Bonjour, tout le pond!

Holding Out for a Hero

An 80s playlist and chocolate biscuits: what's not to like.

Yes, we started this week's Group Run listening to Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out for a Hero and eating Penguin biscuits.

Spirits remained high as the team motored through 30 minutes of mini-band work, leaving no fitness stone un-turned. We enjoyed endless hip abductions (those 'exercises your phyio nags you about'); rotator cuff work (ditto); crab walks (good for blitzing whole lower body) and then the team were most resilient and accepting (or maybe just resigned) in taking to the tarmac to do the lying-and-seated, band abs master class. Ouch. We completed the session with some stretches before heading over to the pond to meet remaining runners who'd decided 50 minutes of shovelling and wheeling was enough of a workout for a Monday evening.

Sand, mud and near misses

This was our last visit to the pond for the time being, an area that has been recreated and been built back bigger and better, thanks in part to the care and leadership of our task owner Michael.

Today's brief was another tough one: two teams; two piles of dense sand and mud. In each team, 3 were on shovelling and filling barrows; three on wheeling and emptying into the pond. Ouch, ouch, ouch (in a good way). If burning forearms, hamstring-loading and a good lat pullover substitute are your thing, do keep your eyes peeled for future pond tasks in January...

Lots of sand and soil was shifted; lots added to the pond (a few near misses, in my case, as I overlooked the role physics plays when it comes to dense loads and steep edges...).

Team. Did. Good.

What it all means

We heard how our work has helped speed up the creation of this task, making this new, important facility available to residents and locals even sooner; helps provide a habitat for newts and other wildlife and helps improve many aspects of human health along the way.

It was gone 8 when Team Mud were prised away from the last barrow. We gathered to hear Michael talk us through the pond's next phase of its journey, and eagerly awaited a rough idea of when we might return.

It's been an amazing few weeks at this task. Well done everyone - although there's no denying this is a fun, sociable and productive way to spend an evening, showing up on dark, damp nights for heavy lifting over treacherous terrain is also no mean feat.

(And, let's be honest, nor is pun writing, so a massive well done to our Joel for this evening's absolute beauty).

Until next time.