Run away! Run away!

Name that movie.

Go here  for a clue.

And feel free to leave any other splendiferous quotes from the iconic film that spring to mind.

Get on with it, Susan, get on with it!

I never thought I would be quoting Jimmy Carter, but here goes.

A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.

He must have had a good speech writer back then.

On the other hand, I love to quote Thomas Jefferson.

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.

And what, you are likely thinking, does that have to do with the price of tea in China? 

Well, in my short running career (which is probably overstating it), I find myself kinda hating the real runners, the ones who run eight or ten miles before breakfast. I feel intimidated and compelled to either reject the whole concept, or to attempt to keep up. When in actuality, I want to do neither. And I feel like my friends who don't run at all, or who are having a hard time getting into it, are surely bored or frustrated with having to listen to those of us who (albeit reluctantly, in my case) discuss the topic. 

So I am sensitive to that possibility and do not want to seem boastful.

Am I pushing the segue?

What I really want (tell me what you want, what you reallyreally want) is to be more fit and to lose about twenty or thirty pounds. And to be able to do it without working too hard.

Yeah, right.

So Barb and I are back to the gym, yoga classes, weight-lifting, and running on the off days. 

What I don't seem to be able to do is quit eating.

So, we'll see if it helps to add running to the mix.

Barb and I planned to participate in a 10K run on Saturday morning.

IF it wasn't raining.

And IF she slept well.

With all the outs we were allowing ourselves, it's a wonder we actually showed up.

We were not going to push ourselves too much, as we've never before run that far.

A reasonable mixture of walking and running would do the trick, we figured.

Yeah right!

You know how it is, once you start running and the rest of the pack is already out of sight, you're going so slow.

And the police car is on your tail, making sure you don't get lost or have a heart attack.

And Barb, who's lost 20lbs recently, seemed determined to be an animal.

So we ran.

And ran.

And ran.

Until the end was in sight.

And there we were.

And it didn't rain on us.

One hour, eleven minutes, and a few seconds.

Nothing to brag about, and we were dead last (which is historically true to form, in my case) but a severe accomplishment for us to even finish.

And I'm starting to see that being a runner might be in my future, if the old bod doesn't fall apart.

My hips are not sure that they agree.

Which is really weird, because my whole life, I have been dead set against the concept.

I blame it all on Brenda.

P.S. Thanks to Kathy D. for the pics. We didn't look too bad, did we?