In December of 2004, I had a heart attack. I was in denial for a while and kept calling it my "heart event" and other substitutes for the reality of the situation. The reality is that I have coronary heart disease and I have to watch my diet and my exercise regimen everyday - forever.

I joined a cardiovascular rehab program and have stuck with it. But even with my quality-of-life on the line, I found that I was in need of an incentive to get back on the treadmill one more time. I noticed that the retention rate of people in my program was low and I did not want to be a "drop out."

I found it helpful to imagine that I was on a favorite hike and to start visualizing the scenes and experiences along the trail. It wasn't a huge leap to turn the hike into a journey with a far away destination in mind. My first year, I "hiked" from Anderson, South Carolina to St. Louis, Missouri as I had in mind that from there I could join Lewis and Clarks' Corp of Discovery and be a part of their famous expedition. During my second year, I "hiked" from St.Louis to Western Montana and will finish, in my third year, where the Colombia River flows into the Pacific Ocean.

It was a short leap to come up with Heartland Journey as a way to package my "secret" for others to enjoy and derive benefit.

• Pick a starting point
• Pick an ending point
• Keep track of all your exercise miles in the journal
• Stamp your passport book at 50 mile intervals
• Plot your progress on the map
• Share your progress using the postcards
• Celebrate your continued healthy lifestyle