My wife and her fantastic T.I.T.S conquer “The Moonwalk”

I never thought I would start an article with a title like that and to immediately set the record straight T.I.T.S. stands for Tracy’s Intrepid Trekking Squad. T.I.T.S are a group of 6 plucky ladies (including my wife) who ventured through the streets of London on Saturday night completing the full marathon course that is “The Playtex Moonwalk”.

I am really proud of Tracy. Seventeen months ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and has had to endure 5 operations since the diagnosis – last year was a tough one! However as the clock struck midnight on 31st December 2008 and we both waved goodbye to an annus horribilis Tracy vowed that the New Year would be the start of better things and one way to progress was to challenge herself to return to the fitness levels she had had, prior to being on the receiving end of the surgeons knife.

Dealing with a diagnosis such as cancer is both physically and psychologically demanding with the pain and fatigue that is inevitable with surgery as well as the stress levels that accompany the diagnosis and thinking about the future.
I am not going to go into a blow by blow account of Tracy’s training, but I will say that I was enormously proud to see her and her T.I.T.S. cross the finish line having walked the 26 plus miles in just over 6 hours (I was slightly less impressed that this involved getting up at 4.00 a.m. and dragging the kids out of bed). The team also managed to raise over £3,000 for breast cancer charities so a big thank you to anyone who sponsored the team.

For those who are interested take a look at a couple of physiological reports that the Optima-life team produced please contact us on info@optima-life.com – I think there is plenty left in Mrs S’s tank, but she was pleased with the number of calories she burnt off!

The Stress of Football

Wow, what a week on the football fields of London with heartache for Chelsea and Arsenal and an away day to Rome booked for The Mancs! The two matches could not be more different with one being over bar the shouting within the first 20 minutes ,whilst at Stamford Bridge the shouting really started after the final whistle.

These athletes train week in week out to achieve so it was no surprise to see the emotions flow. The optima-life team are gathering some fascinating data relating to the he physical stresses and strain that sportsmen and women place themselves under during a game - maybe we should start looking at the referrees (though we don't have an assessment centre in Norway yet). Off the field the stresses endured by the support staff and supporters would also be an interesting area to look at - are there a couple of Mancs who fancy being monitored on 27th May? We are looking for one in Rome and one at home (there's a limerick in that somewhere) to wear a monitoring device for the build up, the match and after match delirium or despair!

If you want to see what it would involve take a look at www.optima-life.com and of course if you're up for it give us a shout on 020 7135 2424!

We'll show the stress reports on this site so do take a look after the big match.