Walk for Hope 5K

Today my friend and I participated in the City of Hope's 5K Walk For Hope. Although it rained in the beginning, our day turned out to be a blast and I am so glad I was able to do it. Our team alone raised almost $600 just between TJ and myself. And, out of all the participants, as a group we raised one million dollars for research for women's cures for cancer. I am so glad I was able to do something altruistic and outside of myself. And, I am so proud of my family and friends who made contributions to the cause. It was really an amazing and heartwarming event to be involved in for me. There were kids cheering on the participants and I thought that was neat. I saw a woman participate in the 5K walk with her walker. There were signs along a fence with stories of women and families who had been affected in some way by cancer. Some of the stories were of women who had overcome their cancer; others were stories of the memories left behind by loved ones. One especially touching moment for me was when I read a sign by someone who's mom had died of cancer and it read something like, "in loving memory of our mom." A tear came to my eyes at several points today. And, it was fun just to hang out with my friend. We have both been on different continents for the past 5 years or more, so we have rarely seen each other. It was definately fun to reconnect with my friend. There are so many women we know, who have been affected in some way by cancer. We all know someone, or know of someone, who has cancer or who had cancer. They said that one in three women will develop cancer in a lifetime. Sad. But, today we made a difference. I moved outside myself. I'm thankful to each and every single one of my supporters who made a contribution for the cause. Each dollar given is one step closer to hopefully finding a cure, and helping women in need. Yeah, I'm really glad I did this. Last year at this time, there is no way I could have walked a 5K at the pace we went today. We did it like a power walk, so kind of fast. But, since I've been Zumba dancing since January of this year, I was in better physical condition and able to do it. I am ready to train for running a 5K. Maybe early next year!