You're potty!

With a very clear vote for long sleeves with thumb holes, 32 of Lewisham's goodest people ran between 1.5 and 3km and shifted and filled four of the biggest plant pots in THE WORLD!

(Yes, I am aware that 'goodest' probably isn't in the dictionary, but they were just so good tonight).

Thanks this week go to Jo for her tasty title pun.

Brrrrrrrr and brrrrrrrr. Yes, it's taken a dip towards the frosty this week, so we may have lingered a little longer than usual in the foyer. So much to celebrate! I asked for a show of hands from those who went on a mission at the weekend - lots - then a show of hands for those who did more than one mission - yes, there are people for whom doing good is a full time hobby! If you're not sure what a mission is, have a look here, people love them once they get going! We also celebrated our GoodGym Race Team cross country heroes, Nykolette, Chris and Conroy. You know, the kind of people who get muddy for fun. Our big news of the weekend was, of course, Lucy running her 50th parkrun at Hilly Fields. No fewer than ten GoodGym volunteers were on the course to support her, as were a number of runners. Well done Lucy, what a great achievement.

Joining in with the celebrations were four newcomers! Our Lewisham Love this week extends to Maria, Trace and Vivian, all absolute first-timers and also Emily, who has run previously with GoodGym Wandsworth. It was great to see Sam back with us too, after a break. Welcome!

In the spotlight

After I complained about the lights being broken outside our start point last week, they were now miraculously fixed and we could almost see each other (thank you Lewisham Council). Raucous laughter ensued, as we warmed up our bodies, guarding against an outdoor task in 6 degree weather. With a very short run on the cards, Conroy led a group the long way round (a really big group, by the way, thank you Conroy), while I jogged the direct route with everyone else. Excellent back-marking throughout from Stephen, thanks Steve.

It was easy to spot where we were supposed to go, due to the two MASSIVE bright green pots. We were met by Anne and Ade, who quickly told us what was what and led us to a secret, until-now-hidden part of the shopping centre to collect the sacks of compost and gravel. What had initially sounded a little daunting, soon made sense once the various layers were tipped in. Gravel, soil, tulip bulbs, daffodils and then little pansies on the surface (I think that's how it went). Pretty soon it was clear that two planters weren't enough for our volunteers, so the other two were pulled out to receive the same treatment.

We'll have a Celebration!

It's hungry work lifting, shifting, pouring and dibbing (yes, that's a word), so thank you to Anne for sharing out the Celebrations and biscuits. Yum! We had run out of pansies by now, but were reassured that other, larger plants are on their way, so we must pass by on our next run, to check out how the planters look in the daylight. Well done everyone!

The Isle of Cornmill TT Races

The nice thing about our task being so close by was being able to run back to Cornmill Gardens for our fitness session. We had all got a bit cold at the task, so had a second warm-up, with a fun rugby-scrum-tag type game. As we ran on the spot, lifting our knees and jack-jumping, I told the group that I had been down this morning to measure the area around the grass...four laps arejust under 1km , perfect! With great excitement, I made my first ever Strava segment and the GoodGym Lewisham Monthly Time Trial was born. Three groups took turns to run either part of, or the whole thing. It was great to see everyone having a go and surprising themselves with just how fast they could power around (I think the support from 'the crowd' really helped!).

Wave!

If you follow us on Twitter (@GGLewisham), you might have noticed a bit of banter between Conroy and our friends at GoodGym York. In York they have a November press-up challenge, with one press-up being added to the total each day. With today being thirteen press-ups, we made a line and embarked on a press-up Mexican Wave. Check out the video on Twitter, seamless.

We have lots to look forward to in the next few weeks so, whilst enjoying carrot and walnut cake (thank you Stephen!) and ginger biscuits, we chatted about our upcoming starter sessions, with the first being on November 25th, our Christmas social and the Run Through 5/10k on December 17th. Click on the links to have a look and sign up. Talking of signing up, put next Monday in your diary for more of the same.

Just marvellous.