Mark Johnson riding the triathlon’s bike section.

I ran my first triathlon on September 19, 2021 at the age of 59.

I was inspired to enter the triathlon by my son-in-law Ben Cork, and by my daughter Rachel Tomajczyk. Ben had recently signed up for an off-road triathlon called an Exterra (swim in Lake Tahoe, mountain bike on trails around Lake Tahoe, and run trails around Lake Tahoe). Rachel is a distance running athlete and coach. In addition, I had watched the summer Olympics triathlon, and felt inspired to attempt to run a triathlon race.

I found an event near where I live in northeast Texas and registered for the Olympic distance triathlon. The Olympic distance triathlon is a 1500 meters swim, followed by a 40K bike ride, followed by a 10K run. Of the three activities, running is my weakest activity. I felt like I could run a 10K after the swim and bike activities. But I was not convinced that I could run anything that was longer than a 10K.

So I began to train two months prior to the event. I swam in my neighborhood outdoor pool, biked on the local roads, and ran in the area. Another challenge to my training popped up – my 90 year old mother lost one of her two caregivers. Thus, I was forced to jump in and perform caregiving services in the morning for about three weeks. This was hard – I trained outdoors in July and August – in this part of Texas, you want to do all your training in the morning before the heat reaches 90 degrees F. So for several weeks, after morning caregiving for my mother, I trained later in the day, in the relentless Texas summer heat.

My friend Bobby Adams registered for the same triathlon. He planned to run a Half Ironman triathlon in October 2021. So he thought that the Olympic distance triathlon would be a good training activity in preparation for his Half Ironman triathlon. We swam in Lake Lewisville a few times before the Olympic distance triathlon event.

As part of my preparation for the triathlon race, I ran the Olympic distance triathlon in reverse order several times before the actual race. I ran in reverse order because it was August in Texas and I could not bear running in the heat of the mid-day sun. So I ran the 10K first, followed by the 40K bike ride, followed by the 1500 meter swim. With this reverse order, I was running early in the morning, and completing the swim at mid-day before it became excessively hot.

The triathlon race was called the “Disco Triathlon”. The race was held on a Sunday morning at Lake Ray Roberts in a state park on the lake shore.

Since this was my first triathlon, my primary objective was to simply finish the race. My secondary objective was to finish within four hours.

I began my detailed preparation about a week before the race…

• Began tapering from my more intense training in order to arrive at race day rested.
• Made a checklist of supplies/gear, racewear/clothing, nutrition items, and race strategies.
• Picked up my event participant packet (bib number, RFID ankle tag, etc) four days prior to the race.
• Began hydrating 48 hours before the race (this is Texas after all).
• Got good night’s sleep the night before the race.

Woke up at 5 am on race day to travel the hour to the race area north of Denton, TX. Arrived at the race location at 6:30 pm. The race was scheduled to begin at 7:30 am.

It was still dark when I moved my gear from the car to the transition area. I had forgotten to label my bike, and learned that you cannot enter the triathlon transition area until your bike was labeled (affixed with the participant’s bib number). A “newbie” mistake.

Dawn’s light began to creep in as I set up my gear in the transition area (set up my bike, helmet, shoes, gloves, towel, hydration, and nutritional items). The race officials announced that participants needed to get to the starting area and I felt rushed, so I slammed down a mini Payday bar and drank some Powerade. I walked down to the lake shore where the start line was located wearing my biking/swim/run shorts, a swim shirt, swim cap and goggles. The lake shore had a good number of people at the starting area. There were about 600 athletes at the starting area in addition to race officials and fans.

I felt as if I had prepared well for the race and was as ready as I would ever be. I had trained for the triathlon and had not been injured during training. My body was rested, hydrated, and fueled for the race.

The race started 30 minutes late. The first wave of athletes entered the water at 8 am. The race organizers had grouped athletes into starting waves based on age and sex. My wave did not start until about 8:45 am. I was concerned about the late start for several reasons. The Texas sun was already beginning to heat up (and I get overheated easily). In addition, I had hydrated (so I needed to urinate after waiting so long to start). It was sunny and was 78 degrees at my start time, with a 8-10 mph south wind. As the race announcer called my wave, we put on our swim googles, adjusted out gear, and got ready.

My wave of about 60 males was released to start. We ran from the beach into the water. I began with a freestyle stroke and was surprised by the number of people who were passing me. Athletes were close together at the beginning of the swim, so there was some body contact (kicking and nudging). We swam through the waves created from wind across the water. I got a little over-excited in the first 600 meters – I took in a few unexpected mouthfuls of lake water in the first 600 meters. The swim course was two laps around a square course of four buoys placed in the water. I tried alternating between freestyle strokes and the elementary back stroke. But after sensing that many athletes had passed me, I changed to freestyle stroke only (at about 600 meters into the race). After that point, I became more calm and just stroked it out to the end of the 1500 meter course. It took me 45 minutes to complete the swim.

I slogged out of the water onto the beach and ran about 150 meters to the transition area. I changed from my swim shirt into a biking jersey, put on socks and biking shoes, and put on my helmet, sunglasses and bike gloves. Grabbing my bike, I ran my bike out of the transition area and began the biking portion of the race. I spent 4 minutes from the time I left the water until I began pedaling my bike (outside the transition area).

The 40K bike wound through the state park, and out onto a blacktop country road outside the state park. The majority of the bike course was on country roads that were open to automobile traffic, so race organizers had instructed race athletes to ride on the road’s shoulder. The shoulder contained various hazards – gravel, broken glass, pieces of wood, pieces of car tires, and other roadside debris. I took care to avoid debris when possible. Cars blew past at 55-65 mph. The sun was up and the blacktop began to bake. The temperature while I was on the bike was 80-86 degrees, with the sun cooking the blacktop, and cooking me on the shadeless Texas rural road. My body began to sweat and use up liquid. I passed a few athletes, and some athletes passed me. But for the most part, I rode separate from other athletes – distanced from other race participants. During the ride, I drank almost two bottles of electrolyte Powerade, consumed two mini Payday bars, and ate three Cliff block energy gels. I felt good during the biking section of the race – several times on the ride I said to myself out loud, “You are strong. You are fast.” I felt thankful that I did not have a flat tire, considering the debris on the shoulder of the road. I completed the biking portion of the race in 83 minutes.

Racing back into the state park towards the transition area, I dismounted my bike and ran it into the transition area. I removed my bike shoes, removed my helmet and biking gloves, and put on my running shoes. I spent two minutes from the time I entered the transition area until the time I exited the transition area to begin the 10K run.

Of the three events, running is my weakest event. The temperature was 86-88 degrees F during the 10K run. The course followed a paved path through the state park. Some of the path was shaded, some of the path was in the sun. I was hurting, but was determined to run (not walk) during the running portion of the race. I am embarrassingly slow – most people would call my “run” a jog. Many athletes ran past me, and some of the them gave me encouraging words. There were several aid stations with water along the course. I grabbed two cups of water at each aid station – poured one cup over my head to cool down, drank the other cup for hydration. I finished the run, but it was not a pretty sight, crossing the finish line in a over-heated, sweaty mess. It was a relief to cross that finish line. I ran the 10K in 71 minutes.

I finished the Olympic distance triathlon in 3 hours and 25 minutes.

Race helpers handed me a finishing medal and a cold bottle of water. I headed for the shade under a few trees and cooled down. It was around noon and the mid-day sun was baking everyone. I found my friend Bobby Adams, we took some photos, and we debriefed our race experiences together. My family had been tracking my progress and sent me text messages with congratulations and encouragement.

I felt thankful that I had achieved my primary objective (to finish the triathlon) and had achieved my secondary objective (to finish within four hours). God gave me a healthy body, the ability to train, and the ability to run the race – I acknowledge that non of this would be possible without the Lord’s blessings upon me.

Returning to the transition area, I ate more mini Payday bars, collected my gear, moved my gear to my car, and headed home. My wife Susan was ready to hear about the race when I arrived home.

It had been a good day, a significant day.

Triathlon ankle tag.

Triathlon body marking.

Mark Johnson at the finish line after the triathlon race.