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Mark Muurisepp
Duke Blue Devil Iron Distance Race
September 2002

Here is chronological race report for my 1st Iron distance Triathlon, it’s long so be warned. Feel free to skip to race day or over anything you like….

Here is the cast of characters

Natalie – My ultra supportive wife, without her agreement and support this wouldn’t have happened.

Hannah – My 5 ½ year old daughter, who often tells me to run slower so I don’t get so sweaty and tired.

Abby – My 2 ½ year old daughter, who will hug me no matter how sweaty I get after a long training day.

Lisa – My sister, who indirectly 2+ years ago started me on this path to complete this race. She also flew down from New York to cheer me on, which meant so much to me.

Margie – My wonderful mother in-law, who provided much excitement and amazement at what I was doing over the past months, and pushed back the installation of her tile floor, so I could train. I will be there Saturday to start on it.

Duke Blue Devil Iron Distance Eve
Friday September 13th 2002:

6:15 a.m.

Woke up more relaxed than I would have imagined. I helped get the girls ready for school.

Nervousness rating is about 75%

7:15 a.m.

Put Abby in her car seat and took her off to daycare. Came back home and loaded the dogs into the car. Dropped them off at the vet for there fun filled weekend.

Nervousness rating 80%

8:30 a.m.

Went out for a short easy 10 minute run, then hopped on the bike for a 20 minute ride. Everything was working fine. Doing the quick workout helped ease my mind a little bit and but the fact that in less than 24 hours I would be on the bike for another 6 hours.

Nervousness rating 50%

9:45 a.m.

After showering, which helps nerve ratio, I realize I haven’t eaten anything yet. I grab 2 muffins and eat them on the way out to Duke University Campus, to get my registration packet and check out the race expo.

Nervousness rating 40%

After getting out to Durham and getting the registration taken care of, I spent about 10 minutes milling around the expo. I check out the finish line area and think about what it might be like tomorrow night crossing the line after a long day.

Walked back to the car and headed to the airport to pick up my sister Lisa, heading in from New York to see me race and visit with her nieces.

Nervousness rating 75%

12:00 p.m.

Lisa’s flight gets in early so I have gained about 20 minutes in the schedule for the day, this extra time will come in handy later on in the day. Lisa and I get in the car and head back to Jamestown for the rest of the crew.

Nervousness rating 60%

1:30 p.m.

Back in Jamestown and pick up Natalie at the house.

Back into he car and head to Panera for some lunch. Even though I am not hungry, I force myself to eat a sandwich and some soup. I started to feel the nerves coming on a little more, tried to talk about anything to get my mind off of tomorrow.

Nervousness rating 70%

2:30-3:00 p.m.

Pick the girls up from school and go back to the house to load up the car.

Nervousness rating 60%

4:00-6:00 p.m.

A little later than I wanted to leave but should still give me time to get to the start finish location by 5:30, so that I can get in a quick swim at the race start location.

Head down Wendover and turn off to get onto I-40, Friday traffic has started nothing is moving. I make a quick left over the median before I get onto I-40 and change the route to Raleigh.

Advance 1 ½ hours, we are still about 20 minutes away from the race start. I think I am starting to get a little short with my answers to everyone, the nervousness is almost at its max. I accept the fact that I will not get in that last swim before the race.

We finally arrive at the race site at about 6:05, the meeting has started, I am stressed big time. I head over to the meeting and listen to what is said, nothing earth shattering, everyone at the meeting turns around as they describe the swim course.

The water temperature they say is 78, so wetsuits are legal. The water is like a sheet of ice, it is so calm. I think this will be perfect for the swim if it stays this way for tomorrow. So, in the back of my mind I have pictures of Tropical Storm Hanna changing its course to Falls Lake for an E.T.A. of 7:00 a.m., Saturday morning, whitecaps, buoys moving around, the whole nine yards.

The meeting ends, and I meet up with my support crew and we unload my bike and transition bags and head to the transition area to rack my bike and hang my T1 & T2 bags on the racks.

We get all of the pre-race setup completed and walk down to the water to check out the course. I notice the buoys look like they were lined up with a straight edge. From the start its out 4 buoys, turn left 90 for 1 buoy, turn left again 90 and head out 4 more buoys, then turn left about 135 to the complete the lap on the beach. Needless to say I am very intimidated at the length.

Nervousness rating 80%

7:15-9:00 p.m.

This is when the fun really begins for me. We depart the race start area and head out to the finish line area at Duke University for the pasta dinner. Everyone is hungry, even me a little bit, not much though. I figure we will eat a little bit then head to my in-laws for the night.

We get to Duke, can’t find a close parking spot so I drop everyone off so I can park the car. I park about a ½ mile from were we are to eat, walk up to meet them and they start walking towards me shaking there heads. Then when we get close enough, and they deliver the news they ran out of food about a ½ hour ago. Stress level, climbs faster than my heart rate going up a hill. It is now 8:10ish and we are ½ hour away from my in-laws house were we are staying, and it is Friday night so a quick bite to eat out, is out of the question. I finally concede to having my wife call my mother in-law to whip up some pasta for us to eat when we get to her house.

I try to relax and calm down on the ride back to Raleigh, but I don’t think I had much success.

Nervousness rating 95%

9:00 p.m. on

We arrive at my in-laws and the front door is decorated with "Good Luck Mark" signs all over. This helps cheer me up temporarily, then I start to remember what I am doing again in less than 10 hours.

I get inside and there is a huge plate of pasta with just the right amount of sauce, thank you Margie. I actually was glad to get something into my stomach after the last few hours, which seemed like and eternity. I finished up my food, put my drink bottles for tomorrow in the fridge, said my good nights and thank you’s, and laid down for some sleep. The alarm was set to go off at 4:00am.

I finally fall asleep about 9:45 p.m., wake up at 10:15 p.m., fall back asleep at 11:00 p.m.

Nervousness rating who knows

Duke Blue Devil Iron Distance Day

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run
Friday September 14th 2002:

2:56 a.m.

I wake up for the last time at 2:56 a.m. That was it I knew I wasn’t falling back asleep, not with the alarm set to go off in an hour.

I did a lot of thinking that hour laying there in bed, much of it not to positive. I was really psyching myself out for the swim. Those of you that know me know how I get about the swimming portion of tri’s.

Nervousness rating 95% and climbing

4:00-5:20 a.m.

I get up and take a shower to help calm down, works temporarily.

Eat a couple of bagels and drink some water. My wife, sister and mother in-law wake up and join me downstairs while I eat. I really don’t remember what was being said, but I do believe I said I was REALLY Nervous about the swim, and wasn’t worried about the bike and run, it is kind of a blur.

I got all my water bottles together, checked my special needs bags on last time, and made sure I had my swim stuff with me.

There was no more putting it off, my wife, sister and I got in the car and drove to the swim start. The drive took about 15 minutes.

Nervousness rating 97% and climbing

5:30-7:00 a.m.

We arrive at the swim start and I unloaded my gear, my wife and sister unload the media equipment (camcorder, digital camera and miscellaneous other cameras). If you know my family, you will understand the amount of media equipment.

I drop off my special needs bags, then check over my bike. This takes all of about 10 minutes, if that long. I ask my wife if she can run back to the car and drop off my pump, and get a piece of paper with my run nutrition game plan on it.

I go over and get an adjustment from the chiropractor group they had there prior to the race start. I never heard my body crack so much before, but it felt really good, and was really relaxing me. Then the race announcer made some kind of announcement and all I caught was bike rack…over…check. I lay there thinking all those racks no way its mine.

Fast forward 10 minutes, adjustment is done, I feel great. I walk over toward transition area and see about 6-10 people holding up a rack while 2 others are securing the rack. Then low and behold I notice it’s the rack with my bike. So much for the relaxing adjustment I just had. I go over and check the bike its fine, rack is secure, and bike is one piece.

Now its about T-20 minutes to the start, I slip into my wet suit and the 3 of us head down towards the water. Of course this is after they take some pictures which show the fear on my face. There is one picture that actually looks like I am hunched over puking, but I was actually stretching.

I also remember Natalie asking if I wanted her to hold my wedding band. I told her an emphatic no, I would rather loose the ring in the water and not finish this race, than to finish and not have started the race with the ring at all. The same holds true for the gold necklace from my Grandparents that they gave me for high school graduation. These 2 items have only been off of my person for very limited amounts of time since I have had them. They mean that much to me.

Fast forward some more to about 5 minutes to the start. I kiss my wife and sister good bye, and thank them, check the video Natalie, she swore I didn’t thank her but the proof is on video, then I gave them my love. I head to the water for the start.

Nervousness rating 100+%

7:00 a.m.

The start gun goes off and there are 300+ people running into the water. I deliberately wait about 20 seconds before I get in. By the time I get and start my swim, there are only about 5-10 others that haven’t started swimming yet. No rush to start, its going to be along day.

I get into a nice smooth rhythm really quick, got the bi-lateral breathing going, sighting well, and passing swimmers on every right hand entry it seems. I realize at this point that I have trained hard for this moment, and I am ready. I finally come to grips that this swim is nothing to be nervous about. I settle down a ton, not nervous at all, actually feeling good and having fun. I am passing a lot of people. I draft for a little while then that person slows, so I pass them, this goes on until the 1st turn, when there is suddenly a log jam of swimmers. I decide to go wide and try to avoid the crowd at the buoy, it works and I head toward the next buoy and turn for the "backstretch".

This is a long straight line we have to swim until the final turn, the length was at least half the length of the lap.

The pack starts to spread out, and I feel like I am getting passed by a lot of swimmers, because I keep getting poked, kicked slapped. But actually, I think I might have been passing slower swimmers.

I finally make it to the last turn of the 1st lap, and yet again another log jam, I stay close to the buoy though. I complete the turn and sight the end of the first lap, about 200 yards ahead.

My hands hit the sand 2 strokes in a row and I climb to my feet. I get onto the sand and see my sister, I give her a double thumbs up, and give my 1st lap time of 33 minutes to the camera. I was really pumped and couldn’t wait to get back in the water for the next lap. I was hoping for a 1hr 20min swim time, I was well ahead of schedule.

I grab some water adjust my goggles and head back in for the second lap with about 15 other swimmers.

We get a nice pace moving along, then I got kicked in an area that will bring a man to his knees. I stopped swimming for a few seconds to get my composure, and by the time I got going again the pack was about 25 yards ahead of me. I was swimming all alone now. My goal was to try and catch the end of the pack and draft off them for the rest of the swim. Well, I got the last turn and finally caught the pack and coasted into the finish with about 10 others.

Swim time 1:14:03

8:15 a.m.

Off to T1 I head, grabbing my changing bag and head to the tent to get ready for the bike. I spend 7 minutes in T1 before I got on the bike. Now it’s off for a 112 mile bike ride.

My legs felt a little funny after the long swim and having to get into pedaling mode. My calves especially, were cramping a little bit, but that was gone in about 5 minutes. About 2 miles into the bike there was the 1st of the many long steady climbs, I took it easy but my heart rate was about still about 170. I guess it was just nerves, by mile 5 my heart rate was under control and I was move along at about 18 mph average.

I was passing some people, and being passed by some people, nothing to stress over, it was still a long ride ahead. I would chat with some that were passing and some that I was passing. I felt really comfortable and strong on the bike, the weather was perfect, probably about mid to high 70’s, cloudy. If it could stay like this for the remainder of the day the weather would be perfect for a long day on the road.

Fast forward to mile 40, I start to feel some rain drops. I start thinking, of all the weeks of training during, I always said I have to go rain or shine, there is no telling what the weather will be like on race day. Well, it never rained on any of my bike training days so this was the first time in my life I was riding my bike in the rain.

It wasn’t to bad a first, it was just a light drizzle that let up after about ½ hour. Then all of a sudden the skies opened up. I was having trouble seeing out of my glasses with the water beading up on the lenses, it was horrible. Luckily, I was almost to the ½ way point which was pretty much gentle rollers, no fast descents to worry about.

I get the bike special needs at the ½ way point, in 3 hours 13 minutes and swap out my empty water bottle with the full ones waiting for me. I decide to take my sunglasses off and put them in my back pocket. I feel really good almost done with the bike.

I head back onto the road and look down at my bike computer and notice it is not working, it stopped at 56.3 miles, just over the ½ way point. I have grown very dependent on this for my pedal cadence and distance traveled over the past year, so this was a little bit of a blow. I would now have to ride by feel, something I was worried about, and this wasn’t the place I wanted to experiment with this way of riding.

The first half of the loop is very hilly, there were a lot of fast descents. I remember noticing that my maximum speed on one of the descents the 1st lap was 40 mph, and on 2 others I was around the 38 mph range. Well let me tell you, descending on slick tires in the rain with relatively no brakes, is not very fun. I found this out on the 1st fast descent when I had a decision to make, either drift over the double yellow line or let the wheel hydroplane through the turn and hope I don’t wipe out. I decided on drifting over the yellow since there were no cars in sight. I made it through the turn and decided right there, that I would need to slow down a lot on the descents. It rained the remainder of the bike ride, and it was a slow and long journey. Especially, since I had no idea how fast I was travelling, and also there were not many other bikers out there, it was pretty spread out. But, I did catch the occasional biker and pass them. I guess I wasn’t going as slow as I thought.

I was really starting to think about my family, I remember kissing my wedding band and thinking of Natalie and the girls, I go a little teary, I remember wishing I would be able to see them along the bike, but wasn’t holding out because the weather was miserable. I also put my chain in my mouth for a little bit and thought about my grandparents and what they went through to get to this country, and what I was doing was nothing compared to that, so I could make it through this bike.

I approached the area were the ½ way point was and all of a sudden I here a loud "DADDY", I was thinking that sounds just like Hannah. I turn my head quickly and catch a glimpse of Lisa and Hannah out of the corner of my eye. Then as I am turning my head back I see Natalie and Abby walking across the parking lot, call out to them and blow them a kiss. I have just tapped into the reserves to complete the bike. I finished the last 10 miles at a fast pace, I must have passed 10-15 bikers. Seeing them gave me such a rush at a time when I needed it, it was an awesome feeling.

I pulled pack into the park and was so relieved when I saw the transition area. I was more than glad to hand my bike over to the person who was ready to re-rack the bike for me. I have now finished 2/3 of the race.

Bike time 6:36:36

2:57 p.m.

Into T2 I head. I grab my bag and duck into the changing tent to get my water logged bike shoes off. I search in the transition bag and find a dry shirt, I use this to dry my feet off so I can get my socks on. I take my time and finally pull up the sock and lace up the sneakers. I put on my fuel belt and race number, grab my Islanders hat and head out to the run start.

My heart rate is nice and low, I guess all that heart rate training has worked, my coaches know what they’re talking about. I start off in a nice easy pace, I am surprised at how fresh my legs feel. I am thinking in the back of my mind that if I can maintain a 12 minute per mile pace I will finish a little after 8:00 p.m. The first couple of miles go by rather quickly, I think I averaged about 10 ½ to 11 minute miles. I get tot he top of the first hill, and feel pretty good, I walk a little to keep the heart rate under 160. I get to mile 3 of the run and all of sudden my lower back really begins to get tight. It is very uncomfortable, but I don’t think much about it, it has happened before and goes away after a little while.

Now I am at mile 5 and the back discomfort is still there and not getting any better. My pace has slowed down, probably about 12 minute miles. Still on target for a pre 9 o’clock finish.

The amazing thing about the run was that I pretty much ran with a group of about 15 people. We were all running and walking at different points of the race. We would pass and be passed by each other regularly by each other. So over time you start talking with them and this helps get you through the daunting task still ahead.

It finally stopped raining, but it got really humid out. I think I actually remember seeing the sun for some brief moments.

My feet were soaked, they were sore and I felt like I was starting to get a blister on the bottom of my foot. I reached the ½ way point of the marathon in 2:24 minutes, not a bad time for me considering what I have been doing all day. I sat down in a chair, which might have been a mistake, it was very comfortable and didn’t think I would want to get up. I did stretch my back out while sitting, and it actually started to feel a little bit loose. I forced myself out of the chair and hit the road for the final 13.1 miles.

My legs were tired but my feet were shuffling along at about 13 minute miles. My back finally felt good, I actually ran 2 consecutive miles without walking, except through the aid station.

Then about mile 17 my back started up again. The running, and I use the term loosely, started to become more of a walk/run, and times really slowed down. But, I was still on pass to finish under 14 hours and before 9:00 p.m.

It started to get dark and I knew I was getting closer to finishing, there was nothing that was stopping me know. I had about 5 miles to go, I knew I could walk the last 5 and finish before the race cut-off time. I still wanted to finish under 14 hours though. The last few miles of the run went by faster than I would have figured. I really don’t remember what I was thinking about, there were so many things I thought of throughout the day to get through this. Of course it is only fitting that it started raining with about 2 miles to go in the run.

I hit the aid station at mile 25, only 1.2 miles to go. I got this huge rush, I figured I would walk for 2 minutes then to the finish. I wound up walking about 3 minutes, and then tagged on to this guy and we pushed each other to the final stretch. I remember turning onto the final straight in front of Duke Chapel, seeing the lights at the finish, I pumped my fists and remember thinking "I Did It". When we got about 200 yard from the finish I told the guy to go ahead I want to get my girls. Then about 50 yards from the finish I saw Natalie, Hannah and Abby wearing shirts they made saying, I Love You, My Daddy is and Irondaddy. I took Abby in my arms, and held Hannah’s hand across the finish line where Lisa was there to put the medal over my neck, wearing her shirt she made.

Total Time 13:53:25

It’s all over now. I have had a few days to reflect back at what I did. I am amazed, I feel great, and I also feel weird with nothing to train for right now. I never would have thought I would feel this good so soon afterwards. I can’t wait to do my next Ironman.

I just want to thank some people who helped me along the way to the finish, I apologize if I have forgot anyone, and thank you if I did forget to mention you.

First off, Natalie, Hannah and Abby, for putting up with the long training hours, and there unending love and support. Lisa, for coming down to support me and being the best sister anyone could ask for, maybe you can do one of these and I can be there for you, same goes for you Erik. My Mom, Dad and grandparents for supporting me along the way, whether they knew it not. Margie, for all the support you provided, the pre-race pasta, and standing in the rain at the finish, that meant a lot to me. Dan B., Cherri, and Dan J, training partners who have been involved in some if not most of the training weekend’s over the last 6 months. Jackie for the runs in the rain, and the card that helped at the run special needs. My coaches Sonni and Randy, for all the training and getting me to this point.

Once again I apologize for the length of this, but I wanted to try and relay the experience as much as possible.

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