ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: MELANIE EVANS
Our first "athlete of the month" comes at a bittersweet time as we are losing her unexpectedly to a hip surgery that she had originally planned for late summer. We are grateful however, that she is able to get on the road to recovery sooner than expected. Melanie Evans came to the SG almost pre-programmed to fit our mold. She is tough, humble, never complains, she works her tail off, and she improves her performance every single day that she's in the gym. She also never gives herself enough credit, ever. And to top it all off...she has been doing all this with a fracture in her hip. When Melanie started with us, I remember her saying: "I have a busted up hip, but i'll do my very best". She has lived up to her promise and then some. I know she is in pain, and particularly because I have really been emphasizing mobility with her, but she continues to push hard, she is easily coachable, and continues to get Strong(her) every day. Onto our spotlight on Mel...
Some background info about me: I am married to Bryan (obviously) and have 3 boys ages 13, 10 and 5....I always wanted all boys. I was never athletic growing up, but always loved watching and participating in sports. I started running about 9 years ago after years of just walking. I have run several half marathons, lots of Ragnar relays, organized bike rides, many sprint triathlons and one olympic triathlon. So I guess you could say I like to do challenging things and TrainSCG fits me perfectly.
I listened to Jenny (Broadhead) talk about Train for many months before I could work it into my schedule to start coming. She said I would love it and she was right! Even though I am the weakest link at the gym, I have improved a lot and feel so much stronger. When I first started at TrainSCG I had quit running due to a hip injury. I started running a few weeks ago after a 10 week break and I was amazed at how strong I was. I was able to run 4 miles the first time with no problem. Every time I have run since then I comment about how strong my back feels. I love the feeling. I know I am a much healthier athlete because of my training. I am heading into hip surgery (most likely next week!) I know I am going in much stronger than I was several months ago and my recovery will go much better because of the condition I am in. Not only do I love the conditioning and strength training we do at the gym, I love the people. I love how supportive everyone is of each other and I never feel like others are judging me by how much I can lift.
I may not ever achieve my dream of running as fast as Jenny and being as strong as her, but my dream of my back looking like Jennifer Garner's in the movie 13 Going on 30 may become a reality!
Great job Melanie, and congratulations on your progress! We all wish you well with your surgery and recovery and look forward to when you can return to the "grind" with us. Best of luck...thanks for all your strong work!!
