We have arrived in beautiful Barrie for the big Warrior Dash, tomorrow!
I’ve been a little less diligent in my training than I probably should have so I don’t expect to be setting any records… In fact, here’s hoping I survive this thing. Wish me luck!
If nothing else, I’m sure it’ll be an adventure!
As promised, there will be another patrons’ exclusive, live draw, tonight!* My friend, Joel has been helping me learn the livestream ropes so with any luck this one will be audio-glitch free**. Patrons can join me on livestream at 8:30EDT for drawing and chatting. http://www.patreon.com/Promises
As I’ve mentioned before, you can become a patron for as little as $1/month and have access to all the great bonus material. It doesn’t seem like much but it does start to add up and can be pretty significant to me.
Speaking of adding up; I’ve contributed another story to the new Monstrosity anthology! Actually, I should say I co-contributed another story. Discovery Day was written by C.M. Morgado and illustrated by me. This collection is sci-fi themed and fully loaded with seriously heavy-hitting, talented, artists and writers. As you can probably tell, I’m pretty excited to be a part of it.
You can see the full line-up on the Monstrosity Kickstarter page. While you’re there, check out the backer rewards: e-books, hard copies, original artwork, and lots of other great stuff!
*Thursday, July 10
**Fingers crossed while knocking on wood and tossing pinches of salt over left shoulder.
Two big things to celebrate today:
Yep. Six years, five hundred and fifty-nine comics and still rolling!
First, I’d like to say a big thank-you to everyone for backing the comic over the years. You’ve made it possible for me to keep cartooning and I sincerely appreciate it.
Secondly, I need to ask for your continued support and there are lots of ways to do that:
Again, thanks so much for a great six years, everybody!
Back in April, I let the real-life Shanta talk me into climbing the Chedoke stairs in Hamilton. It’s 289 steps up the escarpment and she does this every Sunday, for FUN!
Okay, I’m just being snarky. In fairness, I had a good time. There were four in our little team and we couldn’t have asked for a better day. Sunny, breezy, not too hot, not too cold and everything was starting to turn green. We even saw a deer when we were doing our cool-down walk through the trails afterward. I knew 289 steps would be a challenge but figured could make it, and I did! Then Shanta said something to the effect of: “great, now five more times!”
…What?
Me, Charlie, Shanta & Kathy
Oh yeah. She goes up and down hell’s staircase at least eight times AND does things like lunges and push-ups between each set!
There was no way I was going to make it up and down eight times but, with due sense of dread, decided I’d try for five.
By the third trek, my lungs were burning, my thighs were screaming, my legs were wobbling and I got passed by an elderly woman carrying a bike. About half way to the top, I looked to the nearest landing and saw Shanta, cheerfully waiting for me to catch up*. I wanted to call it quits right then and there. Send in a helicopter and air-lift me out, damnit! Without a trace of dignity or stoicism, I made it to the top and although my first instinct was to crawl to my car and have a good cry, Shanta took me through some stretching and got me to walk it out while they did their next round.
I’m a big believer in the importance of warm-up and cool-down, but was still genuinely surprised how much better I felt after a five-minute walk (more like a five-minute wobble actually, but why split hairs?). So, back down I went and back up I came and between each lap repeated the stretch and walk. It didn’t get easier, but I made it the full five climbs! Up five times and down six, for a grand total of 1,734 steps!
I can’t remember ever feeling so accomplished. I was stiff as a board for next week, but it was totally worth it.
*I admit it; for a moment, I thought about giving her a push… Just a little one.
I got behind on my training (quel suprise!) for the upcoming Warrior Dash so my friend, Claire has been helping me make up for lost time. She’s one of these smart, responsible people who actually makes a lifestyle out of healthy choices; go exercise, eat vegetables, get up. (I think she wants to live a long time or set a good example for her kids or something like that.) Believe it or not, I’ve actually been getting up early (in the morning!) to go running with her.*
On a good day, I can do a little over 5k in an hour on a treadmill, but I’m in a bit of denial about what a different beast running outside can be. A treadmill is great, but it keeps up a lot of the momentum for you; the cold, hard, ground however, does not. So while Claire’s trotting away, somehow still able to hold a conversation and pause here and there for a few sets of hop-squats; I’m slogging along behind her, wheezing like an asthmatic ferret and turning purple. But I am improving!** Whatever it is that makes running outside so much tougher, seems to have that effect. Evidentially there’s some kind of correlation between working harder and getting better. Who knew?!
The hardest part for me isn’t so much in building the muscles, (I expected to be sore, but so far it’s not that bad) it’s that I run out of breath way too fast. But, Claire taught me this really great trick I wanted to share. She’s a very musical person, so what she suggested was to focus on matching my breathing to the rhythm of the music I was listening to.
“Breathe in… 2… 3… 4… breathe out… 2… 3… 4.”
It’s so simple but it works brilliantly for me! I don’t know if it has more to do with something scientific, like keeping the oxygen in your system regulated, or if it’s just that I’m better motivated by thinking more about breathing and less about dying.
* The minute one of my parents sees that sentence, I’m going to get a call telling me that my site’s been hacked.
** Nothing’s wrong, Mum. I really wrote that.
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