mental energy the last 6 miles, so there is no need to worry that you haven't run 26.2 miles before the big day.
• I always broke up my 20 mile runs into smaller loops to make sure I could get more water or go to the bathroom. I usually did a 6 mile loop, took the dogs on a 4 mile loop, and then finished with a 10 mile loop. If I felt good at the end, I threw in another 2 or 3 mile loop for fun : )
• Make sure you walk and take a few sips of liquid during all water stops. It gives your legs a rest and you will feel better in the last miles.
• Make sure you alternate water and Gatorade at the water stops (water at one stop, Gatorade at the next stop, etc.). Do not drink TOO MUCH! Women are very susceptible to Hyponatremia. Several women have died in the past few years after marathons because of hyponatremia (Chicago 2003, Boston 2002, etc.).
• Wear your name on your running shirt. The spectators love to yell "Go XXX!" if they know your name. You will feed off their energy in the last few miles.
• Dress as if it were 15 to 20 degrees warmer than the temperature. For instance, if the temperature is 50 degrees, wear what you would wear if the temperature was 65 degrees or 70. You will warm up when running for four or five or six hours. When I ran the Chicago Marathon, it was 30-something degrees. I wore a long sleeved shirt, shorts, gloves, and a hat. And, I was warm. Also, wear yucky clothes because you may shed some of them. I have seen people throw very nice Adidas jackets, etc. to the side of the road during a marathon. Most cities take the left over clothes and donate them to various charities or Goodwill.
• If you have chaffing issues (arms, legs, wherever), make sure you use Vasoline or Body Glide.
• Take Gu or some type of energy stuff during your long runs and during the marathon. Your long runs are a good way to experiment with what your stomach can handle before, during and after the marathon. Long runs are also a good way to test out various Energy Gels for flavor, consistency, etc. That way, on the Big Day, you will know what to eat the night before, during the race, and after the race without feeling sick.
• Take each mile one at a time and remember that it is okay to walk.
• Smile and have fun!

Ironman Racing Advice

I've gotten some great advice from several people about how to race an Ironman. Most recently, I spoke with two time IMLP finisher, Ricky Wilt. He suggested the following:

• eating a lot of food up until the race to fuel up for the all day conquest.
• counting to 10 when the gun goes off at the start of the swim to let all the gung-ho people rush into the water
• swimming with a spare pair of goggles around my neck for the first half mile will come in handy if my goggles get knocked off. If my goggles don't get knocked off, I can always chuck the extra goggles into the water
• swimming wide towards the right to avoid a lot of the people

Friend and fellow triathlete, Matt Karr, suggested the following:

• take the time to enjoy the experience of an Ironman