Lifestyle Family Fitness member and Olympic hopeful MeChelle Lewis didn’t start out with visions of gold medals and representing the USA in opening ceremonies in track and field. In fact, in her earlier years she had no idea how fast she really was. It took some intramural sports, gym class challenges and a persistent recruiter and coach to realize her potential. And even then, it would take years, coming back from an injury, and the maturity that comes with age and life experience for MeChelle to turn thoughts of Olympic rings into a reality.

MeChelle Lewis grew up in Oxon Hill, Maryland with her twin sister Mikisha. Early on MeChelle was into sports. In elementary school, she played soccer and basketball. Running was just one of her activities, not the focus. However, when it came to PE (physical education) classes in school that involved running, she found herself winning. Her sister did too – speed was in their blood. It was in middle school, though, that MeChelle and her sister were noticed. A high school recruiter was on campus during one of their gym class track meets. There he observed two very fast girls and took the time to talk to them about possibly running track in high school. MeChelle didn’t think much of it and entered high school playing basketball. But she couldn’t escape her destiny to run.

“A few of my friends, including Natasha (Natasha Sessoms, her current manager), encouraged me to try out for track and field. I did and quit playing basketball after six years,” MeChelle said. Her sister also made the team and they quickly found out they weren’t just fast in gym class. They were strong competitors against those in other local schools and counties.

The Lewis sisters competed together with MeChelle focused on the short runs – 100 and 200 meter, while Mikisha competed in the longer 400 meter runs. High school running proved to be a great stepping stone for the girls. In the 11th grade, MeChelle was the 4th fastest runner in the nation and, in 1997, set a Maryland state record by running the 55 meter sprint in 6.9 seconds. Mikisha gained national championship status in the 400 meter and, in their senior year, both girls received full scholarships to the University of South Carolina. They entered college as twins running together, sharing everything, as most twins do, including their dorm room. But during their sophomore year, Mikisha experienced a career-ending injury. She tore her quad (quadricep) muscle and was never able to fully recover to a competitive level. It was devastating for Mikisha, and equally so for MeChelle. They competed together and were known throughout their careers as “the twins.” Now MeChelle was on her own.

“She (Mikisha) kind of left the burden of our accomplishments on me (after the injury). No one knew me as a twin anymore,” MeChelle said. “It was kind of weird going from the whole twin thing and how they promoted it in high school and college to it now just being me.”

But she would do just fine on her own. Her sophomore year proved to be successful with MeChelle getting top eight in the country. She had a great season and was looking forward to more. But, before the next season could begin, MeChelle experienced a severe injury – a torn hamstring.

“I just never really recovered (junior and senior year). I was on relay teams that were winning, but individually I didn’t meet my expectations or the expectations of others,” MeChelle said.

For any athlete, this would be devastating and it was. However, she took what life gave her and decided to make new plans off the track. “I started to focus on academics, went to graduate school and gave up on track and field for that time,” she explained.

MeChelle finished graduate school in 2004 and off she went into the corporate world of advertising, a completely different kind of race, taking her first job in New York City at the well-know agency of Young & Rubicam. She undertook the task of working as an Assistant Account Executive on the Xerox account managing advertising campaigns and budgets.

So how does one make the leap from the corporate world back onto the track and into the 2008 Olympic trials?

“I just felt that God had put me here to do bigger things…” she said, “He gave me something special and I always loved running track.”

The thought of getting back on the track continued to grow and in 2004, MeChelle saw something that drove her thought into reality. She saw her former teammates and colleagues competing in the 2004 Olympics.

“I use to practice with them everyday and now I see them walking in the opening ceremonies,” she recalls. “And I thought, you know, I am going to be walking in the 2008 ceremonies.”

To make it happen MeChelle would have to work very hard. By 2006 she really challenged herself to make it happen. While still in New York, she began working with a coach in the Bronx. She would work all day, take a 45-minute train ride, train with the coach and not make it back to her home until after 10pm at night. A grueling schedule, but she was committed. She started to see her body transform back into running shape which inspired her even further. Then, remembering her Olympic dream, she knew it was time to really give it her all.

“I just remember thinking one day in 2006, ‘MeChelle you said you were going to be in opening ceremonies in 2008, you really have to do it.’” Inspired by those friends and teammates that were still out there giving it 100%, she decided it was now or never. “I went out there with 100% faith that I could get it done.” She quit her job in New York, moved to Raleigh, NC, (where many of the top competitors in the field reside and train) and took on running track and field as her full time job.

It was a good move, but a scary one. And it proved to be more difficult than MeChelle anticipated. Not only had she been out of the game for a few years, she was now also an “older” athlete. At 27 she would be up against 17 and 18 year olds. While her mind was in it 100%, her body had some resistance.

She moved back to North Carolina in August (2006) and injured her hamstring again in September.

“I was like, oh gosh, I just quit my job and told my co-workers I was going out for the Olympics, I took all of these chances – and here I am again with a hurt hamstring.” MeChelle said.

To add insult to injury, in October her Achilles started giving her problems too. For the fall, she was training inconsistently. It would be enough to cause anyone to give up and head back to the big city. For MeChelle, it wasn’t an option. She was facing an uphill battle with injuries and competing as an older athlete, but her faith kept her going. She looked at the positive, like teammates that were her age and currently ranked top in the world. She knew if she could get her body in good condition, she’d be alright.

“As long as my body would hold up I knew I could do it. Once my body started to get back into it I knew I was o.k.”

And she was o.k. Despite the rough start she had, in 2007, MeChelle came in 5th in the trials for the World Championships. The USA team was only taking the top 4 girls, but as fate would have it, one of the girls dropped out, so MeChelle went to the World Championships in Japan.

With injuries subsiding, it was her faith and maturity that was going to carry her into the upcoming Olympic trials. “In college I was so distracted by just growing up and wanting to party and hang out. Now I was coming back at 27 and focused mentally, grown up spiritually and physically. My body was mature and I was mature as a woman. I wasn’t the same person I was in 2000. I was now this woman who was focused and knew what it would take be successful…” MeChelle explained. “I was able to take the experience from my corporate world job – things like setting objectives and achieving them – and apply them on the track.”

Her new full-time job was going to include a lot of running, but it was also going to involve a lot more. Previously her corporate job meant working 8 to 5 with the occasional late nights. Now she was in a position that required work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

MeChelle was living her job and that meant she has to constantly thinking about how to improve and maintain the optimal condition for her craft.
First, there is physical training. A typical week for MeChelle while in training starts with two hours a day at the gym. MeChelle works out at the Lifestyle Family Fitness in Raleigh (the Six Forks location) with a personal trainer.

She is usually in the club from 8am until 10am doing a full body workout - squats, lunges, leg presses then onto shoulder circuit, the cables, bench presses, then sit ups.

“I was doing everything,” she said. “In the gym for two hours then onto the track.” To compliment the workouts and help with flexibility MeChelle takes part in the Lifestyle group fitness classes, like BodyFlow, a couple of times a week.

MeChelle points out that it is important to work the entire body to ensure the best condition for running track. She explains how all of the muscles have to be strong in order to support what you are putting your body through. The legs have to be worked with weights, but so does the upper body. “ Many people don’t realize how important the arms are in running – they guide your legs,” she says, “so they have to be just as strong as the legs.” Flexibility and recovery are important too. Classes like BodyFlow, Yoga and Pilates help with flexibility and the Jacuzzi and sauna help with recovery.

“You need to take care of your body coming off of the track so much more than coming on the track. That is where recovery care comes in” MeChelle said. “The hardest part is getting your body in tune to perform. Lifestyle has really come through for me by having the amenities to take care of all the different areas.”
In this 24-hour-a-day job, the work doesn’t end with the physical tasks. MeChelle has to work with a strict nutrition plan so what goes into her body is the best fuel to get through the physical work.

Throughout the day she takes a variety of vitamins and supplements to aid in supporting the system and helping the muscles recover. Her diet consists of mainly lean proteins such as chicken, tuna, turkey, fresh fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates. It is not always the most appealing menu, but it is the proper fuel to keep her in top condition.

MeChelle notes that the third, and probably most important component of her training, is therapeutic work and taking care of her body off of the track.

“I go to the Jacuzzi or sauna. I always get a massage and see a chiropractor at least twice a week. Other than that, I make sure that I take my ice baths, which are oh, so lovely,” she laughs. “So pretty much everyday I am doing some sort of therapeutic work.”

Is all of this work, training and dedication the right combination to make it to the opening ceremonies in Beijing and bring home a coveted Olympic medal? MeChelle has nothing but faith and amazing determination to believe that it is.

She recalls looking at a journal book she kept in New York and reading that she’d be in Japan (for the World Games) in ’07, the Olympics in ’08 and the indoor games in ’09. Not only that, before she even left New York she got her passport – a year before she started competing. “I just knew I’d be going,” she remarked. And she did. So far she’s reached her goal of being in the World Games, finishing with a gold medal in the 4x100meter relay and a 9th place finish in the 100 meter. Now, she is on track to make it to the 2008 Olympic trials.

The times to qualify for the A standard is 11:13. MeChelle’s best time to date is 11:13. She has as much of a chance as the girl in the lane next to her.

“My goal this year is sub 11,” she said. “That is what I train for everyday, sub 11”.

So what would MeChelle tell others out there that want to reach a goal or get back into a sport they thought they were done with? “You’ve got to realize the commitment that is necessary if you want to achieve a goal and know that everything really is obtainable,” she says. ‘It’s just about how much you are willing to commit and dedicate yourself.”