Litter-bugs (us)

This week 15 Goodgym-ers helped clear half a dozen black bags worth of litter from Glebelands Openspace.

We were joined by GG Barnet newbie Rob, who recently moved to Barnet from Norwich. Give him a cheer!

After a quick warm up, mobilising those joints and preparing those muscles, it was time to head off. Nicola was our trusty back marker while I lead the group to Glebelands.

The whole way there was downhill, giving us a chance to stretch our legs a little. Before heading into the park we did a few squats, focusing on breathing and bracing.

Inside the park we paired up, making sure each pair had at least one torch, and passed around gloves and bin bags, courtesy of Hazel.

We then set to work collecting all the rubbish that had blown into the bushes along the path. Just 20 minutes later and we'd filled seven bin bags, completing the entire length of the path. Graham then took all the bags back for us, tapping out of the fitness portion and the running due to an unfortunate football incident. Graham has to cycle 250ft of elevation tomorrow with a sore knee, so give him some support!

The rest of the group then worked through some running drills, focussing on building that run shape. We ran back along the path in short bursts, concentrating on knee drive, active ankles and keeping the arms in line. Building the most efficient running form is something that takes time, so making sure to practice it often will serve you well.

Everybody's homework is to practice.

We then ran back to base for stretches and Barnet biscuits. This week's biscuit was actually a stroopwafel, courtesy of Jody.

We have done 91 out of 100 good deeds for Barnet in January. This means we only need 9 more to hit our target! If you can, please go out tomorrow and do some good. You can run with any other GoodGym group and Barnet will get the point.

We've also already run 1,148km (maybe more by the time you read this!), which means we've massively surpassed our 800km target! NICE WORK!

Bit of a longer run next week, working on an allotment.