Suns out guns out

On a warm and balmy evening we traded in our normal meeting place at Splashpoint for its close relation, Worthing Leisure Centre, so that we could be a little closer to the task this evening.

We welcomed back Roxy ( two weeks in a row! ) together with 2nd timer Emma. Also Belinda on her bike (but very nearly back to running ! ) Barbara, Paul, Anne and Nick. It was a near miss for Gill and Duncan who almost made it together with Tamsin who sadly had to pull out at the last minute. We missed all three of you.

This evening we were returning to support our friends at Breathing Spaces . This time we were continuing our tour of their projects with a visit to the Keystone Community Centre where Lisa and Claire have a beautiful garden together with a huge field to maintain. I had a sneaky peak at the woodland garden before heading to our focus which was on a large expanse of overgrown beds at the far end of the field which we were asked to clear and mulch to try and add some definition and control.

Taking the bind out of bindweed

The beds were incredibly invaded with the dreaded ( but strangely pretty white flowering ) mass of bindweed and long grass. It was difficult to imagine that anything was living underneath but we were soon to find differently.

Paul and Belinda set about wheel barrowing the first load of bark chips whilst Roxy , Emma ,Anne, Nick and Barbara got stuck into clearing the bindweed and long grass.

Claire and Lisa directed proceedings as well as piling in to help and filling up watering cans ready for mulching.

Monday night ( hay ) fervor

The grass and bindweed were every hay fever sufferers night mare. Poor Emma, only on her second task with us, realised just how badly she suffers but despite that she continued pulling grass and bindweed and getting showered in pollen until her she was forced to stop due to her throat starting to constrict and lumps coming up on her arm. Massive kudos and sympathy to you Emma. We were all relieved to hear that you recovered quickly after a good dose of antihistamine and hope to see you back to best next week.

A haw thorny issue with blood, sweat cheers and even some nobbly bobbly’s

Meanwhile underneath the wilderness the team were definitely winning the battle of the bindweed . Miraculously hawthorn shrubs started to appear and long grass was manually shredded and piled up. At one point I lost sight of both Nick and Roxy who disappeared ( not together ) in the middle of the bushes !

Everyone was particularly energetic with their efforts with a lot of scrapes, bumps and bobbles appearing over legs, arms and clothing. My first aid kit had its debut appearance for Pauls arm that had suddenly become ripped ( and that was in addition to his muscles! ) Anne was grateful that she had stuck to her leggings after having been teased about wearing them on such a warm evening.

Barbara and I did the final barrow run of wood chip and commented how easy Paul had made it look in comparison to our lengthy efforts ! As much watering as possible followed to mulch up the beds as much as possible.

Finally and a little later than the normal 30 minutes we called time on the task . Everyone re grouped apart from one absentee ( Roxy ) who found the addictive nature of pulling bindweed tricky to detach from! With a group photo and a promise to return the group split into 2 groups for the extended run back.

Life’s a beach

Very cleverly ,both groups ended up at Goring Green right near the beach where we had previously ( on what date Nick ?!! ) sowed wild flower seeds that we were delighted to see where looking healthy and growing nicely for some summer blooming. At this point we waved goodbye to Belinda on her bike .The rest of the group were poised and raring for the penultimate quarter of the evening.

Despite a few ( ignored ) comments about what a physically hard task it had been this week we repeated similar strength work to last week with the emphasis on technique and core. Burpees, squats, planks, v sits and oblique ab curls were all completed in the usual good spirits with the occasional moan.

The finale

We split into 2 groups again with some pace at the front and great chatter at the back with both groups ending back at the Leisure Centre at the same time. Whilst everyone caught their breath I updated everyone on next weeks plans where the group will meet at Splashpoint with Tara before heading off for our second visit to The Rowans, a rehabilitation centre for brain injuries.

When I uploaded the photos I took a minute to reflect just how happy everyone looked. It certainly made me smile looking at the images. What a lively,entertaining and good humoured bunch you all are despite it being a challenging , messy and dusty task. Happy times :)

Special mention and good luck vibes to Gill for this Wednesdays marathon at the 5 in 5 endurance event. Gill will be running 10 times around a circular route of Highdown hill. Wow ! That’s quite a mind and body challenge . If anyone can get up there to support Gill I’m sure she would love a GG cheer !

I'm still on the case about a social date in honour of the July Birthdays . It would be great to get a full house !

See you in two weeks team !

Julia x

Girls just want to have fun in the sun with the puns

On a beautiful sunny June evening we met up and welcomed newbie Emma to the group and what a delight that turned out to be with lots of smiles and chatter with her new GG buddies. It was also great to see Anne back after her recent holiday and race successes ( Next time you see Paul ask him about the 10 k! )

Juggling her shifts it was lovely to see Ros again for the second week in a row together with Belinda fresh from her holiday and last but certainly not least Barbara who completed an all girl team this evening.

We set off on a delightful warm up run along the seafront stopping to admire the GG seafront flower bed which is looked particularly vibrant .

We arrived at Byron road homeless hostel where we were warmly welcomed back by Richard and Martin, our hosts for this evening.

Putting the magic into Monday

There were only a few basic tools available but the group wasted no time in getting stuck into the weeding and clearing of the paths . With rock solid beds there was a bit of relief with some help from a couple of watering cans to soften the ground .

30 short minutes later the beds were clear of weeds and the paths so much tidier. Can you beleaf it ?

We were treated with some mugs of water in appropriate pink mugs for our all girl team building experience and after a quick snap shot of the evening we headed off for our run back,

Sprint to the finish

After a maze of roads and a few wrong turns we ran through Marine Gardens seeing the beautiful bowling greens before arriving at the seafront .

The group were tasked with some sprint training between lamp posts with a jog /walk recovery in between. The view was stunning with blue skies and the pier getting closer with every lamp post but there were a lot of them !

There were some great efforts from all the team with Anne really powering through together with doubling back to add a bit of extra mileage. Ros and Emma were well matched with their gait and leg speed and Barbara really concentrated on her technique with progress starting to shine through since she joined GG a few short months ago.

Special mention to Belinda on her bike who spectacularly managed front and back marker together with being the official team coach with her motivational cheering ensuring there was no slacking amidst the girlie chatter!

Save the date

We finished with some much needed strength work. Push ups and tricep dips were mixed with some long holds and shaky muscles proving the need for more of this in the coming weeks!

We finished with some stretches and warm thanks all round. There was a special mention to Emma on an epic first task and run. Massive GG cheer coming your way and we hope to see you again soon.

Finally a few of us had a brief discussion about the date for our next social.

Can anyone make Monday July 9th for a fish n chip social to celebrate Paul and Barbara's birthdays that both fall in July?

Have a great week and see you next week for another manic Monday

Julia:)