Monday 19th March 2018
Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
On a very wintery night in Wandsworth ( c'mon Spring, sort your self out) we took on one of our coldest tasks yet. But that didn't faze the 23 brave GoodGymers who washed six massive mobility buses and smashed through some tough hill reps as well.
We had lots of good news to start off the night, including welcoming the lovely Catarina for her first ever GoodGym run. Way to go! We also said a big well done to everybody who did missions this weekend, including Andrew and Sophie who spent some of Sunday afternoon putting up some furniture for an elderly person. Nice work guys. Lots of races were cancelled due to the mini beast from the east, bad luck if it was one of yours, but well done to anybody that still make it out to parkrun or any other training in the snow. That's some proper good running, right there.
A massive congratulations to Luke who has shown some real dedication in making Wandsworth a better place by reaching his 50th good deed milestone. Hurrah. Cake a cheers all round!
During our very brisk warm up last night we chatted about what we'd ban if we had the power. Say goodbye to walking on the wrong side of the escalator, racism, moths, slow walkers and Trump, for they are forever banned from Wandsworth.
We only had a short run tonight, so in a bid to keep warm we set off at a nice pace, and reached the Leonard Cheshire disability centre in next to no time. Waiting for us there were buckets, sponges, soap, clippers and paintbrushes, so we divided up into teams and got to work. While Sophie and Frances tackled an overgrown bush in the garden, Luke, Morag, Rachael, George and Catarina got stuck into the painting jobs. Meanwhile the rest of the team got a cold but effective upper body work out ferrying buckets of water and washing down the buses that transport the service users around the borough. It was a tough job, so well done everybody - just think how much nicer it will be when we're back in the summer to do it again then!
After a short burst of leg conditioning we let democracy do its thing, and took a vote on the fitness session. It was a landslide victory for hill sprints and core work inside over a toughie by the river - perhaps unsurprisingly - and so we headed back to the BAC for the final part of the evening.
Great work tackling that hill, gang. Thinking about form, we took on the challenge and finished with one long sprint. Don't forget about extending the whole body when you start the sprint so there is a straight line through the head, spine and rear leg, with your eyes focused on the hill just ahead of you.
After escaping the cold in the warmth of the BAC, we finished off the night with some effective core exercises designed to strengthen the abs and prevent injury, and had a rare floor-based stretching session. We know how to treat ourselves...
Hope those fingers have thawed out enough to be able to sign up for next week's run!
Wandsworth
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