You may find that you face your own hinderances making comics. I’d like to know what specific burdens you are facing. Maybe this story will give you the perserverance to get over the burdens that weigh you down. I’ll give you warning now, this will not be a sleek, perfectly run adventure. It is a clumsy, hardly efficient operation.

Today’s weight 145.8
Today’s run: 4 miles
Goal: 130 lbs
Days Left: 6

Less than a week left and I have not moved much on the dial with my weight. Only one way to shed those pounds for weigh-in–Run another MARATHON. Better get back into training. I took a few days off resting from my last one and when I went out today, I could sure feel it. You can’t wait too long from not making comics, either. Otherwise, you lose your groove, and your momentum. STEADY practice is imperative. But rest is important too, so keep things in balance. As I am ramping up for my next marathon, I’d like to reflect on something I did last marathon that was a big hinderance to me.

I’d never have gone on a 26 mile run before, and my trainer advised me to take some water with me on the run to avoid cramping. I don’t know if my trainer has ever held weight going up hills for 26 miles, but the thought of having some cool water in the hot sun seemed somehow refreshing, so I put three bottles of water in a little bag with some straps and took off. About a half mile in I was thinking of turning back. The straps were rubbing on my shoulders and it was quite the nuisance.

I decided to keep going and I found a method that worked. Well, about 5 miles in I heard a RIP! I couldn’t tell what it was, but it ended up the bag’s stitching was too weak to handle the stress run me plodding along with the 3 bottles of water bouncing up and down. The whole was just big enough to allow the bottles to slip out. “Now what am going to do?” I thought. I’m 5 miles from home, 21 miles to go and I’ve got 3 water bottles and a broken bag I’ve got to take with me on this journey. Sheesh. I did the only thing I could. I wrapped the bag around the bottles and then held my hands over the holes. Running with a bag of 3 bottles of water in one hand is not that fun, and it made my arm tired so every few steps I’d switch arms to try to balance out the weight and keep me running.

After about 9 miles I came to a 5 mile loop, so I ditched the bottles in the grass and I thought I’d pick it up when I finished the loop. I drank a whole bottle before I did, I figured, if I brought it out this far I was going to drink it.

Toward the end of my run, I had drank 2 bottles of water and I could squeeze the bottles a little closer together and the running was easier, so I ran a little faster, still holding the bag. Well, when I looked down one of the empty bottles have fallen out of the hole in the bag so now I’m a litterer. and the bottle is someplace that I’ll never find. It was a little easier coming home, though, only having to keep 2 bottles from falling out of a broken bag instead of 3.

I had about 4 miles left in my run and it was getting really hot. I rationed the last bottle of water and was really glad I had carried it all this way. Those last 2 miles were the hardest I’ve ever gone. Ironically, I ended up passing a bottle half-full of water lying by the side of the road on the way back home. Probably some traveler like me decided to give up his water instead of wanting to run with his water bottles.

Incidently, I’m going to be going on a marathon run on Tuesday June 14th the day of the weigh-in. I’ll be tweeting my mile markers if anyone wants to come with me on the journey. I hope I can make it again, and that it doesn’t rain. I wonder if I’ll be bringing water with me. Hmmm.

While I’m deciding what to bring with me on this journey, tell me what burdens you taking with you on your journey with comics? Go ahead and share the hinderances of your journey below in the comments section. You may never know which ones are necessary and which aren’t, or which will  be worth it to you on the journey. Are you going to take them with you, or are you going to ditch them when the journey gets tough? Are you going to pick them up again when the timing is better?

Go ahead tell me about your journey below and then drop over to the RUNNING WITH COMICS page on this blog and fill out the survey to get entered into a contest and get a special invitation to a webinar I’ll be hosting next week.

Good times ahead my friends!