These past few years I actually hadn’t considered how to physically train for the Camino. I love to run and am fairly faithful to a daily jog, I have good stamina and am not afraid to push myself. HOWEVER, after taking my first LONG walk, I realized that this is something very different. Back in the Fall I thought I’d see what 15 miles felt like. I had all confidence that it was going to be a piece of cake. Going straight from running to walking such a long distance was a very poor move. After 11 miles, I was in a lot of pain.
Once the cold weather cleared, it was time to get serious about preparing for some longer walks and I needed to “break in” my boots. My dear husband worked up a training schedule for me with daily walks and a weekly increase of 10% in distance for my long walk. The challenge is, of course, that walking can be so time consuming! Running is so economical with time! These long walks can take 4 hours of my day!
I’m following the advice from my many sources and am walking in the gear (except pack) that I’ll be taking with me. All the exact clothes – socks, shorts, shirts, hat, and occasional jacket so there are NO surprises. Everything works together – no uncomfortable waistbands or annoying tags or trims. My boots are an absolute dream, of course. I have not experienced a single blister or a moment of discomfort. At some point, however, I’m going to have to start walking with my pack to grow accustomed to the weight. On the training walks I’ll ease into it, no doubt, and work my way up to my 14 lb. limit.
So basically, to physically prepare for the Camino, I am walking 5-6 miles every day during the week, enjoying one “rest” day, and taking one long walk on the weekend, and (at this moment – 10 weeks from departure) am I’m up to 12 miles on my longest walk. I’ll work up to 18 miles eventually since that’s the approximately length of our longest day (that we anticipate). Every morning I try to exercise with leg weights, and basically focus on strengthening my “core” which, I am advised, is going to help me with that pack…planking, planking and more planking…
On Holy Saturday, my daughter Melanie joined me for a 10-miler. I’m so thankful to have so much support and encouragement from all of my family. I know that I need to prepare properly for this pilgrimage because I, myself, need to know I can do it. For my family’s peace of mind, they also need to have confidence that I am prepared.