Tonight we ran around 7km to plant seedlings in Thornton Heath Rec Community Garden

A chilly start tonight but the sun came out and by the time we got to Thornton Heath Rec we were definitely warmer. On the way there we did our warm-up in front of Tescos which always gives the security guard something to laugh at. We tried a new dynamic stretch for our hamstrings called gorilla somethings – not elegant but pretty effective if the grunts and groans were to be believed.

Once we got to the Rec we donned our gloves, grabbed some trowels and some other odd looking implements and got to work planting the seedlings in the long planters we’d filled up a couple of months ago. Our flowers are the middle of three rows of gold and yellow flowers. Later in the year we’ve been invited back to plant tulips (red I think) and then in the winter pansies to keep the Community Garden bright and colourful. It really was lovely to see the garden in daylight – the group of volunteers have made this part of the Rec so pretty and welcoming. After we planted we got to “shake and vac’ some slug pellets along the row of seedlings – would have made a fun video.

On the way back we bumped into Dasha who has been locked in her room studying for her final exams and had decided a run was just what she needed to clear her head – good luck on Friday Dasha. With a longer run than normal we didn’t have much time for a fitness session but we did manage to pop in a sprint at the end – funny how much more energy people have when they know the end is near! With the Riga weekend coming up Dom wasn’t allowed to sprint though as we couldn’t risk injury before his international running debut. He has also been given custody of Jim so we are hoping to see him having fun in some Latvian hotspots.

We headed back to cool-down and had a chat about the two Starter sessions on Saturday 13th of May and Saturday 20th of May. Don’t forget you’ve only got until the 14th of May to sign up for the GoodGym Olympics in June.

Finally we are all looking forward to our one year anniversary next week at the Salvation Arm and of course the obligatory social at BoxPark. I can hardly believe a year has passed – it’s been the most amazing fun – running, volunteering and making lovely new friends.