You did it! Congratulations on completing the Passavant-Powerade 5K on Saturday! We even had a member of our group take home a first place medal!

Let's hear about your experiences. I hope you continue with your running/walking as part of your daily exercise routine. If you are interested in trying another 5K race, let me know. There are several options, including this Saturday's Virginia BBQ 5K at 8 a.m. and the Irish Days 5K in Farmersville on June 16. There's also the Premier Bank 5K on July 4 at Nichols Park.

It was great to be a part of the Passavant Training Team with you! We'll be ordering the Training Team shirts soon. I'll let you know when they arrive; allow at least a couple of weeks.

Check out Race photos and even a news story on our Facebook page.

As always, if you have any running/walking/exercise questions, please let us know (myself, Kristie, Mike, and Kris). We'll be glad to assist.

See you on the roads.

Kevin

Good luck to everyone on Saturday morning! Congratulations on your achievements! I've enjoyed our training sessions together.

Stop by Meeting Rooms 2 and 3 Friday to say hello to our special guest for the Race, Bill Rodgers. He'll be available from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Here are some photos from our packet pick-up Thursday night in Springfield. You can also pick-up your packet in Meeting Room 4. We'll also offer packet pick-up from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Main Lobby.

Be sure to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day on Friday and get plenty of rest. Arrive early to experience the race "atmosphere" and visit with your fellow runners.

Most importantly, when you cross the finish line, raise your arms high over your head. It's your victory!

Kudos to Laura Ward and Patty Kircher who joined me this morning for our group run. Outstanding performance! Looks like you are ready for the Race next weekend!

Lanette Goldsborough and Karen Sibert are doing 5K races this weekend. Lanette was at the Girls on the Run event in Springfield today, while Karen is at St. Louis Zoo 5K on Sunday.

I saw Sheryl Roberts running the course this morning on the way to the group run, and I also caught a glimpse of a former employee and now runner, Lou DeWitt, also on the Passavant course.

Don't forget, Monday is the last day to sign-up to be eligible to win the Garmin GPS unit.

Who's joining me tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.? Saturday is one week from the Passavant-Powerade 5K and 10K Race. We'll be covering the course tomorrow morning for 35 to 40 minutes. It should be a beautiful morning, and we'll be finished in plenty of time for you to head to the Downtown Celebration (be sure to check out the neat Passavant float!). After Saturday, we'll have one more session on Tuesday before the Race on May 26.

If you are battling nerves thinking about the race, reading this may help ease your mind.

I asked for updates from our team. Here's a message from Karen Meado:

KEVIN, HAVE BEEN TRAINING ON MY OWN AT HOME, HAD TO SLACK OFF A LITTLE BECAUSE MY KNEE WAS BOTHERING ME. GETTING BETTER AND IMPROVING MY TIMES LITTLE BY LITTLE. SEE YOU RACE DAY.   KAREN

Have a great weekend!

As we get closer to the Race on May 26, I hope everyone is seeing progress in their walking/running and is comfortable with the training.

Although it was a bit warm last night, our group kept pace for the 35-minute session. We'll do the same tomorrow and on Saturday morning.

We'd love to hear from the other employees who are training on their own. Let us know how it's going for you.


If you haven't signed up for the Race, don't wait too long! If you want a chance to win a Garmin GPS unit, you must enter by May 21.

Great job last night runners! We're down to 1 minute breaks between running. The 1-minute walk break will be used until the end of the training. For fun, we might reduce the walk break to 30-45 seconds a couple of times during training.

Don't forget to sign-up for the Race. You can do it here, or in the Community Relations Department. If you register by May 21, you'll be eligible to win a Garmin GPS unit ($200 value).

For the Passavant Training Team shirt, it looks like we'll go with a "safety green" shirt. It has "neon" qualities and is good for being seen while out on the road. I've got one that I wear for my early morning runs.

And, finally, here's a great story on why breakfast is so important, especially for runners.

See you tomorrow at 4:45 p.m.

See everyone tomorrow afternoon at 4:45 p.m. We'll walk for one minute and run for three minutes and do eight sets for a total of 32 minutes.

This story about the Passavant Race was in the Sunday edition of The State Journal-Register.

Kudos to our runners who joined me this morning. We beat the heat! I hope everyone's training is going smoothly. If you couldn't make it this morning, you might consider an early evening session, near sunset.

All runners who complete the Passavant 5K receive a technical running shirt. We'll have a left chest logo (see above) on the front of the shirt. Here's the fun part: you decide the color of the shirt. E-mail me your color choice. The color with the most votes wins. The color of the logo with be either black or white, depending on the shirt color. I need to know your color choice by next Wednesday, May 9.

This week we increase our time to 30 minutes with two minutes of walking and three minutes of running times six sets. Mike Crowley is leading the group tonight. Temperature will be close to 80, so please hydrate before and after the workout (water, water, water; no caffeine, no sodas).

We had a great training session this past Saturday. Weather was ideal with overcast skies and cool temperatures. Those who participated wanted to do an extra set. Good job!

Thursday's weather forecast is calling for temperatures at or above 90 degrees. That's too hot. To replace the 4:45 p.m. session, I'll be at the hospital at 6 a.m. Thursday morning for those who want to get in their training under cooler conditions. If we start at 6 a.m. sharp, we should be finished by 6:40 a.m. Remember, Fitness World (directly south of the Passavant campus) has showers available. Just tell them you are part of the hospital's training team.

I hope everyone is benefiting from these training sessions. If you have questions (about anything running), please ask!