Fields of Goal

Making Monday marvellous, 24 runners took Ladywell Fields by the scruff of the neck, clearing it of weeds, litter and abandoned goal posts, painting a toilet AND finding time to run and squat!

It all got a bit too much in the foyer tonight, a bit, you know, emotional. It really was Medal Monday, with a few of our regular runners doing us and themselves proud over the weekend, by smashing some personal goals. Very well done to Sean, who ran a 10k race, to Chris, who gave himself a birthday gift of a 10k PB, to Stephen, who took on a Spartan race and to Kim, our real racing hero this week. Last spring Kim ran her first 5k, in October she ran her first 10k and then yesterday she ran her first half-marathon! We're so incredibly proud of her and also of our team, who supported Kim by running (and cycling) with her on her longer training runs. Not only has she achieved this goal, but she has inspired fellow runner Eva to sign up to a half-marathon too. Told you it was all a bit emotional.

Witnessing this outpouring of praise were two new faces. This week's Lewisham Love goes to Lucy and Olivia, absolute first-timers to GoodGym, welcome!

Out on the grass, it was all shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes) and a few elbows thrown in for good measure. This is what is known as a warm-up around these parts (as it were). We synced our various devices and were ready to go, over to Ladywell Fields. Along the way, we saw a woman wearing a red t-shirt and looking like she was ready to join us. We did our best to drag her along, but she was already heading home - next week maybe? The Ladywell Fields Environmental Education Centre was all ready to receive us, with a wide selection of tools laid out inside. Three teams were selected (based on the specific desire to either wield a paint brush, a lopper or a litter-picker - surprisingly popular!).

• TEAM MAGNOLIA took on the remaining painting, reaching the furthest corners of the toilet within the education building, a cosy space made that much nicer by Nikki's DJing

• TEAM PATH were on a mission to rediscover the overgrown path that wends its way from the centre to the cafe area, slightly hidden by nettles, ivy and brambles at the moment

• TEAM PICK meandered around the wild garden, along the station platform edge (rich pickings here) and along the paths in the main area (AND managed to rid the pond of some rubbish...top job Matthew!)

The park was a-buzz with red t-shirts and lively chatter!

There was so much going on. TEAM PICK were appearing at an alarming rate, with full bags of litter (it was a bit of a shock to see how much rubbish gets chucked over from the train station, even though there are litter bins there). TEAM PATH were making light work of the nettles, marking out a lovely clear walkway and removing any obstacles that have been left here, while inside the building, TEAM MAGNOLIA were rehoming spiders and freshening up this little space used for workshops and river activities.

As time went on, odd items were uncovered. Eva wondered about the golf club that she found in the undergrowth, the bank card that had somehow found its way to the leafy area (now destroyed by a pair of shears and then disposed of) and what about the mysterious hood, where was its accompanying coat, it's all a mystery. As our amateur sleuths stroked their chins and tipped their deerstalkers, time ticked away and talk turned to puns. Deirdre told us that she had heard of such a thing as competitive punning, evenings of puntastic activity, probably in a pub! As you may know, we like a bit of punnery here, so this was met with great enthusiasm...

...but no actual puns, thanks team.

Once our tools were returned and brushes and rollers were cleaned, there was just enough time for a quick fitness session (and yes, there was some VERY quick running going on!). There were a few different distance options, interspersed with some strength work (jumping squats, push-ups, knee-lifts and so on). It was impressive to see how many runners chose to take the longer loop (though was that to delay the squats I wonder?). One last run up the hill took us back along to Glass Mill, where we stretched and talked about next week, a potential double task week - why not join us? There will be a 5k run and maybe even a 50th good deed! EXCITING!

Oh and afterwards we went and filled our tummies with some post-run carbs over at the Brookmill, did you know GoodGym group runs are also about making new friends? Magic. We said our goodbyes to one good friend, as Nikki left for a new home and new adventures, good luck Nikki!

If you like the sound of our wonderful Mondays in Lewisham, take a look here and maybe join us next week for some more of the same.