Extrenchive workout

8 people ran 8k and dug trenches to install 5 raised beds.

Eager to make the most of the last evening of the Bank Holiday, a GoodGym crew gathered at the Arch Gallery ready for a workout.

We did a quick mobility warm up and then embarked on our run through the beautiful evening light. Taking a route north we all tried guess the pace and quickly realised we were all used to different units. For the record, here's our pace converted using this handy pace converter.

5:25 min/km
11.08 km/hr
8:43 min/mile
6.88 mph

After our 4k run, we picked through a couple of back streets and found the estate we were heading for. Alex and a group of residents with their kids were ready to show us the job. 5 frames for raised beds were ready, but the sloping ground needed trenches digging so that the frames could sit level. They'd managed one but it was tough work so they called in GoodGym.

"Hit A Brick"

We spent 34 mins digging and got all of the remaining frames in place. Our initial guess of how long it would take was quickly thwarted when Anna hit a brick in her first spade strike and Becky and Hannah also found hard stones just 4 inches under the soft top soil. We all moved beds to give Andrew some room - he grabbed the pick axe and loosened the hardest parts so we could keep shovelling. Shifting bed to bed, the trenches began to deepen and we satisfyingly lower each frame into place, taking a few more minutes to ensure they were all sitting level.

"Spilling into Gear 4"

We tidied the tools as the Alex and crew thanked us for helping keep this project moving, then got straight back to our run, heading back down Amhurst Road. We stopped to organised a bit of speed play during our return leg: splitting into two groups, we set London Fields as our finishing line. The first group set off in Gear 3, the other group waited 20s and then set of after us also in Gear 3. Axel and Phil ran particularly well, and we rested a little and chatted about the difficulties of spilling into Gear 4 accidentally. Then we ran again, this time to the far end of London Fields, stars of the second run were Hannah and Alison who kept amazingly high power right to the line.

We jogged gently back to the Arch all together breathing hard and with hearts pumping, for a few cool down stretches before heading home.