Athlete of the Month: Stacy Truax

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November Athlete of the Month: Stacy Truax

Why Stacy?

Stacy is an honest, good hearted person that does so much for other without ever expecting anything in return. That in its self is rare in a day and age where everyone is working an angle.. This upcoming weekend (Nov 5th) Stacy will be entering her first ever powerlifting meet for Relentless. A foundation that has raises money for seriously ill children in the Detriot and Minnesota area. She is stepping out of her comfort zone to support and bring help and joy to these kids. She has been invited in to a very select group that lifts for Relentless. They don’t care about how much she can deadlift or bench press, thats not why they asked her. They asked her because she is a selfless person who gets genuine joy from helping kids. Stacy has put in a lot of extra work and commitment to the gym to prepare for this event. She has been with us since December 2013 (OG!). She has grown just like 8 Mile has grown.

What did I do before Crossfit?   

Before Crossfit, I was mainly a runner…and didn’t do much else in the way of structured physical exercise.  I had a membership to the Rec Center in Livonia, and would occasionally go and run on the treadmill, and fumble around with the machines as best I could, and do some stuff with dumbbells (not sure what) every once in a while, no real plan or result in mind, and leave.  Didn’t really know anyone there, and didn’t achieve any results, as I was just making it up as I went along.

What brought me to CrossFit? 

 I had met someone recently after finishing a half marathon, who was talking to me about their time for a mile, and I was impressed at how fast it was.  They told me that they did Crossfit, and that their times for running had improved after they had combined weight training with endurance work, and I wanted to see if it might work for me.  I didn’t start Crossfit right away, but started with some “Crossfit-like” stuff at home (I was terrified to do Crossfit initially, being honest) and really liked how body weight exercises and dumbbell movements were changing me physically…and so on New Year’s eve 2013, I signed up for my on ramp at 8 Mile.  Was looking for fitness…but found so so much more.  Crossfit ended up helping me through some really tough times, and the people became to mean to me as much as the workouts.

My first thoughts when I started?

My on ramp was tough, and so much of it was new to me I just kind of let it all soak in (I had NEVER touched a barbell in my life before that), but I was still nervous.  I remember watching through the window one day as the class did Fran during one of my on ramps thinking “no way I can do that, just no way.”  I finished the fundamentals, and it took me three full weeks to go to an actual class because I was so intimidated.  For no real reason…once I did an actual class, and realized that Crossfit was meeting me where I was at and would grow as I did in the movements…I loved it.  I think I did my first competition with Elaine a few months later, and decided this was the plan for me.  Haven’t laced up the long distance running shoes since, but my mile time is a full 2-3 minutes faster than when all I did was run.

What are my short term and long term goals?

My short term goals I update on the board, right now I’ve still got 250# DL, 10 strung together T2B, and a sub 2:00 500m row up there from this January.  I’ve crossed off a few as well, and I’ll get these by year end.  I am determined.  I’m hoping that I can get the 250# DL during the Relentless meet, which is the reason for my extra training and work these last three months.  If I don’t, those kids won’t care one bit, and I’ll keep at it until I do.  Long term, I would like to do another powerlifting meet,  do another Crossfit competition, and continue to stay strong and build muscles and bone density, but most of all, if I can just be an example for others my age to see that you CAN start Crossfit at any age and at ANY point on the fitness spectrum…well, that would make me happy too.

What keeps me at 8 Mile?

The coaches and the members are why I stay.  I truly feel that my goals are their goals too, and they want them for me as much as I do.  The instruction and coaching is top notch, and I really cannot say enough about how Nick and Monica have created a community of people that are “family” vs. people that just pass you by during a workout.  I am truly blessed to have found 8 Mile, for more reasons than just the awesome programming and fitness

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