tea berry-blue

I can finally tell you all about an awesome project I’ve been working on at work the past several weeks.

Comics Go Pink!

Next Sunday, 56 of the King Features comics will be printed in pink (or mostly pink, or use pink as a significant color in the strip) in EVERY NEWSPAPER that they appear in. We are also raising money for breast cancer research, either through donations or by bidding on our auction for an original piece of artwork by Dan Piraro.

I designed the website, and today it was featured in the New York Times!

More importantly, I imagine almost everyone reading this has been affected by breast cancer in some way. I know a lot of different activities and events take place in October, and I just wanted to say that I hope that beyond any money we raise, you know that we are all behind you 100% and support you and your loved ones. Next Sunday, we’ll be posting all the comics that “went pink” for the event so that you can take a look at them all even if your local newspaper doesn’t carry them.

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.

Guys! So I haven’t had a chance to make a real for-real update since I spent most of my weekend busy, but Saturday morning, bright and early, was the Run For Congo Women.

Our team was made up of about 20 cartoonists, comic fans, friends, and people who lost a bet. Everyone was so nice and a lot of fun to chat with. We also ended up raising about $3500, the second-highest amount raised by any other group in the run! I personally raised about $300, and I would like to thank all of you so much for contributing.

I was very proud of myself– I ran all 5k from start to finish without stopping or walking. I ran a bit slower than a lot of people, but I met my goal of running the entire thing. It was a bit intimidating, though, when the lady pushing the double-stroller ran faster than me. That might get turned into a comic. It was a pretty hard run, harder than my usual track, but it was so gratifying to finish it.

I have decided that I want to keep running in the morning, although I am not going to run 5k every morning– that was a bit much, and I often felt a bit strained by the end. Today I ran 3k, but I made a point of making myself run harder than I did when I was running 5k, so it was still a proper workout. One thing I really like about running in the morning is that if I get up at 6:30, by the time I get to work at 9 am, I’ve already been up for two hours, and that really makes a difference in how I feel at work. I’m ready to work, and not groggy for the first hour.

There is one drawback I haven’t mentioned, and that is the effect on my boobs! My breasts are really sore when I finish a long run– on Saturday, they were pretty painful, more painful than anything else I felt. I also have been breaking out like a kid who just hit puberty in my cleavage area, with really big, painful acne. Which is ugly, too. And it’s a place I rarely got acne before I started running, so I can tell it’s directly related. I was wondering, do any of the runners who read this have either of these issues? What do you do about them? Thanks!

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.

So I totally fell off the fitness bus when I moved, although I bought a pair of wrist weights and have been wearing them pretty regularly.

Then last week, beatonna asked for folks who would join her in a Run For Congo Women. It’s a 5k run to raise money for women in the Congo.

I know, I know, I already posted about this, but for those of you who missed it or may have just been breezing by at the time, we would be mighty happy if anyone could give our team a donation at our team donation page right there.

Anyway, it’s a 5k race. And as most of you know, I am miserably out of shape. So, when I heard about the race, I started running.

I didn’t own sneakers or any running gear, so starting the first night, I did the running exercise on the Wii Fit, which I don’t even know if that counts as real running, but I figured it was something. I started with the “long” jog on the distance run and then worked up to the 20 minute jog on the timed run. I decided that one mile on Wii Fit is probably equivalent to about one kilometer of real running. I decided that each week, I’d increase by 1K. I have until September 25, so I think this is a doable timeframe to get ready in.

On Monday, I went out and bought myself my first pair of running sneakers. They were bright pink. And then I bought running socks! But I didn’t have any appropriate running clothes, and I wasn’t sure what to do about that. Then, yesterday, I was taking a walk to where Rina told me there was a Michael’s craft store, and, lo and behold, I saw it like a beacon in a storm: a big Sports Authority sign. So I trekked over to the Sports Authority, and when I got there, they were having a MASSIVE TENT SALE in the parking lot. Hooray! Unfortunately, the tent was not for sale.

I went into the mysterious tent, and when I emerged, I had bought two sets of running clothes and it had all cost me under $50. It was like a message from the universe, telling me that I should run! I was very excited! So I was telling Brendan about it at work today and he told me where there is a public track a few blocks from my apartment. So! I went to the track today.

It was a little weird, running in front of people, but I think it was a good experience, because it wasn’t as uncomfortable as I expected once I just sucked it up and did it. It is a big park with a lot of activities in it, and so there were a lot of people of all ages, and kids using the track to ride their bikes or skate as well as joggers. In fact, for most of the time, I was the only person really jogging.

I did five laps, or 1.25 miles, which is just a touch over 2k, and then I walked a bit to cool down. It was definitely hard work, but I also felt at the end like I could have done more. And unlike high school, I wasn’t winded after one lap of running, which tells me that the exercising I’ve done all summer helped a lot. So I felt like it was doable. Next week, I’ll try to work up to 3k, which is a little under 2 miles.

I’m still not sure about some things. Like, where do people put their keys when they’re running? I carried a little purse but it wasn’t the most practical.

All in all, though, this is a very exciting development for me!

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.

Hey, everyone! beatonna turned me on to a 5k run being done in New York to help raise money for women in the Congo. It’s being organized by the aptly-namedRun For Congo Women.

We are going to be running! Please consider giving even a small amount on our team page.

Secondarily, this is a good way to keep me on track to getting in shape! Since I have been faily at it since I moved.*

*More on that later!

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.