Every Raindrop is a Waterfall

Tonight Cardiff was alive!!! Coldplay headlining in the millennium stadium, torrential rain which we haven’t experienced for months… and 11 GoodGym runners ran the streets of Cardiff getting good deeds done! It was para para paradise!

Your challenge whilst reading this run report is to spot as many references to Coldplay as you can (Game on! – Post how many you think there are in the comments section at the bottom of the run report) :) So here’s how the night's events unfolded… it went something just like this….

We arrived soaked, like wet kittens at Yr Hen Lyfrgell at 6.15pm… It was a rainy day. We all signed in and caught up with one another, chatting about how our weeks been so far. At 6.30pm the GoodGym run began! This week we spiced it up a little and did the introduction and warm up in the hall where we meet (Or maybe we were just hiding a little longer from the rain :) ). We ran in circles, touching the ground with our left hand when Ben shouted “1”, right hand on “2”, jumping in the air on “3” and changing direction on “4”. There were definitely a few bumps when 4 was shouted in quick succession! We then set off on our adventure of a lifetime!

Okay guys, we are going to start by running mindfully

Ben led the first 10 minutes of the run by doing a ‘mindful running’ practice. Encouraging runners to notice their breath, their feet as they made contact with the ground, the noises around them… and if distractions came up (such as thinking about the bloody rain)… to gently return their attention and focus back to their breath. Mindful running can help you improve your technique and increase the overall satisfaction of running Read a good article on mindful running here

We always run making sure that nobody gets left behind! Our awesome backmarkers this week were Lawrence and Fliss (Thanks guys! - Look at stars, look how they shine for you!).

Arriving at the task, and first up, a mindfulness practice!

We arrived at the Mindfulness and Wellbeing Centre at 7pm where we were greeted by Lorraine who offered us a towel to wipe the rain from our faces and 5 minute guided mindfulness practice – Both were gladly accepted. What is mindfulness, you may be wondering? Mindfulness is about being present in the moment and experiencing it without judgement, exactly as it is. Too often we get stuck in autopilot, having thoughts that distract us from being solely in the present moment and we can get stuck and trapped in thinking about the past or future. Mindfulness is a scientifically evidenced practice that develops neural pathways in the brain and has been effective in helping individuals improve their mental wellbeing. The mindfulness practice took place in a room which we decluttered a month ago when we ran to the Mindfulness and Welbeing Centre on our third GoodGym run. It’s amazing to see the ongoing transformations to the building and rewarding that we are able to be a part of it. Did you notice the walls in the room? They were all yellow!

I want something just like this

After the mindful practice, Lorraine explained the tasks that needed doing for the evening. She said I want something just like this… and explained the tasks we had to do. Our hearts were beating a lot slower now after the mindful practice, however they soon sped up again when Ben said we had 30 minutes to complete the task, ticking clocks! Time goes so quick when you are having fun! :D

During the 30 minutes, moving at the speed of sound, we were moving planks from outside the building up to the second floor. We moved toilets, sinks, tiles and plasterboard. We formed a human chain that stretched from outside the building on the bottom floor to the very top floor. This led to chants of “to me, to you, to me, to you”, and then onto a game of Chinese whispers. Who said hard work wasn’t fun?

After 30 minutes was up, we regrouped for a photo with Fliss modelling the new way to wear a face mask which is set to be a fashion craze internationally. We then left the mindfulness centre, waving goodbye to Lorraine and Yin, but knowing we would be running back there again soon to do some more good deeds! We love running to our friends at the Samye Foundation. Click here to be directed to their website.

They were really appreciative of our help and emphasised that what we did in the time given to us was so helpful and would have taken one person days to do! It’s like magic…

On our way back to Yr Hen Lyfrgell we had cheers from passers-by and a random man even joined in running with us for 20 seconds (He soon stopped when Ben jokingly said that we’d be running for another 20 miles but he’d be more than welcome to join in!).

Interval session down Castle Street

As Coldplay was headlining, the main road outside Cardiff Castle was closed to traffic. Taking advantage of this, we used lampposts as markers for our interval session. Alternating between 40% and 70% effort as we passed each lamppost. Running on the roads made us feel like we ruled the world. The lights guided us home. We stopped outside the castle for a quick group photo... check out the epic photo-bomb by a random passer by! (Look at the photos above - He was all yellow! ;) )

We finished off with some light yoga stretches… and Ben gave us all chocolate chip cookies as a reward for our hard efforts. :) Nobody said it was easyyyyy… but we did our best, braved natures elements, had a good workout in the process and… importantly, we got the task done whilst having fun!

And with all our magic, we disappear from view, leaving the traces of good deeds we do…

Join us next week on our GoodGym run to paint the new café at City United Reformed Church. Sign up here. You’ll get fit, have fun and meet like-minded people in the process. Don’t believe me? If you never try you’ll never know…

Well done to Sam who takes away the RunPunStiltskin award this week! Enjoy the imaginary award Sam and please hand it back next week!