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At the 2’ mark of this interview, the question was:
“What do you want to say about overcoming hurdles, to get where you are today?”
Tessa provided the nicest testimonial that a physiotherapist could ever ask:
“It was a tough season last year, I’m just so thankful that I had the team around me that I did. Mary Brannagan, my physiotherapist, is the reason I’m here, so it was so great to share this moment with her. It was all worth it, all of our dedication and hard work has paid off”.
Tessa is a client at Loaring Physiotherapy and Health Centre. Mary has been working with her since 2005..using her “magical hands” to help build a champion. Tessa is a another great example of an athlete overcoming adversity. Her injuries were extensive and Mary Brannagan did an amazing job in helping her prepare mentally and physically for a golden performance in Vancouver. Physiotherapists are always working incredibly hard behind the scenes. It is nice see Mary get the credit that is so well deserved.
I really enjoyed watching Tessa and Scott skate brilliantly, but I am even more impressed with how they handle themselves off the ice. They are amazing role models, and have a very bright future ahead.
By Bob Duff, The Windsor StarFebruary 22, 2010
Mary Brannagan, who makes her living rubbing people the right way, rubbed her genie’s lamp and called the outcome of Monday’s Olympic ice dancing final before it began.
“You heard it here first,” Brannagan boldly predicted over the telephone from Vancouver. “They’re going to win gold.”
They would be the Canadian tandem of Scott Moir and University of Windsor student Tessa Virtue.
“I’ve been saying that for months,” Brannagan added.
Later in the evening, we'll see if Brannagan’s soothsaying proved accurate.
Moir and Virtue were indeed favoured to be gold medallists and Brannagan had a hand in the outcome.
Both hands, actually.
Brannagan, of Tecumseh’s Loaring Physiotherapy & Health Centre, has been Virtue’s personal physiotherapist since 2005.
In Virtue’s opinion, Brannagan has been so integral to her success that she arranged to have her at her side in Vancouver, even though Brannagan didn’t possess official Olympic accreditation.
“They asked me what I wanted and one of the things I asked for was to have Mary travel with me,” Virtue said in an interview last October.
“She knows my body, she knows what needs to be done to keep me right on top of my game.”
The final Loaring Goup Training Day of the season takes place Sunday morning at Loaring Physio.
It is going to be a gong show full of Olympic Spirit.
I’m looking forward to smashing back a catered Koolini’s brunch after a solid morning of training.
Details: http://www.loaringphysio.com/news.htm#trainingdays
Please RSVP if you (and a guest) would like to attend the brunch…so that we don’t run out of food…that would be tragic.
Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I'm only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown
I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains
I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity
I've lived to be
The very best
I want it all
No time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands
Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity
You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine
Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free
"We Are More" by Shane Koyczan
When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we've got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
" been there done that"
and maybe that's where we used to be at
it's true
we've done and we've been
we've seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don't forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say "eh?"
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we're more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you're welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like "someday"
someday we'll be great
someday we'll be this
or that
someday we'll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday
we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don't have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don't all know what it is in life we're looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you've been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can't wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
" keep exploring... we are more"
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it's true
Canada is the "what" in "what's new?"
so don't say "been there done that"
unless you've sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don't say you've been there done that
unless you've been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you'll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn't pack for the first time
but don't let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what's more
is that we didn't just say it
we made it be.
As shown in today’s online Windsor Star:
The team at Loaring Physiotherapy celebrates Hat Day for WHR and wears Canada gear in a send-off for our local Olympic athletes. Shown are, front row (John Loaring, Charlotte Loaring, Erin MacNeil, Erin Seguin, Ms Bones, Steven Georges); Back row (Kathleen White, Alexandra Bou-Mansour, Fran Saby, Mary Brannagan, Laura Lanoue)
I was busy having a ball while these pics were taken. I ran on the tready in a tiny room for 70 minutes as part of an experiment (run by Keiran Ruck at the University of Guelph) that will aim to draw implications concerning: exercising with compression socks, cardiac drift, hydration strategy, and pacing strategy in hot conditions. Part 1 of the experiment took place last Friday--a tready V02max ramp test to help provide data on what speed to set the tready for parts 2 to 4. Today was part 2, which called for a 1h tready run at 65% of VO2max, followed immediately by a 3k tready time trial. What made it tough was it took place in this tiny room with no fan or air circulation, with a thermostat set at 30 degrees Celcius. After running outside all winter, that felt Damn Hot…notice the capital D, capital H. Part 2 was just the practice trial, and parts 3 and 4 are the real deal for data collection. 4 of us from Allied Force (Mike Hay, Ryan Smith, and Mark Linseman being the other 3) are taking part, so it will be fun to see how everyone does. Our incentive to perform well in the 3k TT (in parts 3 and 4) is massive—the participant with the fastest 3k TT will win a pair of compression socks haha. The things we do for science…
