Well gang, that's it. Winter is well and truly here. But don't let that get in the way of your training. Here are a few tips during those chilly winter runs:

Layering is key: wearing breathable fabrics is the best way to stay warm, including thermals, gloves and a hat (because you lose most of your heat from your head). But you're not (probably) running in the arctic - you'll soon warm up as your heart rate rises and too many layers mean you'll quickly overheat!

No one likes a soggy bottom, or any other part either, so you'll never regret investing in a good waterproof.

Start your run off warm: pop your top and leggings on the radiator before you start. It'll make it that much easier to get out the door. And get colourful! Neons are not only supercool, but essential in the murky weather.

Keep moving: don't let yourself get cold in the middle of a run so if you spot a mate or have a long wait at traffic lights (I'm looking at you, terrible lights at Kew Bridge) then keep trotting on the spot. That'll reduce the chance of tweaks that happen when you run with cold muscles.

Drink! It's easy to forget if you don't notice you're sweating. Dangerous!

The nippy weather certainly wasn't stopping the Hounslow team and our Wandsworth visitor from doing their good deed, and as usual we gathered at the Town Hall to hear the news and get the run underway. The headlines included the Christmas party! which happens this very Saturday. Sign up here for all the fun and games.

Our task tonight was a nice 3.5 k away, so after a warm up and a discussion about what takes up too much of our time ( Twitter, commuting, work), we set off in the direction of Brentford.

After a good steady run down there, we arrived at the beautiful Maryville Care Home to find the delightful Sister Clare waiting for us. She gave us a quick run through of our jobs tonight - which included washing down wheelchairs and painting rooms. Lots to be getting on with! So after splitting up into groups, we got on with it. It may have been the paint fumes, but the time flew by, and half an hour later, we prised Lindsay away from his paintbrush and Remy away from Lola, and called it a day. With Sister Clare thankful for the hard work, we were rewarded with biccies, and we set off back into the night. But not before our plank minute of course!

Just under twenty minutes of quick running later, we arrived back at base and knocked out a few stretches before another weekly staple - the pub.

Next week we're back at a local residents association to litter pick, so get your gloves and hats ready and see you then!

The weekly news roundup

It was less a news roundup than a celebration of all the brilliant running and volunteering team Hounslow had been doing this week, which is pretty marvellous. So, ladies and gents, please put your hands together for Luis, who before joining GoodGym hadn't run 5k, and last weekend raced his very first half marathon! That is some amazing progress Luis, well done!

Running with Luis in the Hertfordshire half marathon were fellow Hounslow GoodGymers, the unstoppable Michelle, Andy and Remy. Absolutely cracking work gang.

Well done also to Amanda who came along bright and early to volunteer at the Tooting parkrun takeover on Saturday when we turned the common GoodGym red!

But we were so sad to say goodbye to Andreea and Ross - you've been an amazing part of the team guys! There's no escaping us really - not only is there a wonderful GG in Bath and Bristol, but if you're back in London on Wednesday make sure you come and see us!

Frosty welcomes

Tonight's task was for a brand new charity called That's A Wrap, based in Hounslow. They plan to bring residents together in support of local causes through community collections and events. In mid November, they launched their first project - a 2000 toy appeal for a number of local charities that support disadvantaged children in the area and have already been inundated with requests from local charities. They approached us asking for help raising toys through spreading the word about their appeal by leafleting in the local area.

We were met at the Town Hall by the lovely Saba and Ibrahim, who told us all about the project, and let us know how we could help with the wrapping later on this month. Now, doing the leaflet thing isn't everybody's fav GoodGym task, but it's a job that can really save the charity time and money. So after a much needed warm up, we had our weekly question - which this evening was; 'what job would you be terrible at?' Turns out we would be lousy at being a sports coach, writing, being a doctor and, the most surprising answer from lovely Andy- anything to do with people! We don't believe you.

With our Strava set, we were ready for the off and headed in the direction of Brentford to start shifting some leaflets. We have now, it's safe to say, perfected the single file method of hitting up letterboxes, and before too long were moving like a well-oiled machine. After half an hour of nippy fingers and fast moving feet we had got to the end of our pile. Between the 13 of us we got a mammoth 400+ leaflets distributed. As well as really helping out the charity, we have helped spread the word to local people and will raise who knows how many toys! A job well done.

Sprint Finish

Even after all that hard work we weren't yet finished, and headed back to Turnham Green to do our fitness session, which kicked off with a few ABC exercises. Then we had time to fit in some lovely, lovely pyramid sprints before ending the night on our weekly minute plank. Excellent work all round, Hounslow!

Next week we're back to the brilliant Maryville Care Home to visit Sister Clare and to paint some rooms and wash some wheelchairs. Don't miss out, sign up here!