18 Goodgymers ran 5km to help Octopus Community Gardeners up in Archway

Thanks to Graham and Steve Lee who've covered for me while I was on holiday for the last couple of weeks, it's great to be back and running with you guys.

Welcome along to the newbies for this week - Mustafa, Ellie and Hollie - great to have you along!

In the news this week:

1. Dom is organising a long run this weekend if you'd like to go - more details here.
2. Next Monday we are meeting at the Arc Centre and not the Arsenal Hub as it is a bank holiday.

After warming up we headed north towards Archway, hitting the back streets as soon as possible. We found Fran from Octopus Community Gardeners, a group that volunteer to help look after local garden plots in Islington and beyond. She put us to work with the following tasks:

• We weeded three huge flower beds, completely clearing one and delicately pick sticking nettles out of the others.
• A team of five shovelled, moved and spread a sack of top toil into the beds, feeding the plants and replenishing the existing soil.
• The rest of the group spread across the garden clearing the pathways and weeding everywhere.

Over 30 minutes we got tons done; with three cats watching and Aidan's spreading skills we'd sure left our mark!

After a group picture and a biscuit we headed back to the Emirates Stadium for a fitness session - first off we did some stair sprints and following this we did a circuits routine - mountain climbers x2, press up, jump and squat - repeat for 1 minute, 1 minute off and go again! It was about practising coordination as much as doing the exercise itself.

Sign up next week here, we are meeting at the Arc Centre.

PB out.

Last night 20 GoodGymmers, including three new runners (welcome Jordana, Beatrice, and Nicola!), ran 5k to help out at Quill Street allotments.

Splitting into two groups on the way there, we took the long way round to the allotment via a loop of Highbury Fields. On arrival, and following instruction from excellent allotment expert Gill, we weeded, removed nettles, and pulled out (already-dead!) plants at Jack's plot - an allotment belonging to local resident Jack, who is unfortunately no longer able to look after it as well. We made good progress in the short time we were there - always surprising what you can achieve in 30 minutes with some dedicated elbow-grease! A weed, after all, is just a plant in the wrong place. Our effort clearing the path and tidying the allotment should help keep it in a good state so Jack can harvest what has been planted and is growing there before December, when he relinquishes the plot. Great work team!

Post-task, we took the more scenic route back through Gillespie nature reserve, managing to (just!) catch the sunset from the path, and with time for a fitness session, including some sprint drills and progressive intervals around the Emirates. Lots of great form on display for the final sprint round. Remember the two golden rules: socket-to-pocket running for efficient arm form, and sprinting with your whole body leaning forward (not leaning from the hip!). You can practice this with falling starts.

Finishing up with a gentle run back to the start, we cooled down with some stretches to undo any tension built up by those sprints. There were also some coconut oreo thin biscuits. Personally - I reckon they're basically just regular oreos. Many thanks to local physiological expert Alex for explaining/reminding me which muscles we actually stretched. Normal service resumes with Paul back next week - see you all then!

Is it getting cooler? I think the weather’s getting cooler. It’s still incredibly hot though, and a determined band of Islington’s GoodGymmers braved the heat to help out the Rose Bowl with a summer clear up of their outdoor space. After a quick intro by Paul Bown’s stand-in (yours truly) while he’s on holiday, the supportive group were willing to trust me with the GPS. Huge welcome to Wei (give him a cheer), who on his first group run fit right in and got stuck right into tonight’s task…

The Rose Bowl has been a key community centre for decades, with a specific focus on programmes for young people including music, sports and arts. They make some of their revenue hiring out their spaces, so keeping them looking tidy is really important. Ceri, Ops manager at the Rose Bowl described some of the activities on the site and its history and importance, and encouraged us to be ruthless with the ‘jungle’ as she described it.

This year’s particular target is the bamboo that didn’t get the hint this time last year. Difficult to get rid of, we’re helping the groundskeeper stay on top of it at least. The ground was soon covered with branches and brush, and we filled 3 large containers to the brim, with plenty piled high and ready to go next time.

A lot of sweating, lopping, sweeping and tidying later, and the group can be proud of the difference we’ve made. Ceri Is An Islington Angel - providing us with cold, deliciously cold, water, juice and those little slices of fruit that take you back to childhood, or last week if you're lucky. The refreshment stop (and the distribution of mini Oreos) slowed things down on a hot summer's night, so that the looming cloud of a sweaty fitness session soon dissipated and we just had time to get back to the Hub to stretch and share some news - the Rutland Full, Half & Marathon Relay and Yorkshire Marathon and 10 Mile Race are approaching fast though there's still time to sign up, but this week it's the (location as yet TBC) GoodGym Social this Thursday!

Thanks to everyone for supporting this newbie run leader! Thanks to back markers and gentle encouragers James, Beth and Aidan and of course Steve C for being on his best behaviour.