Inspired to compete

Friday, Aug. 19, 2005 | 4:59 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

August 20-21, 2005

Melissa Lardomita plans to endure as much as she can to try to help a family that has to endure more than any family should.

Lardomita, a Metro Police corrections officer, is training for a triathlon Nov. 13 in Southern Nevada to honor and raise funds for the family of a fallen colleague.

On May 29, on his last day of training before becoming a police officer, 26-year-old Freddy Hernandez headed home on his Harley-Davidson, which was a graduation gift from his wife. Blocks away from his home, Hernandez was killed when he struck the rear of a tanker truck turning right off Vegas Valley Drive into a water treatment plant, police said.

Lardomita has set a goal of raising $25,000 for Hernandez Family Contribution Fund when she participates in the Nevada Silverman Full Distance Triathlon this fall.

"I want to raise this money for pre-paid college tuition for his kids and to help her pay the bills," Lardomita said.

Hernandez left two children, 6-year-old son Angel and 1-year-old daughter Laura behind as well as his wife, Lizette, said Lardomita, who befriended Lizette.

"I didn't want him to ride, but oh, my God, he loved them," Lizette Hernandez said of her husband's attraction to motorcycles.

When he died, Hernandez had been within two weeks of having life insurance coverage in place.

"That was our next step," said his widow, "especially with him riding a motorcycle."

Metro has offered support, adopting her like a family member and helping her recover through the Police Protective Association, Hernandez said through her tears.

"I've worked since I was 14 and now it's more important than ever for the kids," Lizette said of her job at Camden Property Management.

"He and I were planning our future together, and he always had a lot of goals," she said.

Hernandez had served in the Marine Corps before attending the Metro Police academy.

"Becoming a policeman was his dream," Lizette Hernandez said, describing how they fell in live and were sweethearts at Valley High School. They had been married almost seven years.

After her husband died, Lizette said, she met Lardomita and was impressed with her determination.

"She calls me all the time," Hernandez said.

Participating in a full distance triathlon event has been Lardomita's dream.

Lardomita is the daughter of a Hawaiian Ironman triathlete, who conquered the island's event 23 years ago, followed by a Cape Cod, Mass., triathlon a year later for another officer.

Her father, Carl Thomas, a retired police officer in Windsor, Conn., inspired her to become a police officer and a triathlete.

"Dad has always been athletic," she said.

"It's because as long as I can remember I have always looked up to my dad," Lardomita said.

The entire town of Windsor came to the airport after Thomas completed his first triathlon, she said.

Thomas was ready to stop participating in triathlons after Hawaii until he heard of an officer killed in the line of duty in East Hartford, Conn.

"He said to me, 'He can't go to work every day to support his family. I can do another triathlon,' " Lardomita said.

When she told her father about trying to raise $25,000 for the Hernandez family, she was surprised to learn that he had raised the same amount in the 1983 Cape Cod triathlon.

Lardomita said she'll train six hours a day for 16 weeks in preparation for the triathlon.

She got her first sponsor, Tony's Pizza II, located at the corner of Horizon Ridge and College Drive in Henderson, last week.

The Nevada Silverman Full Distance Triathlon is in its inaugural year, making history by celebrating the 100-year birthday of Las Vegas.

Lardomita will attempt to complete a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Mead that begins and ends in Hemenway Harbor, a 112-mile bike course around the lake and through Henderson and a 26.2-mile run through Henderson.

The Nevada Silverman Triathlon is believed to be the longest, most difficult single day event for individual athletes to ever take place in Nevada, said Trish Gumina, a spokeswoman for the event.

A portion of the event's proceeds will benefit Project Sunshine, a nonprofit organization that provides free programs and services to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Despite training long hours, Lardomita said she still puts her children first.

"No. 1, I'm a mom," she said. "With the training, I have to take a step back and make sure my kids are No. 1."

Eleven-year-old daughter Taylor, 8-year-old daughter Mia and 3-year-old son Isaiah enjoy watching mom ride the stationary bicycle in the backyard of their Green Valley home and spending summer days with her before she goes to work at night.

Taylor already told her mother that she wants to go to Stanford University.

"I've told all my children that no matter what it takes, follow your dreams," Lardomita said.

"By doing this race, I want to teach my children the importance of doing for others, following your heart and, most importantly, to believe and have faith in God and yourself," Lardomita said.