46 days to the marathon! I can't wait until this brutal training schedule is over. Did I mention I ran 16 miles last Saturday? The worst, though, is the middle-of-the-week training runs. Tonight is only 4 miles, but tomorrow is 8. Eight miles after work! And that will go up to 10 in a few weeks. What was I thinking??

On the upside (knocking on wood), this is the farthest I've ever gotten in training without injury. I do have two bad toes and a nasty blister, but I can run through those.



EDIT: My blister is actually a bit worse than I thought, and it's interfering a bit with my running, so maybe I spoke too soon. So far, I've been ok just running slower than normal. Hopefully I don't have to cancel any runs. Oy.

Ok, I'm trying to figure out where I am on the great book project, even if I think I shouldn't be buying new books anyway. :)

Anyway, here's the list as it stands right now:
1. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

2. Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris

3. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

4. Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century by Michio Kaku

5. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

6. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

7. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

8. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

9. Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David McCullough

10. Three Junes by Julia Glass

11. The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight by Mark Caro

12. Fatherland by Robert Harris

13. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [Could probably count that as more than one book...]

14. Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman

I have started all of the others but abandoned them for some reason or another. I certainly intend to get back to Team of Rivals and Mornings on Horseback. You know, eventually. I have also started What is the What by Dave Eggers and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson.

Assuming I haven't forgotten anything, not counting trash fiction, and counting Sherlock Holmes as one book, it looks like I have to complete at least one more book before I'm allowed to purchase any new books.

I'm not sure this challenge has been a complete success, since I don't seem to be very good at actually *finishing* books, but at least it's been good for the budget.

Starting in two weeks, Matthew will be teaching an intro philosophy course at SXU. I can't believe I dropped out of grad school and ended up marrying a professor. :)

Yay, I am back in Chicago and not planning to leave again until Christmas. :) Of course, my parents will be in town this weekend, so it's still summer craziness, but at least the traveling is done, I hope.

EDIT: Actually, I may be traveling again next month, but just for one weekend. And then I am done until Christmas. Or at least until Thanksgiving.