Bye Bye January

On our last January task the group met up at Splashpoint Leisure Centre for an unusually prompt start at 6 pm so that the team could get to Stepping Stones in time for the Spaghetti Bolognese evening that we were cooking for.

It was great to have Belinda, Nick, Paul, Tamsin, Michelle, Gill and Duncan and also very good to welcome Pete back for his second adventure with us.

No time to lose

The group set off with Nick leading the way. Belinda was nursing an injury so was showing off her new bike and proved a great motivator being able to speedily cover the front runner and back marker role in the blink of an eye. Massive kudos for coming out tonight B !

Luckily Nick knew where he was going ( Unlike his wife 2 weeks ago! ) and the group arrived to be met by Ash at The Stepping Stones, Worthing Churches accommodation project.

The Italian Job

The team wasted no time in getting stuck into the task with chopping onions, peppers and mushrooms together with frying mince and quorn . Spaghetti cooking and garlic bread preparation followed.

As ever the team had plenty of 'bolly' laughs and good vibes as well as creating some delicious cooking smells and only a small amount of 'mincing around'

Photo Finish

Great photos tonight team ! All credit to the photographers and of course the content. Together we will get that illusive GG photo of the week !

After some spotless clearing up and farewells the team set off on their run back to base.

After the last few weeks of 'challenging' fitness sessions the team were spared strength and agility and focused on pure effort on the way home with Belinda setting the pace on her aerodynamic 2 wheels!

Next week newbie Nigel will be joining us for the task and Sue for our fish and chip social afterwards.

Looking forward to seeing you then.

Have a good one.

Julia :)

For love nor money

On another challenging cold January Monday evening a handful of regulars plus newbie Pete embarked on another GoodGym adventure.

Tonight we headed to Worthing Churches homeless house called 'Stepping Stones' to help and support with some house maintenance. This was the much promised indoor task and luckily for the group it turned out to be true this week!

In the usual catch up , news session and pre run banter on 'Blue Monday' Paul admitted that he would have preferred to pay money (£.20 was muted ) not to run this evening but he did ! Massive kudos to you Paul for making the hardest steps out of the door and joining us.

Don't follow me I'm lost too

So we set off on a 2.8 km run to Manor Road which should have been straightforward but it turned into a

making an interesting new shape on strava moment.

3rd run of the new year and the third faux pas after I promised you that it could only get better !

In the midst of the maze moment newbie Pete who hadn't quite made it to the start called me to ask where we were ( awkward! )

Luckily whilst I was on the phone quick thinker Anne got the directions and within 3 minutes we arrived at our destination.

Blinded by the light

The door opened and we were met by a very smiley Leila . She was slightly dazed as I had forgotten to turn off my chest light which left her seeing stars for a few minutes but it was all in good humour and we had a good chuckle before setting to work.

Paul quickly made friends with Henry who who was much quieter than anticipated .Paul certainly showed his prowess at vacuuming with quote of the night A womens work is never done

Roisin and Anne grabbed cloths and anti bac spray whilst I went back out to try and give Pete directions to find us !

It was great to finally unite the group and Pete quickly got stuck in with helping and getting to know the team.

See an obstacle as just a stepping stone

Inspirational words on the wall of the living area in another inspirational project provided by Worthing Churches homeless to support our local community who sometimes need a helping hand to get back on their feet.

Makeover makes perfect

30 short minutes later it was yet another magic makeover to the communal areas that we had given a freshen up to.

After a quick photo and cheery farewell, with a promise to return in 2 weeks to cook, we headed out the door.

Another funny moment as I turned my chest light on and yet again dazzled one of the residents taking shelter in the porch for a smoke break, before we hit the roads running towards the seafront for the fitness session .

A hop skip and a jump of a fitness session

This was another tough January fitness session .

It consisted of sprints between 2 lamp posts , then an escalating pyramid of Squat jumps , burpees , static squats , lunges and jumping jacks. We started with 2 of each and repeated it up to 12 of each increasing in 2 increments each time. The group gave great energy and commitment to this despite, most likely, hating it!

The sound of silence

Then joy oh joy part 2 of the fitness session began. .It must have been a tough one as the group went unusually quiet

We sprinted 1 lampost length of the prom and came down the other side of the pyramid from 12 of each back down to 2 of each move. This finished with some celebratory high fives before a gentle cooldown run back to base. This was most enjoyable as the sea, wind farm and pier were well lit and looked amazing.

Pun of the night

After some welcome stretches I optimistically asked for some pun ideas. Paul in a deadpan face said I cant possibly think of any as my mind is just a vacuum This is still making me chuckle a lot:)

Looking forward to seeing you all again next week for some more fun . I wonder what could possibly go wrong next week ?! Come along and find out!

On Monday 29th we are planning to celebrate the end of a long month with a post run visit to Chipwick

Have a great week everyone and keep those January challenges going !

Big GoodGym love

Julia X