Sands down

This week we were joined by GG newbie Jessica - give her a cheer!

We all met in the usual place around a quarter to seven, ready to do some good. And believe you me, the good was done on this one. After a few introductions and a safety briefing it was time to warm up. The warmer (dryer) weather meant we were able to get back on to the grass, for the first time all year. Skipping, resistance running and fast feet to get the body ready for the epic 1km run we were about to embark on. Things were heating up.

Before we knew it we were off. Dave was our trusty back-marker, whilst I lead the pack to the bowling green.

As always, we paused on the cycle path for our sprint segment, focusing on knee drive. One sprint is never enough, so I turned the gang around and made them do a few more sprints back up the path, working on knee drive and foot position. This was all about learning and drilling the shape. You have to practice over and over again for it to become natural.

We then continued on our way to meet Layla at the green, who told us this week's task: move the sand from one pile to another, so it's out of the way; and start digging and shifting the soil for the greenhouse cafe.

Suffice it to say: sand is heavier than you'd imagine. We started with the plan of dragging the half filled builders bag, but even with four strong pairs of hands, it didn't budge.

Four runners got to work shoveling the sand into wheelbarrows to move it to the grass on the other side, with lots of heavy lifting and maneuvering. The rest of the gang got to work digging into the ground, shifting a few inches of mud and wheelbarrowing it over to the other side of the green to put in planters.

Before long our time had past and our sand had all been shifted. Layla brought us out some delicious oranges, whilst we packed away our tools and tidied up. It was time to say our goodbyes and head off.

We had a couple of rounds of sprints around the park roundabout outside the green before heading over to the playground for 4 minutes of undirected play. Climbing and swinging are important activities than should be carried out periodically to ensure core strength is maintained for healthy running styles. Everybody was very successful in their efforts.

So we headed home, sprinting along our strava segment, then focusing on staying tall for the final half of the run.

A successful evening all round.