I am happy to report that I made it back from the Sahara in one piece, having survived and completed the Marathon des Sables! I’ve attached a few photos to this email that I took whilst I was out there, so you can see what it was like – the shot of the sand dune rising up against the blue sky has not been ‘photoshop-ed’ – it really was that stunning!

The whole thing was an amazing experience and, although it was tough (the temperature averaged over 40 degrees in the midday sun and hit 51 degrees on day two), it was definitely worth all of the effort. There were lots of highlights, but two moments stand out in my mind from the trip: one was going through the sand dunes with Owen (my school mate who completed the race, side by side, with me) at 05:30 as the sun was rising on day two of the long (81.5km) stage, with not a soul to be seen in any direction; and, two, running towards the finish line at the end with my wife, Anna, my parents, Anne and Malcolm, and my sister, Helen, and Owen’s fiancé, parents and sister all there cheering for us and waving flags and banners.

I really appreciated all of the support I received in taking part in the race. Thank you to those of you who sent me messages whilst I was out there – it was hugely motivating and inspiring coming back to the tent at the end of each day and reading them – it really did help to keep me going. And thank you again to those of you who sent me messages before the race and in particular to those of you who have sponsored me – I have now raised over £7.5k for CICRA which is absolutely fantastic – the charity have emailed me this week and have asked me to pass on their thanks to you all.

The JustGiving site will stay open for a little longer, so if you have meant to donate, but haven’t quite got around to it yet, then please click on the link below – thanks in advance!

http://www.justgiving.com/TomMDS

Cheers

Tom

Me & Owen at the Start

Heading into another dust storm

[insert your own caption here….!!]

The start of the stage is in distance – nothing like beginning the morning with a march across the dunes!

The Merzouga dunes, which we walked through on the final stage

Made it!!

Providing the inside story and exclusive behind the scenes access, the documentary takes in all the highs and lows of the outstanding challenge that saw David pass through seven counties, make 111,352 strokes, burn 68,000 calories, battle a serious bacterial infection and even save a dog from drowning as well as enjoy visits from fellow comedians Miranda Hart, Rob Brydon and Jimmy Carr.

But the best guest appearance of all? Why our very own Chris McLean of course ! Chris was there on hand to help him along the way and make it to the very end, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for his guest appearances!

x

Earlier this year I accepted my first selection for England Athletics and was excited to accompany the team for a mini-tour of Austria.

It has become a regular season preparatory event to attend indoor events in Vienna and Linz. Here they would have the chance to set the tone for the 2012 season by matching themselves against some of the World’s best. They would then use the experienced gained for their UK trials in Sheffield two weeks later, with the aim of gaining spots for the World indoor championships in Istanbul in March and possibly the Olympics later this year.

For most of these full time athletes it was just another tour with England athletics, but for others, like myself it was our first time in GB kit and it felt good!

My primary role as team physio was to look after every athlete’s well-being and make sure that they were safe to race (Additionally, I was also the menus translator at the restaurant and the go-to-guy for directions!)

My job included early morning and very late evening rubs, taping, stretching session at the hotel and various physio related tasks at the event venue.

Most days were long (8am-1am), but thoroughly enjoyable. I was glad that throughout the entire event we didn’t have any serious injuries and I only had to deal mild strains, cramps and bruises. Overall it all went extremely smoothly.

One of the highlights of the trip was to get to know the athletes on a personal level and learn about their profound and immense passion for their sport. It was deeply inspiring and infectious to hear about their athletic commitment: The intense and long daily practices to achieve this 100^th of a second or this extra centimeter in throws or jumps to make the difference between the good and the great. Compared to football, these World class athletes are heavily depended on sponsorship deals and are constantly looking to put themselves out there to be recognized and achieve this status of World elite.

Another highlight of my trip was my encounter with the US female sprinters (Angela Williams, Yvette Lewis, Loreal Smith, Lolo Jones), who I had the chance to treat on both events.

I must admit I was definitely star-struck when treating some of them, but all were extremely easy going and friendly towards me. We got chatting pretty quickly about their training, sport, and of course the Olympics. Gladly, they all did well in their races and when I got their “thumbs up” following a win, I felt as happy as Keanu Reeves in Point Break hitting his first tube!

Can’t wait to do more. Onwards and upwards, Seb.

Some runners however, prefer to ‘run naked‘; in other words, gadget-free, with the only the sounds of nature as their music. Is there a right or a wrong way?  Can running with music really increase your performance, or is it just a personal (and potentially hazardous) preference?

ADVANTAGES

Music can sometimes make running feel easier. Studies find that music reduces your perception of how hard you are running by about 10 percent. An external stimulus such as music can actually block some of the internal stimuli trying to reach the brain—such as fatigue-related messages from muscles and organs. When these messages are blocked, this reduces a runner’s perception of effort, so you feel like you can run farther, faster. (The exception is at higher levels of effort—the brain involuntarily switches its attention from the external to the internal.) Music also elevates positive aspects of mood such as excitement and happiness, and reduces negative aspects such as tension, fatigue, and confusion, so it can be used pre-performance to get runners into an optimal mind-set.

DISADVANTAGES

One big problem is that listening to music can remove you from the other sounds that running produces, such as breathing and footstrike, which are essential cues. They give you feedback on your effort. Running while listening to music also removes you from the environment you’re in, which can be unsafe. You may not hear a car or person behind you.  And in races, it makes you oblivious of other runners and you can’t hear the directions being given by officials. You can become dependent on music. Eventually, you can lose a sense of what might be truly motivating to you, such as the energized feeling you get on the run.

Dom Cadden, an Australian National Champion Powerlifter, knows all about the performance potential of music.

“In powerlifting, all your intensity goes into something that might take a matter of seconds, so you need music that’s highly agitative. When you’re running, you want to keep your mind distracted, but when you’re lifting, you want music to get your adrenaline pumping,” he said.

But the latest research shows that not all music tracks are created equal, and by sticking to their tried and tested exercise playlists, athletes could be missing out on powerful performance benefits. Read more about this research here.

It truly comes down to personality, preference, and environment.  Do you like the solitary aspect of running, to free your mind and thoughts?  Or do you find running quite difficult and need every ounce of help to keep you going?  Do you have a riverside running path which is traffic-free, or do you have to weave through obstacles on the city streets?

In any case, it is an individual choice based on personal preferences.  Whatever studies prove may sway your decision, but most runners have already decided which camp they are in.  It’s just a case of being wise about it, if you’re not in the ‘naked’ camp that is.

How about you?  Which camp are you in? Let us know by commenting below or tweet us @runningods

The marylebone crew has been busy once again this weekend and sacrificed
some truly stunning autumn days for a highly interesting ‘integrated
performance workshop’ at W10 performance in Notting Hill.

You probably think we’re mad, but to be taught by the current Team GB
Basketball and English Institute of Sport strength and conditioning coach
Nick Grantham was an opportunity not to be missed.  

The great thing was that Nick’s approach to training was one that matched
our current  rehabilitation principles at the practice. Amongst plenty of
inspiring ideas to come out of this weekend, it was also reassuring to hear
that what we are already providing is in line with principles applied in UK
high performance centres. 

Key messages from these weekend to share with you:

- get the client moving in 3 dimensions.

- prioritise the rehab programme based on identified  ‘weak links’ in the
clients kinetic chain

- stick with the basic movement patterns,  keep things simple and remember
that you do not need fancy equipment to work hard.

- everybody can train like an athlete!

- strength and speed training should be the key components for any endurance
athlete

- Injuries are opportunities to get better and for the client to come back
stronger than before!

and the list goes on……

Can’t wait for Monday and put all of these new ideas into practice.

See ya,

Seb
Marylebone Physiotherapist

If you are keen on playing netball check out www.onenetball.com – you can join as a single player or a whole team and it is a fab way to keep active (and competitive!)

Well here’s how she got on…

‘With some doubt over the weather, a good group of school friends and families turned out to walk 10 miles to raise money for the Astro Fund and to walk in memory of our gorgeous Gemma ‘Gemstar’ Barrett who sadly lost her fight with a brain tumour in November last year.

It was a typical North Norfolk October day with a bracing wind and constant threat of rain, but the enormously generous sponsorship we had received spurred us on our way and a few warm jumpers, and a few hours of gossiping later we were crossing the finish line outside Holkham Hall itself. Merlot, our black lab mascot for the day was certainly out for the count later that day.

A MASSIVE thank you to all who sponsored us to raise a whopping £3103.75 for Astro Fund which will be wisely spent in the fight against brain tumours.

The sponsorship page is still open until Christmas and is listed below if there are any pennies floating around in need of a good cause J

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/norwichgirls

Amy x

We do this by discussing your diagnosis, explain what we can do for you,
demonstrate what you can do for yourself and develop a realistic and timed
treatment plan to return to previous functional abilities…or better!

However in some circumstances it becomes a bit more complicated to go
through this process,especially when we talk about people with persistent
pain.

At the clinic we help people understand the complexities of chronic pain by
using the highly acclaimed “explaining pain” book by Dr. Lorimer Moseley and
his NOI group, which can be rented out from us here at the clinic. His group have demonstrated through research that a simple explanation of pain biology reduced the area of activity in the brain responsible for eliciting pain.

In other words if you understand pain mechanisms you are more likely to understand
why you can have pain without an actual tissue damage, why you can pain can
flare ups much later or at night, why pacing your activities is so important
and most importantly understand how negative beliefs and thoughts can drive
the pain even further.

Here is a great video we came across that clearly illustrates our message of
“explaining pain”. Its short, animated and packed with important information
to understand the complexity of pain and how to deal with it .

We have now added this video to our education section on the website to
refer patients to when needed.

Enjoy,
Seb
Marylebone physio team

Today, we received a gorgeous email from Patrick Walsh and, with his permission, we wanted to share it with you:

‘At the start of this year I began to see Seb in order to help me recover from surgery following a ruptured tendon in my right leg which I suffered whilst running the Chicago Marathon. This saw me end up in a leg cast and then a leg brace and the prospects of me running such distances again seemed very far off then.

But Seb obviously did a fantastic job, as I have managed to run the BUPA Great North Run in September this year, and have recently just got back from Chicago where I exorcised my demons of the marathon last year and completed it in once piece!

I just thought Seb may be interested to know.

Below is living proof that the leg has obviously held up!

Many thanks

Patrick’

What an incredible story!

Huge congratulations Patrick on such an astonishing achievement. The whole team at Marylebone  are immensely proud of you. And thank you so very much for getting in touch with us and sharing your story.

If you’ve been inspired by Patrick’s story,  why not have a quick read of a few testimonials from our fantastic clients.

And if you’ve been a patient at Marylebone Physio, and you would also like to share your experience please contact us.

Altitude training has been used by many athletes over the years as a tool to enhance the bodies use of oxygen and improve their haemoglobin levels. It is tough going! It takes the body many days to adapt to the reduced levels of oxygen, even climbing stairs at this level you notice you are panting at the top! Over a sustained period of time athletes can use this to their advantage as their body can adapt to the conditions and make improvements in their performance back down at sea level.

My job is a lot of maintenance work. We are trying to prevent injuries from happening and screen the athletes and track them to ensure those tight tissues and tight shoulders don’t end up becoming more of a problem. Fatigue at this level altitude is a big problem and it is imperative that we try to optimise the body and ensure we stay on top of things to avoid any missed training down the line.

The athletes have incredibly punishing regimes and keeping their weight up and maintaining hydration levels is a battle. This is imperative to their bodies staying in good shape and managing the demands this sort of training places on their physiology.

View from my room:

Stay tuned for some further updates!