2. Vera Katz Esplanade, 5/22/10

My 50 for 50 (the shorter version of fiftyforfiftyfortfoster) adventure began today. I know, I know, I said it would begin on my 50th birthday and end on my 51st; however, the best thing about making up the rules of the game is that you get to change them if you so chose.

Today, I did my first 5K of the year - the American Heart Association HeartWalk. Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of all Americans? In fact, someone dies from CVD every 38 seconds. Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined, and cardiovascular defects are the most common cause of infant death from birth defects.

Last year I did a local 5K, and it does not even begin to compare with the 5K today...this was SO impressive. There were people (as well as dogs) of all shapes and sizes, young and old, men and women. Heart disease knows no boundaries; it forever changes the lives of those it touches, as well as their friends and families. There were people there walking for loved ones...ones that have survived heart disease and for those who have not. I saw people there with purple caps on (they were the survivors); I saw people there with posters on their backs (they represented their loved ones who had lost their battle with heart disease); I even saw Jerome Kersey there (an ex-Trailblazer who was representing his friend and fellow Blazer, Kevin Duckworth, who lost his life to heart disease).

Our individual team may have been small (there were only 6 of us), but we were part of a bigger team. My employer, Kaiser Permanente, had 445 registered walkers and raised close to $15,000. I believe that as a whole this event today raised over $380,000, and there were probably a few thousand walkers there. I cannot explain what it feels like when you get to be part of something big, something bigger than yourself, but today I was able to do just that - I had the honor of being there today supporting a coworker, a survivor of a stroke.