Green, Green Goose Grass of Home

Through a 'refreshing' rain shower, eight energetic athletes dodged and weaved their way towards Lewisham High Street, taking a left on George Lane, where some excellent weeding and gardening were tackled, before taking on a hill in Ladywell Fields. Just under 4km were covered, with a couple of people opting to cover slightly more in the park. Go! Go! Go!

Conversation was filled with stories of 'getting round', 'bodies at the side of the road', 'boom-box runners' and 'incredible support from GoodGym crowds'. It was, of course, Hackney Half Marathon yesterday and we congratulated and bowed down to both Roni and Judy, who took part in that heat! Wow! It sounds like it was super tough, with runners being told to walk towards the end, the heat getting too dangerous to push...this certainly wasn't a day for PBs. Well done to all GoodGym runners who joined in, either running the race, supporting through volunteering, or showing some road-side love; you're all amazing!

After we'd heard all the up-to-date race news, we welcomed first-timer, Kate. We heard about coach running and missions and about tonight's task. A little while ago, we had helped tidy up the front garden at the Calabash Centre - a day centre for elderly people - and tonight, we would gain entry to the little courtyard inside, to carry on the good work. As we passed through, we admired the work done previously by Roni and Alex, the front garden still looking spick and span. Since Adele had first visited the centre a little while ago, the whole area had come alive with weeds, shooting up between cracks in the paving, with a particularly prolific weed sprawling its way across the lovely flower beds. Kate proved to be very knowledgeable and knew all the correct names for the weeds and plants and it turns out this weed is called 'Goose Grass'. You know the one, you probably threw it (or had it thrown at you) as a child...it sticks nicely to clothing and also spreads its seeds by burying itself in animal belly-fur.

It was lovely to see the beautifully planted beds emerging from beneath the layer of weed, about-to-bud Iris heads peeping out and stunning Calla Lilies standing proud. The paths were soon cleared, with a combination of handy tools being used to scrape and scratch the weeds into submission, the Goose Grass was bundled away into bags and some green-fingered runners set to work planting some Begonia and Marigold plants. It was interesting to see the varied approaches to planting, some more regimented than others, but all creating what will grow and spread into a colourful addition to the space.

It was hard to drag people away when our time was up. Some plants remained in their pots, some weeds were left un-pulled but, when we stepped back, we could see what an amazing job had been done. The space now looked inviting, somewhere visitors might like to sit and maybe they will feel encouraged to plant out the remaining plants, filling in any gaps we left. There was just enough time now to admire our handiwork and for Roni to pick some chard, of course, keen as always to stock up on her five-a-day.

Time now to run through a quiet Ladywell Fields, the birds chirruping and the earth smelling fresh after the rain. There was a general sense, at this point, of low energy, a combination of half-marathons, humidity and some good, intense gardening sapping the last bit of oomph out of us. Stephen and Katie opted to take a wider loop to meet us, pushing a little harder and we moved on to a little drill to engage good form, before a few hill repeats. Tired arms were flagging, strong elbows feeling neglected, so we did an arm drill in pairs, feeling how the arms might engage fully to power us up that hill. What a difference this made to our form on the hills!

How heartening for a trainer to see little adjustments being made and good, strong work in action

Humidity-heavy legs jogged homeward now, back to our start point, where we stretched, chatted and decided on a social after next week's group run. Come and join us for a post-run rehydration and fried food selection get-together at The Talbot, only a stroll up a hill from Glass Mill. See you there!