Everything's Coming up Raspberries (and potatoes)!

An up-for-it seventeen athletes flew through Ladywell towards the Adventure Playground, where mowers were pushed, strimmers were swung (with great care and attention!) and weeds were pulled, pommelled and punched into submission. A total of 5km were covered, with a speedy mile time trial thrown in to keep everyone keen.

A big thank you to Helen for this week's puntastic title!

This week we were excited to have a visitor all the way from Colchester. We gave Angela, the new trainer for the upcoming GoodGym Colchester a big Lewisham welcome and listened carefully as she reminded us how coach running and missions work. This Monday was extra special, as we were able to announce our brand spanking new, first Task Force! Caireen and Roni, both runners who were there at the start, back in frosty, dark January, are now going to offer help and support on runs and tasks and encourage our group to join in at races and, most importantly of all, arrange socials. Yeah! Runners trickled in, a sea of red shirts filling the foyer at Glass Mill and it was soon time to head out into the June sunshine for a bit of a play and a warm up.

First up was a head-count and name-check, then we partnered up for a variation on our old favourite, shin-tag. This time we were tagging knees, with the game gradually building with some added movement, then the chance to tag as many knees as you like. There's nothing like a bit of knee tapping to introduce you to a friend for life. Now for some good, strong running drills - that's why we're here, right?! We thought about the angle of our knees, feet and arms and encouraged good form with nice tight abs (I can see you've all been working on those core muscles...;) ).

And so to Ladywell

Angela acted as back-marker and was in good company, as some regular runners tagged along and (hopefully) told her how amazing our borough is. We met Linda (of Honor Oak Adventure Playground fame), who proudly showed us the shiny new lawnmowers and not one, not two, but three strimmers! That grass was going to be utterly, well, mown. Once we had established who might be happy using a mower or strimmer, the rest of the group were gloved up and, tools in hand, ready to attack those raised beds. Again. Sadly, the mixture of heavy rain and bright sun had resulted in the weeds coming back with a vengeance; we half expected to find a lost child in the undergrowth.

The weeders and pruners got stuck in and Team Grass got busy working out how the heck to get these things started. The action and effort involved in starting a mower provides an excellent upper body workout, huffing and puffing is rewarded with a little chug then a resounding rumble and they're off! Strimmers are a slightly more focused and concentrated affair, with a bit of maintenance needed before we could get going. Some fine problem solving could be seen as Niall and then Caireen worked out how to replace and renew the little plastic 'string' that cuts the grass, who knew strimming was so complicated?!

Action stations

Now everything was in full flow, a buzz of activity throughout the playground, digging, pulling, wheeling, pushing and picking. Last time we were here, Maurits and Becca very carefully cut back the raspberry canes, so we thought it only fair that tonight's task was fuelled by these plump and juicy jewels. Good work gardeners! It was a beautiful evening; this seems a great spot to enjoy the sunset, with the river babbling nearby. As the clock ticked, piles of weeds and grass were added to the compost heap, tools were collected and, in an attempt to halt the weeds until next time, we covered as much as we could with bin bags and wood. Taking a step back, it was easy to see the improvement made during our half hour or so of hard work. Well done!

Miles Better

Up and over the curly/spiral/windy/twisty bridge (everyone has a different name for it around here) and into the other part of Ladywell Fields. We jogged and warmed back up, gathering near the cafe for some dynamic stretches. With a large group, it's hard to find somewhere to rest your hand for leg swings, so nice work from the group who hugged a tree, those who found lamp-posts and Angela and Conroy, who utilised each other for balance.

In just over a month, we will put forward some teams for the GoodGym 4x1 mile relays at Mile End Stadium, so thought it might be a good idea to see just how fast we can run a mile and how that feels. The wider loop of this part of the park is about a mile, so off ran the group, with a timer and name-checker (thank you Helen) waiting eagerly to cheer and log each runner in. It really wasn't long before the first two could be seen rounding the bend and heading up the hill towards the home straight. Excellent, strong running from Conroy and then Angela, who finished very closely, the competitive spirit kicking in as they pushed to the finish. Now runners came in thick and fast, arms pumping, knees lifted. What an impressive effort from everyone and, wow, aren't we fast?! Here are the times, so we can check back next time we're in Ladywell Fields and see how things are improving:

Conroy 6:30 Angela 6:37 Niall 6:56 Stephen 8:00 Emma 8:00 Judy 8:03 Caireen 8:33 Amy 8:42 Eva 8:47 Roni 8:50 Lucy 8:54 Jacqueline 9:16 Helen 9:22 Imogen 9:25 Louisa 9:30

A few were totally spent at this point, flopping against the tree or grabbing a railing, but there was little time to catch our breath as we had to get back to our start point and stretch out those well-worked muscles! A slightly quieter and slower jog along Marsala Road and we were back. A stretch on the grass was called for on such a beautiful evening, and a collective rumble of tummies led to a conversation about what was for dinner. It was tempting to descend on Judy's house for (home grown) rhubarb crumble and custard, or to tag along with Roni, who was gasping for an ice lolly, but we all went our separate ways until next time, tired, but happy.