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During my hospital stay, many of my triathlete friends came to visit. They had seen me at my worst; I wanted to show them my best. Coming back was very important to me. I wanted my life back, and to prove to myself that I could come back from these surgeries and do the Iron Man.
Unknown to me at this same time, my mother, Mafalda was very sick at the nursing home where she had been living for some time. My family kept her sickness a secret from me until it was apparent that she was dying and it was going to happen soon. To my surprise and heartbreak, she did pass on September 13, 2003. I did manage to get a pass from the hospital, to see her before she passed. This was very hard for me, in that I just got my head around the needed surgeries, but not losing my mother.
It all seemed too surreal to be true.
After the funeral, I pondered my future with athletics and especially Iron Man. Could I do it again after the surgeries? The doctors told me that dehydration would be a big factor for me, athletic or not, for the rest of my life. I learned that the function of the colon is to remove water and absorb vitamin K. Well, without it, I would go into dehydration a lot sooner than people with healthy colons.
I decided to try anyway and signed up in August 2004 for the 2005 race.
I joined up with my coaches who got me to the starting line in 2002; it was different this time around though. The group dynamic had changed. Most the people I had trained with previously had moved on. This made it tough for me to find suitable training partners, but I managed the best that I could.
When possible, I did train with some of my old triathlon buds. This bought back memories and renewed my hope of finishing Iron Man Canada. All of them, were very supportive providing me with the encouragement that I needed.
In addition, during 2004, my consulting practice grew and I had little time to train due to business commitments.
As the race got closer, I got nervous about weather I could finish. My training was less, I was different… would there be a chance of finishing?
I went to an Iron Spirit camp and this changed things for me. I did the distances in practice and was inspired by first-timers doing the race, wondering if they too could finish. I was experienced though, and I had the knowledge about the race. This made me realize that my past experience on the course was just as important, if not more so, as was my fitness level. I would find out just how true this was on race day.
August 28, 2005 came like any other day, except this day, was race day. I managed to sleep some the night before, but not much. Ginny and I got up at 4:00 am and were in Penticton by 5:45 am so that I could get body marked. That’s where they mark you on your arms and legs with your age and race number. My number was 898. After that, I went with her to drop off my special needs bags for the bike and run. I then went to the transition area to see my bike and put last minute things on it. I went to the bathroom for the last time before I put on the wet suit.
I hugged Ginny and she told me to be strong and enjoy the day. The road back was hard, but here I was again at the starting line of Iron Man. Ginny was wearing a t-shirt given to me by my coaches Cal and Esteban that had these words written on the back "From Foothill to Iron Man Canada in 2005!!" I tell you, that shirt, seeing it, gave me strength and great pride in what I was doing.
Due to the large number of triathletes starting (around 2300 of them), the race organizers decided that the race start would be staggered. The pro’s started at 6:45 am, while the rest of us age-groupers would start at 7:00 am.
Like clockwork, the canon when off at 7:00 am and we all headed into Lake Okanogan. It was nuts!!! People were pushing, pulling, kicking and punching, -- trying to get position. One fellow actually tried to lift me out of the way – yep, I still can’t get over that -- but he found me too heavy and give up after I gave him a look of death if he did not let go!!
I got out of the water after an hour and 27 minutes. The swim was fun and I was sad to see that it was over. My wet suit was stripped off and I was given the bag that contained my bike gear. Into the men’s change tent to dawn my helmet, bike shoes and race belt with my number on it, and I was good to go. I got my bike and proceeded from the transition area onto the bike course. Once on the road, I mounted my bike and headed west down Lakeshore Blvd. and then up Main Street in Penticton. The crowds were deafening. I saw some folks I trained with cheering all of us on as we passed them on course.
I got into my grove on the bike but not before hearing about someone putting tacks on the road!! There were a lot of flats tires due to this. I managed to escape this but I was mindful of this from the start. We also saw tragedy on the bike – a car at about 30 km into the ride hit a fellow athlete. I felt very bad, but I knew that he was in good hands when I saw the paramedics.
I survived the bike ride, despite the high heat and the strong crosswind. The unforgiving heat took its toll on some triathletes. I saw some of them in the ditch getting sick, while others were taken by ambulance to the hospital for dehydration issues. Heat cramps were also a problem. I too, suffered with some leg cramps, but they passed when I drank Gatorade At this point, I decided to race smart and slow down on the bike. My judgment proved to be correct. When I got off the bike after being on it for 7 hours and 19 minutes, I had some legs left for the marathon.
As I entered the transition tent to change out my bike gear for my running garb, I decided to run the marathon without running socks. I don’t know what possessed me to do this and I would pay for it dearly by the end of the race. Off came the socks, on went my runners and I was on the run course.
Once again, the heat would tax participates to the max. I walked the first 5 km to rest and lower my hear rate. I kept my heart rate down and kept cool by drinking lots and putting ice and wet sponges in my race gear to keep cool. This worked and helped me maintain a normal core temperature.
I witnessed more and more participants getting into trouble because of the heat. I decided to go easy and wait for the sun to go down. As time ticked away, it did get cooler and when the sun went down, I started to run more, passing many triathletes who were too tired to run any longer, or who went too hard on the bike and had no legs left for the marathon. Some participants who pushed too hard on the bike faced the reality of having to walk the entire marathon (about 7 hours).
I learned later that the weather forecast for race day had changed since I had last checked it four days before. When I had last checked the five-day forecast for Penticton on August 24th, I was encouraged by the forecast high of 23 degrees Celsius with a 70% chance of rain. Nice and cool, just the way I would have liked it. As it turned out, on race day, the temperature climbed to 28 degrees by the noon, hitting a high of 30+ degrees by the mid-afternoon, with no sign of rain.
As I got closer to town the crowds got louder and the cheers were overwhelming. I went down Main Street and turned onto Lakeshore Blvd. I saw the finish line but had 2 miles to go until I could cross. I started to run in from the 2-mile mark. I had been running before this but wanted to finish strong. Once I went around the last pylon and started on the last mile or so to the finish line, the cheers, were deafening and my focus was crystal clear. I approached the 500-meter mark and saw the big banner with "Finish" printed on it. It was pandemonium – every emotion I had experienced throughout the day all jumbled into one mixed up mass of jubilant confusion. I remember seeing the crowds cheering; the announcer, Steve King, called my number and name to the crowds; there I was on the jumbotron, with everyone watching. Just before I reached the finish line, I got the crowd to cheer even louder by seeing who could cheer the loudest, the end result of my effort was a tie. Crowds on both sides of the spectator stands went crazy, as I lifted my arms into the air, crossing the finish line.
When you cross the finish line, two Iron Man volunteers greet you and help you with anything you want. I told them to bring me to the reuniting tent to find Ginny. I had seen her last on Main Street when I was heading toward Lakeshore Blvd. I lost track of her from there. Sure enough, she was waiting for me at the tent with both arms open wide to give her guy an Iron Man hug. She kissed me and the look in her eyes spoke volumes to me. I had seen that look in her eyes once before in 2002 -- a look pride and pure happiness for me.. I was deeply touched by this moment and I shall remember it for the rest of my days.
I would like to thank all my friends, family and clients who were instrumental in helping me along this journey back to Iron Man Canada. Thank you to Terry & Ann B for their support and encouragement; Thank you Jason S, Cindy and Cecelia for your support and helping me remember the journey. Thanks to Laurie and Les G and the kids for their support over the year; thank you also to Darrell and Kim K for help over the year. I extend special thanks to Carla V for her encouragement and training sessions with me over the year. Also thanks to Susan T, Nina C, Janet K and Michelle S for their help and encouragement over the years; Thank you Derek C for all your encouragement and inspiration to continue my quest in the face of adversity; Thank you to all of the old and new Critical Speed Team I trained with, for their support, I love you gals & guys; A very special thanks to my coaches, Calvin Zaryski and Esteban Kahs-Garay – once again both of you have helped me with my journey back. I will forever be in your debt for all of the insight and support you have given me.
This race was dedicated to a number of significant people in my life:
To Ginny -- my Iron Man girl -- without your love and support, none of this would have been possible; to my mother Mafalda, thank you for my life and my dreams. I miss you dearly and hope to see you again someday; to my father Frank, thank you for my strength and the stubbornness to continue on, when it got tough; to my brother Andrea and his family, thank for believing in me.
I remain yours truly,
Demetrio Guzzardi,
Finisher of Iron Man Canada 2005.
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