How long did you prepare for your Camino?

[BonitaHolland]

I'm interested in the range and variety of preparations (I note on this Forum someone preparing for 2017/18). For myself I was talking with a peer on a train travelling back from a particularly challenging 5 day residential course she said 'I've been thinking about walking the Camino one day' I was curious about the 'one day....' (she's 33). I'd travelled far and wide to remote places but had not ever thought of doing this Camino.
I'm 58 and in 2000 my mum gave me this gift she said very quietly looking out through a door into the Hospice gardens, 'I waited too long all my life, don't wait, I was always waiting for the right time to do things and I ran out of time, I never did the things I thought I'd do.'
She died aged 71 a few days later.... since then I've held these words in mind whenever making a decision. So on that train when I heard my friend's words I asked 'Why wait lets go!' That was February and here I am about to set off tomorrow for SJDPP, and my friend ....she's meeting me on the 9th Sep in Pamplona.... and we're walking to Santiago but taking a long time to do it (40 days plus) because we want to wake up each day and accept what the day brings good and bad and unexpected and inspiring and and and .... see you on the path. And mum my Camino began with your gift. Buen Camino.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

I've read and experienced very special moments on the Camino and I hope you will too. Buen Camino and don't be surprised to feel that your Mum has come along the way with you...!

 

[VNwalking]

Buen Camino, @BonitaHolland!
And to answer your question? Very little time, at least for the first one. I just grabbed what equipment I could scrounge and went. And my life isn't set up to train, so even if I'd planned ahead, I couldn't have, except walking a little every day. I went slowly and trained en route and it was fine ( I had at the time pretty good residual fitness, though, and it seemed to be enough).

 

[MTtoCamino]

1 year after cardiac rehab. Your mother will be beside you.
Keith

 

[Hiawatha]

I hope that my late father may walk alongside me for a while as well .

 

[MTtoCamino]

I hope that my late father may walk alongside me for a while as well .

Think me crazy, but as you move your heart will soften & you may discover it is a trail of souls.
Buen Camino

 

[movinmaggie]

Hi Bonita, it could have been my post you read. The date for my walk in Scotland is set for May/June 2017. The 'goal' for the Portuguese is Spring 2018. I walk every day, but packing/preparation doesn't start until a few weeks out and I stretch the walking miles at about two months prior. Wish you Buen Camino.

 

[cher99840]

I try to stay "trained" so that I can take advantage of a whim as it appears. We've all heard "age is just a number" and I don't believe that. Age is a debilitator, but the debilitation (due to age) can be held at bay via a healthy lifestyle.

 

[BrienC]

you may discover it is a trail of souls.

I like that.

I think @BonitaHolland you will find that preparation be darned. You are there now, you have a reasonable pace planned, and as others have said, you can/will train/acclimate in route.

What now, though? What is before you? I too believe in accepting what the day brings. But, I set out to quiet the chatter in my mind on the Camino so that I could be more so in the moment, every moment.

My pre-Camino logic proved to be sound on the surface but was completely askew of the magic that is the Camino. Whenever I remembered, I put into practice methods to train my meditative muscle. I would concentrate on my breath or concentrate on my footfalls as I walked. In the beginning, I struggled as usual to stay with that effort, but I improved as the days and weeks went on. Did the calm that enveloped me from this exercise come from this practice, or from the Camino itself?

We could philosophize about that question for days, but my opinion is that there is something mystical out there. Maybe it’s the Camino, maybe it’s our effort, our focus, or the combined energy field left by those who have passed before us, and maybe it’s as simple as being open to what may come.

Buen Camino!!!

 

[whariwharangi]

I decided to go about a month before I went.

I waited that long because I wasn't sure how long it would take to get guidebook, credencial, and tickets in place.

The hardest part was figuring out how to get to the start, particularly as I had thought the starting point was Roncesvalles and then found it was SJPdP ... and later found that isn't it either.

I have hiked a lot so I had enough gear ... in fact I brought too much. The hiking also meant 'training' was not an issue. Hiking is a way of life (HIAWOL).

I heard about the camino about 6 years before while taking Spanish language classes in Granada. Two friends had walked it since. But I really had no calling to go walk it until I found myself wanting to miss monsoon season here on Vancouver Island.

 

[markgrubb]

I'm the same age as you Bonita and have always kept myself reasonably fit. I've done about 20 or so walks in the last 3 months of about the average length of Camino stage and carrying the approximate weight I'll take with me. It feels of real benefit now in that the kilometers just seem to fly by.

 

[J F Gregory]

My wife and walked last March and April. We trained for 7 months but under special circumstances. My wife had a knee replacement 1 year before we left, so it wasn't just training but for therapeutic and healing reasons. I walk about 15 miles a week Mon. thru Friday. My wife not so much but still gets in some hiking. 2017 the Del Norte !!

 

[james walter purdum iv]

i work in restaurants so i am always on my feet. i didn't do any prep which could have made the first few days less hard but your adrenaline will compensate for that. after 4 days or out of pamplona you will be free of worry about being fit. then spread your wings and open your heart for the next month of beauty, camino family, and timeless bliss.

 

[Thengel1]

I met a guy from the Netherlands who retired on a Friday, spontaneously decided to do the camino and started walking from Pamploma on Sunday. Not much time for prep there.

As for me, I made the decision about sevens months ahead of time. As for preparation, I didn't really need to buy much (had poles, backpack, footwear, first aid kit etc.) The only purchases I remember having to make were sandals (for wearing after I stopped walking for the day) and a silk sleeping liner.

As for training, while I did do a decent amount of walking, on the whole I was more engaged in what you might call anti-training rather than training. I was 70 pounds heavier when I started walking than when I made the decision. On the whole, not the best plan.

 

[HeidiL]

As long as my shoes have been properly broken in, I feel ready to start at any time.

(Met a guy in Grado, where I was hospitalera last month, in NEW boots, probably one size too small, bought the same day. Not an optimal start, to put it mildly. But he had walked 25 km in those boots, and definitely wanted to keep walking.)

 

[Lance Chambers]

No prep. No training. Just decided and within a week I was there for my first time. Very short - Sarria to SDC and only 7 days but no problems. Did the whole thing a year later - still no physical prep but packed a lot more sensibly - carried a 17 kg backpack and a 7 kg front pack which was crazy over stocked the first time.

Have reduced lung capacity, and dodgy knee but never a problem. Magnesium tablets to stop muscle cramps and elasticised compression bandage for the problematic knee.

Have fun...

 

[JP]

Camino Frances.

- In 2014, my girlfriend and I trained for 8 months before leaving Canada.

- In 2017, I went alone and did not train a single day before leaving. Bought my plane tickets three weeks before leaving Canada

 

[Kanga]

I am very good at planning to train. That is my preparation.

 

[Kanga]

Sorry, I realise the previous post is not exactly helpful! My first Camino was years in the preparation - in terms of wanting to do it. It was actually about 6 months between committing by buying the tickets, and actually going. I used that time to lose weight, organise gear, and do some training. My hardest decision these days is the timing of the trip, taking into account work commitments and family commitments.