m training for the Avon Walk for breast cancer. I'll be posting weekly updates on my progress. 
Last week, total miles: 22
Miles this weekend: 9.5 yesterday, at the Santa Fe Trail. Perfect day for walking. Blue sky, slight breeze, temps in the fifties. (Cyclists by the zillions, racing through the mud. I realize I have a slight hostility about bikes on the trails and I really don't mind polite ones who ring the bell or say, "on your left!" or say anything at all, really. Only the Tour de France wanna be bad boys in their spandex, zooming by without any warning and scaring me half to death (I do, for the record, only put an earbud in one ear). It makes me happy to see the little spray of mud on their butts.) I listened to my favorite favorites on the Shuffle. Sometimes, I sing, but first I look around to be sure no one is there.
Today: On the schedule for today was to start doing the second long walk, so despite a brisk and bitter wind, I bundled up and headed out. 4.5 miles. It would have not bee that much fun except....
On the Ipod: Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett. Why oh why has it taken me so long to get to this book? It's music. It's love. It's a marvel of precise, exquisite execution. I'm in pain, having to leave it for the next walk, but it's eleven hours of tape, so that will see me through a lot of walking. Must....be....disciplined.....
Snacks: Just a Gu yesterday, at the halfway point. Nothing required today.
The pitch: I have committed to raising $2500 by June. It isn't a sponsorship, but direct donations to each walker's tally. The money goes to helping provide screening and care for women who are under- or uninsured, a cause about which I am passionate. If you feel moved to donate, you can do so, here.
The disclaimer: We all have things we care about and no one can give to everything, in time or money. xoxo,
Barbara
I loved Bel Canto, too, though I read it in print. I'm sure it makes a wonderful audiobook. I wonder... do you consider yourself to have read a book when you listen to it? I always have this compulsion to clarify: "I read that book--well, actually, I listened to it."
Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" is amazing via audio.
People always make fun of my I-Pod because there's virtually nothing on it but books and podcasts. And "Rhapsody in Blue." :-)
Posted by: Alison | February 19, 2008 at 11:20 AM
I never know if I should say I read an audio, either. Honestly I haven't listened much to books until recently, but they're wonderful in many circumstances. Like the car. And long walks.
Posted by: Barbara | February 20, 2008 at 10:21 AM
I read Bel Canto for the first time two months ago, and yes, loved it. I am very intrigued now, because of your post, what it would be like to listen to it as an audio book.
Today I just started listening to The Senator's Wife as an audio book simply because I am currently #550 on the library waiting list for the book.
I imagine that that is a whole 'nother conversation about the different experience of reading v. listening to books. As an aspiring writer, apart from simply enjoying the experience of the book, I hope to learn something about the use of language by listening to the book.
-Suzanne
Posted by: Suzanne | February 20, 2008 at 08:22 PM
I have noticed that it is very difficult for me to listen to my own books on audio. The internal cadence of my book is cemented in my head, and hearing a reader read it is very weird, like it makes me dizzy. I'm delighted with the main reader (Bernadette Dunn) who does a spectacular job of it, but it's like looking in the mirror and seeing your face sideways or something.
Posted by: Barbara | February 21, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Loved Bel Canto. Good luck with the walk.
Posted by: Keziah Hill | February 23, 2008 at 02:20 AM