training

[frmikeminn]

Walked 8 miles today with full pack. In the snow. It felt good, smiles all around. (just getting better from a cold.) how is everyone doing getting ready? Just a couple of weeks for us, how about others? I'm working on my med pack tonight while enjoying a martini.

 

[Mouse]

Been trying to do some walking but haven't been managing to do much lately.

Our weather is getting much cooler now and definitely feel winter is on it's way.

 

[ethanday]

I did 12 miles on road surface on Sunday with full pack wearing my boots. Took me four hours including break for refreshments in a pub. Felt good. I did five miles on Monday in my trainers with full pack; no ill effects. Played tennis twice on Wednesday, no time to walk. Intend to try out my holiday sandals later today to see if I can walk in them. I've not yet decided what footwear to take other than my boots.I am wearing socks and liners combined which are guaranteed to prevent blisters. So far they have been fine. Wouldn't it be great if their promise was correct?

 

[andy_h]

If you are able to walk 12miles at home so you can say you're prepared.
But camino in my opinion is more about spiritual attitude than physical fitness.
Of course fitness is very important on the way but you're not going to Tibet where villages are very far from each other.
If you'll feel tired you can stop 5k earlier just to give your body proper rest.
My friend told me once "even if you're very experienced walker you will not enjoy your camino till you feel spirit of it".
Everybody comes to walk to SDC for different reasons. For me at first it was a good way to spend a nice holiday. Later when I've started my preparations (especially reading what others experienced) I realized that 800 k walk is not only challenge for walkers.
But of course ability to walk long distances is very important.
For me, more than my fitness, very important are my shoes. Even best walker in the world will struggle with blisters all over his feet. I don't care if I'll walk 30 or only 13 miles a day.
Buen camino
Andy

 

[ethanday]

Initially I saw walking the Camino as a challenge, a chance to meet lots of different people of different nationalities, to improved my languages and see different cultures and a wonderful landscape.. In preperation for my walk i have read many accounts from previous walkers and have taken on board all the advice they have offered. Although I used to do quite a lot of walking, I haven't done much in the last ten years(I'm now 61) In order to make the walk as painless as possible I am breaking in my boots and building up my daily mileage to near that which I would expect to do on the Camino. I was telling a friend of mine about my adventure and he reckons that I have had a calling to do this walk. I have been thinking more and more about the religious side of walk, and hope that maybe my friend is right.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Training and spirituality and all that are very important, but I think Fr. Mike may be onto something when he says he is "working on my med pack tonight while enjoying a martini."

For some of us, the med pack and martini are one and the same!

Hope some of you will stop by on your way through Moratinos... the little Meseta town with the ´hobbit houses.´

Rebekah

 

[frmikeminn]

still working on the med kit. with vino tonight! I have all the stuff I want in the kit, I just cannot find a small plastic box it will fit into really well. (high class problem for a pilgrim I know). I even stopped into a pet store on my walk today, (12 miles- 18 Km), on the hope they might have something. Oh, well, whatever. :lol:

Went back to C.S. Lewis today for a reminder on what is important. It's the big picture, not the small stuff of day to day life. I guess the reason I'd like to be in good shape for the walk is so that I don't get overwhelmed with the physical side of the walk and miss other good stuff. I am also reminded that my daughter will help with this as she will not miss much!

life is good.

 

[cfontein]

I would appreciate some advice about pre-Camino training. I want to be ready but I don't want to over train to the point of being worn out before I go. I am 60 years old and coming out of a lifetime of inactivity. I have lost quite a bit of weight and have been eating well and exercising regularly for over 2 years and so I'm really a new (old) body and very excited to be taking on this new adventure. I've been doing a lot of walking over the last year and a half but around March I strained some tendons/muscles or something and spent most of April and May resting them and just doing exercise biking. Now I'm trying to really get ready for our trip - we leave in 5 weeks (August 8th) for Leon and will take about 3 weeks - I guess about 20 km a day - to walk the 320 km to Santiago. So I'm now walking every day and am up to about 10 km a day and was planning on increasing to about 16 km every day by the time we leave, but I'm afraid that might be too much and that I won't have any knees left for the Camino. I would be very grateful for any suggestions. Thanks, Carol

 

[Rose Louise]

Carol, I was similarly placed to you. A little older and had trained up to a longest day of 22 km. I believe the most important lesson learned was to train over all types of terrain with your pack on in the latter stages, drink plenty of water and know your limits.

My camino was short being the Portugues Way - I learnt many lessons in the six days along the way. If there is to be a next time I would like to spend a little more time socialising with other pilgrims. Unfortunately there were not many to be found in May on that route and the weather would surely have put off a few. Those that we did meet have left lasting memories.

On a three week camino it would be important to have a few scheduled rest days to give the body a chance to recover from the exertion.

Enjoy and Buen Camino. Rose Louise

 

[C clearly]

I have been reading this forum daily for about a year now, but rarely post because I don't have a date fixed yet for my camino. However, my interest is strong. I will soon be 60, and plan to do a fairly short camino first, perhaps from Porto to Santiago. I would love to do El Camino de la Plata, but don't know if that will ever happen, except in my imagination.

For a couple of months now, I have been walking about 60 km per week. That doesn't approach what I will need to do on El Camino. However, I wanted to check gradually if my aging body was up to it, and also since I work full time it is hard to find the time to walk more. So far, I'm happy with the results. I have had no problems with my formerly-injured knee, and I feel generally "stronger". Now I scarcely notice a 10 km walk.

When I have a date fixed for Spain, I would hope to train for a couple of months and increase my walking to about double. As you, one wants to become fitter without wearing out!

Meanwhile, I continue with a modest pace, and thoroughly enjoy reading about everyone else's training, pilgrimages, equipment planning, and memories.

 

[Sagalouts]

walking now on a daily basis,my wife (rosie) and i (ian) have got into a nice rhythm me to the left rosie to the right,she with her pole me with my walking stick.
such is our prowess that we are now looking to the fine tuning.
we go in search of large packs of dogs to practice our skills with pole and stick,likewise cycle paths, tho this might entail a break in amsterdam to fully become proficient.
rosie is grateful for my attention over the years in getting her used to the sound of snoring, breaking wind and the sight of old men with middle aged spread wandering round her bedroom.
we have also taken spanish classes "puede repetir por favor" and because of our age my favorite "ma's alto por favor.
years of yorkshire beer drinking have now been replaced,although the training was hard
but can now drink rioja with the best of them and now the summer is here am starting training on the alberino in preperation for the galician gallop.
soon we will be ready and only 20 months to go.

 

[sillydoll]

Ian - get Rosie to practice scrunching plastic bags at 4h30 in the morning; aiming a head lamp directly into your eyes whilst on the trot and washing all your clothes in the hand-basin without a plug. With these new skills you will be the perfect-peregrino-pair and bound to have a succesful pilgrimage to St James!