Team Franciscan Center: The 5k is Almost Here

Dr. Jack Harless

The 5K is almost here! If you haven't registered you have a month left to prepare & train.

You can choose to walk or run this event. Either way you will get great exercise & if you have a buddy to complete it with, the day is much more enjoyable. Invite a friend!

There will once again be medals given to the top three finishers in each category. The top three male & female overall will receive a prize. Last year we had many of those medals claimed by our very own St. Leonard residents!

We will once again host a 5K training seminar this month to help you get prepared for this event. This is an educational workshop for the novice as well as the seasoned walker/runner. We will cover topics such as what to expect at a 5K, how best to prepare physically as well as mentally, and for those of you who were here in years past, what strategies you can develop to increase your performance & decrease your time!

This workshop is con-ducted by our very own Anna-Bridgette Shorten. She has successfully completed three full marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon. Come learn from our resident ex-pert!

Team Events 5k Winners!

Mayor Mark Kingseed congratulates the winners!

Teeam Events: 5K Winners!

Mayor Mark Kingseed congratulates the 5k winners!

Team Events: 5k Breakfast!

Jim's team created a magnificent breakfast buffet from The Station House Restaurant!

Team Franciscan Center: Day Spa News!

I can think of no better way to kick off the summer season than socializing outside with friends and family! Looking for an event? A great place to start is the St. Leonard 5K. For this month’s issue in honor of our campus race, I will be talking about the benefits of massage therapy for runners (and walkers too!).

Massage is an excellent tool to enhance any training program. You may find that it will help increase body awareness, help correct poor body mechanics, decrease injuries, reduce muscle soreness and stiffness, and speed up recovery time.

The St. Leonard 5K will be offering on-site chair massages for our entrants. I highly recommend you take advantage! From all of us at the Day Spa, good luck during your training and on race day! We hope to see you out on June 9th.

Father’s Day is just around the corner… The Day Spa has gift certificates available if you would like to surprise dad with a massage . Call the Day Spa at 432-6540 or stop by for more information !

Kristin Pitstick Salon Manager

Team Events: Join us for the St. Leonard 8th Annual 5k Run/Walk Race!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. on the beautiful St. Leonard Campus

Registration/Check–In at 7:30 am, Race starts at 8:30 am Scenic Course includes: St. Leonard Resident Spectators , Athletic Trainers, First Aid & Water Stations

Breakfast provided following the race: pancakes or a healthier lifestyle selection

Free massages and blood pressure screening

Free kids Fun Run & participation ribbons

Awards Ceremony at 10:00 am.

Race Consultant, Ray Olfky of Key Sports

Registration: $25.00 if registered by June 1, includes t-shirt & breakfast $30.00 after June 1 and on race day (t-shirt not guaranteed) Non-entrants breakfast: $8.00 Adult/$6.00 Children 12 and under Non-Runner shirt and breakfast: normal registration applies

For more information, contact Anna-Bridgette Graham, Event Coordinator at 436-6423, or email at grahama@st.leonard.net

Team Franciscan Center: 5k Update!

On Saturday June 9th St. Leonard will once again be hosting our annual 5k walk/run. This is the perfect opportunity to bring Vital Life Social Walking to the next level!

Grab a friend and sign up together. You can run or walk, but having someone with you will make it much more enjoyable. Having fun while exercising not only increases the likelihood for consistency but people who have fun while exercising, particularly when doing so with friends, tend to score higher on self-rated health related assessments. This is important for many reasons, not the least of which is those who rate themselves poorly on self-rated health assessments have been found to score low on other clinical outcomes and increased mortality!

This will be a tremendous event. We will have breakfast (included in the registration) a free t-shirt, water bottle, and a draw-string bag. Sign up today and experience fun and function in action!

~Dr. Jack Harless

Team 5k: Start Forming your Teams NOW!

The 5K is only 3 months away! In order to enhance your social well-being, we are asking that you form a team with your pod to cheer on the runners and walkers. The race will weave through the campus, passing by the various pods. Your team will play an integral role in the 5K and the success of the runners and walkers. How? You and your team will provide much needed encouragement and motivation for the race participants as they pass by your section. If you’ve ever participated in a race, then you understand how the spirit and liveliness of the crowd often exemplifies the race experience for the runners. The runners and walkers will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite cheer section at the end of the race, so get creative! These teams can reflect your pod’s personality; you can choose a theme for your own personal cheering section or work on perfecting a cheer chant to encourage those in the race. As a runner myself, I cannot over-emphasize the importance of support throughout a race. You will help runners and walkers alike keep their chins up and heads held high! If you would like to be the leader of your team, please contact Anna-Bridgette Graham at 436-6423 or graham@stleonard.net.

Team 5k: 5k and Socialization

As spring approaches, the weather becomes increasingly more beautiful and, with that, comes the reality of walking and exercising outside. This is a perfect opportunity to train for the upcoming 5K on June 9^th this year! As an integral part of the Vital Life community, you and others can work towards completing a 5K together and reap the physical and social benefits! Walking in groups not only enhances the physical dimension of wellness, it is also highly beneficial to your social well-being if you walk in groups. If 3.1 miles sounds daunting, don’t fret, but instead, start small and take baby steps to reaching your goal. As motivation, submit your steps and miles to the social walking program on campus to see how far you can travel just by walking. Maybe you could make it all the way to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA before the 5k. You can begin walking 2-3 minutes a day until you work your way up to 3 miles. The number of sunny days is slowly increasing and so can your walking time. Get out there, grab your neighbor or a friend and start walking and enjoy the invigorating benefits while working towards a goal!

To register for the 5K, pick up a registration form at the Chaminade front desk, go to http://www.keysports.net/, or to http://www.stleonard.net/. Please contact Anna-Bridgette Graham, Event Coordinator, with any questions or comments.

Team Events: Winter Socialization!

As the depths of winter near, most people are inclined to stay indoors and out of the cold weather. Continued socialization throughout the gloomy and overcast winter months is important for your overall sense of wellness and health. Fortunately, there are plenty of events (inside where it is warm) to attend on campus to get you out of the house and interacting with more people! Central to this mission is the “Vital Life Wellness Spectrum,” which possesses eight components of wellness. It can be argued that the social dimension is the most important, especially when the “winter blues” are most prominent. We are all incredibly fortunate to live in a social community here at St. Leonard’s where we have the opportunity to embrace and propagate interactions with one another. According to the Vital Life mission objectives, “Vital Life is a commitment to wellness through acts of vitality within a social community, and opportunities for socialization are paramount for the success of any Vital Life community” (http://www.vitalnation.org/). Socializing on campus is as easy as saying hello in passing, attending one of the many fitness classes offered at the state-of-the-art Franciscan Center, or coming to a specially planned event. Just a few of the upcoming events on campus include, “A Night of Music with Debray” on February 10^th from 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm in the Auditorium and “Not too Old for Roller-coasters: Riding the Ups and Downs of Life with Confidence,” with Karol Dyer at The Franciscan Center on March 29^th from 1:30 pm-2:30 pm. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the St. Leonard 5K, which will be on June 9^th! I hope to see you all around campus braving the cold weather to come out for a little socialization!

Anna-Bridgette

Team Fitness Gurus: 5K Run/Walk-Winners!

Team Fitness Gurus: 5K Run/Walk

On this beautiful Saturday over 400 walkers and runners gathered to support wellness, fun, function, socialization and community!

Team Duckview Ct.: Through the Years 5K Cheering Team!