Throughout the whole of CtGF our team goal was to complete a mileage aim of 684 mile, which was equidistant to the distance from Brighton to Venice (as the crow flies). I am extremely pleased and proud to say that we smashed that goal.

I’m actually currently on a gondola floating along the Grand Canal sipping a Bellini, cliché I know, buy hey our team have covered over 800 miles this month so give us a break (and a free massage too if you like ). I am still totting up the totals but we have really exceeded our goal, which we thought was fairly ambitious in the first place. In the next few days each of us will be reflecting on what we have achieved individually and things we have gained from the challenge, so keep checking this space if you want to find out...

The challenge that is left with us is to keep the momentum and legacy of CtGF going and integrate it into our lifestyle, which as everyone here knows is easier said than done. Luckily we have a few group sessions planned, tennis on Friday and a yoga session in the next few weeks. Additionally we have weekly Life Sciences walks being lead by Martyn Stenning at the moment and John Spencer a Chemistry member of faculty from our team has promised to organize a smoothie bar at one of our monthly coffee mornings, so hopefully we can do all of that and carry on from there.

From my personal perspective the hard part comes during those long winter months when you would much rather be tucked up with in a duvet with a hot water bottle, bowl of stew and Ryan Gosling film marathon. With this in mind might I suggest the sports centre run a ‘half hibernation’ challenge to try to help and encourage us to crawl out of our holes and jump around during those gloomy days.

Though none of this reflection, thought and contemplation would even be possible without saying a mighty thanks to all of the staff at the sports centre. For me the experience I have with sports, exercise and fitness would be a lesser one without their help, dedication and encouragement. I can honestly say I never thought people in a real gym would know my name but I have got to know a lot of the staff who work there and the passion and interest they invest in their jobs is clear to see. I always feel like the people there have time for you and really help and encourage you in your goals while creating a comfortable, relaxing environment. So congratulations to them and everyone on Commit to Get Fit 2013.

Here's a final summary from the Careers Centre team on what we've been doing recently:

Catherine played in a local tennis tournament and she's gone on to the next round. So good luck to her! She went on a boundary walkand has been out cycling twice. She says that she's been far more energetic when dog walking and is generally feeling much fitter.

Claire has done three pilates sessions, two five mile runs, one swimming session, zumba, and the spinning class.

Jocelyn went spinning, played tennis three times, and cycled off-road from Brighton to Eastbourne.

Sally has been running more, and has been enjoying the fruit bowl in the office.

I've started running further and more uphill, and of course I went spinning on Friday.

As a team we've been considering what we've learnt from this month; Sally very kindly noted that we've all looked "a bit more beautiful as a collective" and Catherine was wondering whether the good weather makes it easier to stay fit. We all really enjoyed our trip to the gym, so thanks very much to Mark the instructer for for a great session.

I'm amazed at how fit some of our staff are. Learning more about what other people do has been good for me, and hopefully this month will make us all more active for the rest of the year.

It's the last week of May and we were all persuaded to end our month of keep fit activities on a positive note: so we all went to the gym for a Spinning Class.

"Spinning" is done on exercise bikes, and involves changing gears to simulate going up and down hill, sprinting, and lots of standing up. It was exhausting, but a great experience, and it left me riding high on endorphins for the rest of the day.

Personally, this was a pretty interesting experience because I've not been in a gym before. I found it very... loud, and a bit painful. But as someone who usually jogs solo it was brilliant to have other a team of people doing the same thing. It certainly made me push myself more than I would normally. Before I had even gotten my breath back, some of our team members were already making plans to come again, so it was evidently a good experience for us all.

Jos did a great job organising this for us, and it was good to find out more about what other team members do to stay fit.

I think the big take-away for our team is likely to be the food bowl, which proved to be quite popular in the office. And by the sound of it, a few of us are planning to go to the gym as a group in future, which is excellent!

Here's a photo of the team after the Spin Class:

This is just a quick message to let the world know what the Careers and Employability Centre has been doing to stay fit this week.

• I've been trying to run three times a week, I'm a bit behind this week. But I recommend it as exercise.
• I also go on a trampoline every so often. For some reason a trampoline turned up in my flat at the beginning of the month. I feel I should use it.

Claire

• 3 very hot Pilates classes
• A stamina session in the pool
• Body balance – also very hot (air con not working)
• Planning an 8 mile run early Saturday morning – new trainers, exciting!
• Resisted chocolate and bread (but not ice cream!)
• Brought tomato plants in for Jos (kind of fitness related)

Susanna

• Doing Yoga
• Went for a swim

Andrea was walking to work, but has had to stop due to injuring her ankle on a walk in Stanmer Park this lunch time

Jocelyn has been dog walking and playing tennis as usual but she has also

• Acquired a new table tennis table, and beat her son in a swift three gamer
• Has been preparing for a 33 mile South Downs cycle ride
• Cycled to work for the first time in a year

We're planning to do something called "spinning" next week. A colleague put around a video of it. Should be interesting. I fear it will show how out of shape I am.