Advertisement Her epiphany came on New Year’s Eve, she said. She had just marked her 33rd birthday on Christmas Eve.
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“My body and my life wasn’t working, and I decided it was time to change my life,” Pierzina said. “I had to take better care of my body and me and be more pro-active rather than reactive.
“My dad’s death was in my head all the time, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t die young,” she said. “I wanted to be there for my kid’s wedding.”
Her father, Gene, wasn’t there for her wedding, or for the birth of her son, Connor, now 5 years old. Pierzina said her father died on Feb. 24, 2001, just six hours after her brother’s wedding. Her father was 52 years old.
“He had his last dance with me,” Pierzina said. “He died of a heart attack outside the hotel elevator.”
Pierzina said she didn’t want to die young like her father, so she slowly started to make changes.
“It wasn’t anything regular until I had this epiphany, and I decided I had to do this for me and my son,” she said.
The La Crosse woman set her goals high.
Pierzina heard about the Got Energy YMCA/ Touchstone Energy Triathlon, held in West Salem, Wis.
In January, she started training for the triathlon — a quarter-mile mile swim, 17 miles of biking and a 5K run.
“I have never been considered an athlete,” Pierzina said. “My family was taking bets that I would stop halfway through the triathlon to refresh my makeup.
“I shocked a lot of people, but if I knew if I could do this, I could do anything,” she said.
Pierzina, who grew up in Sparta, Wis., started 2008 with one thing in mind — changing her life and taking care of herself so she could see her son get married some day.
She started walking, then running and swimming at the North Family YMCA in Onalaska, Wis. She did most her bicycling on stationary equipment.
“I started at the bottom, one step at a time,” Pierzina said. “I wanted to build a physical activity program and maintain it as a lifestyle change for the rest of my life.
“I ran on a treadmill every day next to a collage of pictures of my father,” she said. “Because he died early, I will live longer and so will his only grandson.”
Pierzina said she started eating healthier, adding more fruit and vegetables to her diet. She engaged her son to eat healthier and add more physical activity to his life.
“I wanted to be a good role model and a good example for my son,” Pierzina said. “I keep my son engaged and moving.”
She said she trained hard and worked herself up to doing the entire triathlon a week before the June 8 event.
“Exercise made all the difference for me,” Pierzina said. “My skin is better, I have more energy and feel better, and I lost 28 pounds without being on a diet.
“I’m much more toned, stronger and I’m comfortable in my skin,” she said. “I’m feeling like I always wanted to feel. It’s infectious. This is the best I have felt in some time.”
Pierzina also decided to pursue her career goals. She is attending Western Technical College this summer and studying to become an emergency medical technician. She would like to study electrocardiography at Mayo Clinic some day.
“I’m doing things I have been scared of, and finding what I’m made of,” she said.
On the day of the triathlon, Pierzina said, she was worried heavy rainstorms would cancel the event.
“I said, ‘This can’t happen, I’ve worked too hard,’” she said.
Her whole family was there to watch her participate. She wore her father’s stop watch and his Army dog tags.
Pierzina first swam the quarter of mile and then biked 17 miles in the bad weather. Halfway through the 5K run, she developed shin splints.
As she was nearing the finish line, her son broke free from her family and rushed to her side. Her son held her hand as they crossed the finish line together. He had flowers for her.
Pierzina said she doesn’t know her time in the triathlon — and she doesn’t care. Pierzina said she wanted her family to witness her accomplishment so they will be motivated to make lifestyle changes and perhaps join her in next year’s triathlon.
“I just wanted to make sure I finished, so my father could smile down on me, my son would see determination and I could prove to myself what I am capable of,” Pierzina said.
Pierzina continues to work out and plans to do another triathlon in late July. She also plans to run in the Chileda Classic.
She said she has taught her son that he can do anything as long as he wants it enough and is willing to work for it.
Pierzina said her message to everyone is never give up. She plans to get a tattoo with the message on it to mark this stage in her life.
“I awoke the inner athlete in me, something I didn’t know I had,” Pierzina said.
“This is a new love in my life, and through the pain, I feel at home. This has fed my soul. This is the piece I have always been missing, and now I am whole.”
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com, or (608) 791-8227
