The first day of February and what better way to celebrate the end of January than taking to the streets of Bristol and the gardens in Brandon Park to let off some steam with some gardening.

Fortunately the sun was shining when we all met at Roll for the Soul but the wind chill was pretty high so there was a strong emphasis on warming up effectively. Pru, our GoodGym personal trainer, led us to the foot of Park St before taking us through some essential stretches before we ascended up Park St trying to fight off the bitter winds. The gradual hill climb up to the top of Brandon Park is fairly challenging but it’s all about running at a pace you’re happy with. The steepest incline at the top really killed any conversation amongst the group as everyone was trying to get their breath back.

After a little loop around the park we arrived at the pond where a number of other volunteers were already clearing old pond weed and rubbish out of the lake. Further down the path there was a massive overgrowth full of brambles and twigs which we had to lop, rake and remove. The field above the overgrowth produces stunning flowers in the Spring time so by removing all the overgrowth it would expand the field where these flowers grow.

The group got stuck in right away, the brambles were an almighty challenge, there was a fine skill to attacking a bramble which I hadn’t quite mastered until the end – I have since counted about 6 related bramble cuts. This task, much like all of the other tasks I undertake with the GoodGym is incredibly cathartic, you would not believe how de-stressing lopping a load of brambles can be. At the end of our session the overgrowth had been cleared away and the tree trunk was revealed, with tasks like this there was an obvious difference with the work we’d done. Everyone really pitched in to create such an impressive result. The brave people climbing into the pond had waterproof pond-suits but it didn’t keep out the cold which made this week’s gardening task particularly challenging.

At the end of the session we handed our gloves in and ran out of the park, the group then divided so those who wanted to run around the harbourside could do so but those who just wanted to head back and warm back up again could too. I had previously ran in the Park Run 5k that morning so I was pretty keen to get some lunch! It’s important to re-fuel and re-heat after a GoodGym run so a group of us grabbed some lunch together, just when it began to rain outside (smug face). This could be the beginning of a post-run lunchtime tradition so make sure you come down next week to get involved!

Thanks to Olivia for writing this week's run report. You can follow more of Olivia's fitness adventures around Bristol check at goldenpulse.co.uk