Predicted rain of terror fails to dampen GoodGym heroes

Another Monday and we were threatened with another soggy GG. Just moments before we met up it was chucking it down. This heralded a few last minute cancellations. Notably our very own Cake Man Jay's excuse was that his cape doesn't react well to getting wet. I would be interested to know if any other GG areas can trump an excuse like this? Next week it could well be that he's afraid of the bears - ha ha !

Massive shout out to my real life heroes who turned out tonight. Barbara, John, Emily, Tamsin, Paul, Ros, Duncan and Anne. We were so lucky because the rain stopped during our weekly round up of GG news.. It was a lucky break and the good karma that is such a feature in Worthing prevailed tonight meaning that we didn't get our hair wet ! However lets not mention the puddles and my muddy legs!

The task at Kamelia Kids day nursery was just a short distance away but the team still managed to take different routes and arrive at different times!

Despite this we had a lovely welcome from Executive officer, Dottie and Premises Manager Andy who outlined the jobs for the evening.

Paint rolling and some fine pruning

There were 2 options that were offered to the team. There was some cosy inside painting of a small nappy store room or some pruning and tidying up outside.

Duncan , Paul and Anne elected to paint whilst the rest of the team donned their gloves and headed outside.

When I got outside to check on the team and take the obligatory photos there was a wonderful smell of lavender that was being pruned. Check out the great photo of Ros taking in the aroma.

Emily got stuck in with the shears cutting down a rather dead looking shrub ably helped by John who was breaking down the debris which Andy then snuffled away in his wheelbarrow.

Tamsin and Ros jumped off their broomsticks to do some extensive sweeping up of leaves. Meanwhile Barbara was beavering away in the flowerbeds gathering up scattered excess weeds and loose foliage.

Back inside, when Anne stood on paint , Paul chivalrously wiped it off . The photo didn't make the water shed but, on request, can be shared on the whats app group !!

The weather rained it in for the GoodGym runners

40 short minutes later and we said our goodbyes to Andy with a promise to return on 2nd December. With no Jemmie to keep us in order it was up to me to try and keep the team focused for their fitness session.

We did a descending pyramid of squats and burpees. We started with 10 squats, 10 squat jumps, 10 squats reaching our arms up on tip toes followed by 10 burpees with the option of lunging for the faint hearted.

We repeated the same sequence with 9 of everything then 8 and working our way down to 1 . This totalled 55 reps of each move so a great mini workout to do every day :) Special shout out to John for his squat jumps , Ros, Anne, Emily and Barbara for their constant focus on their fitness , Duncan and Paul for their heckling and Tamsin for taking all of the motivational nagging on the chin:)

The team unanimously chose the option of a shorter run so, with clear instructions we set off in 3 groups.

The plan fell apart in true Worthing style so it ended up with a longer run than we all anticipated and me sprinting around the streets trying to herd the team back in together. It was a true miracle that the whole team convened on the corner of the George pub . We resisted the draw of the beer and headed back in 1 group for the final leg of the run back to the leisure centre.

After some stretching and a briefing about next week together with plans for Tamsin's 50th task we said our goodbyes and guess what ?! The rain started just as we were getting into our cars !! I'm not sure about anyone else but I felt a particularly lucky person as I drove home.

Nice work team :):):)

In other news

• Good luck to Duncan in the Great South Run this weekend ( Lucy too ?)

• Watch this space for details about Tamsin's 50th task celebrations. It might be as soon as next Monday !

• Next week we are meeting at St Mary's Church in Goring opposite the Mulberry pub. Park and meet in the church yard at 6pm so that we can catch the light. For further details and sign up page click here

• Burpees are happening in November. On 30th November we will be having a social to celebrate the end of our biggest monthly challenge of the year so save the date!

Have a great week

Julia x