Swim coaches John Dissinger and Greg McLain combined with golf coach Jason Watson to participate in the Oilman Texas Triathlon Relay. The team named themselves the “Old Coaches” and set out to perform on Nov. 5.
The day began with the swimming leg, where Dissinger made a strong start for the team and emerged from the 1.2 mile course in Lake Conroe water recording a time of 26:17.
“He was pretty much the first guy out of the water with all 400 people that were there,” Watson said.
The time was then passed to McLain, who is an experienced triathlete. For this relay, however, McLain only had to focus on biking.
“Normally in a triathlon I have to swim first, so I kind of warm up in the swim and then I get on the bike,” McLain said. “This one I didn’t have that, it was just as soon as coach Dissinger came in, I had to go. But the good thing is that I didn’t have to run afterwards. So I could use all my energy on the bike.”
McLain completed the 56-mile course through Montgomery County by recording a time of 2:51:36.
“Of all the races I’ve done it was probably the second hardest course I’ve ever gotten, but it was a great challenge,” McLain said.
For the final leg, Watson rounded out the relay. He ran the 13.1 miles through the Margaritaville Golf Course, a location familiar to the golf coach.
“When I started getting really tired and really hurting towards the end, I started to play mental games and I started counting down golf holes because I know the course,” Watson said. “That’s how I got through.”
When Watson crossed the finish line recording a time of 1:30:20, there was only one runner in front of him, confirming the team’s 2nd place finish.
“We were all proud individually, but collectively for one another and it’s just good to share with some good friends,” said Watson
The coaches each compete on their own throughout the year. Watson trains for marathons, running both Boston and New York marathons in the past. McLain competes in Iron Man triathlons and Dissinger swims competitively in open water races. They enjoyed the teamwork and camaraderie of their relay together though.
“We’re trying to find something between coach Dissinger’s swimming schedule, coach Watson’s running schedule and my triathlon schedule that we can all do,” McLain said. “We hope to race again.”
