Whenever I come back from holiday, I find it hard to get back in the gym. During my time away, the beach, mountains and the greater outdoors became my gym and having to swap the most beautiful settings for my grey-ish looking gym always makes me feel demotivated.
Adidas #EnergyRunning campaign kicked off in London a few days after my plane had touched down on English soil which meant that my first training session at home wasn’t in the dreaded gym, but instead a multi-storey carpark overlooking London.
I didn’t know much about the event. Adidas were quite stealthy and just told us to keep a look out for our ticket to the event, which arrived in the form of a new running outfit with matching shoes.
We were split into teams and we were told that the winning team would get a prize. From that moment, it was game on. We didn’t even know what the prize was but being the health and fitness fanatics that we are, we all have a competitive streak and bull like will power.
We ran to the destination, which was a multi-storey carpark in Peckham. I had actually been to the venue before because they have a roof top bar, but this time we wouldn’t be drinking. We greeted some more of team Adidas who explained the concept of the night. We had four different challenges to complete across three different levels to test our speed, power and agility. As a team we would pick up points collectively across the challenges, to determine the winner.
Level 1: Charge
Chelsea’s John Swift took us through a challenge that required quick feet and rapid reactions. We had to run the length of the car park without getting hit by a spotlight.
Verdict: I managed to get from A to B in one go! At this point I was feeling like Superwoman because everyone else seemed to be struggling. I have quick feet but I’m not Superwoman, I just noticed that the lights were on a timer so ran when I knew that the lights would be off.
Level 2: Circuit
British sprinter Jodie Williams was up next and she demonstrated how we needed to combine speed, with agility and stamina. We had ten minutes to complete a circuit as many times as we could, which required us to jump through tires, dodge poles and sprint.
Verdict: I knew there was a reason why I never took up hurdling, running and jumping just isn’t for me.
Level 3: Surge
The third level saw us meet Ojie Edoburun who challenged us to an uphill 40m sprint. Ojie also helped us tweaked our running technique to make sure that we had momentum from the word ‘go’.
Verdict: I was actually quite envious of Ojie’s start. It looked like he reached full speed within 4m whilst it took me about 40m to get going!
Level 4: Unplug
By this time I was feeling wiped but luckily level four was a gentle stretch and cool down, accompanied with a green juice.
When we headed back to the meeting point and regrouped with the other teams, the atmosphere was electric. We were high on endorphin’s because we had just completed a speed and agility challenge in the presences of some of the best athletes in the UK.
As for the prize? The winning team would be granted access to the Adidas Box at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea… and I was on the winning team! I’m an Arsenal supporter, but Chelsea currently sit 15th whilst we are in second place. There is no competition so I am looking forward to it!
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