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I have been back home from my Camino trip for 8 weeks now. During that time I have struggled with how to incorporate my new Camino insights, fitness levels and attitudes into my old lifestyle. I have spent over a year of my life focused on training, preparing for and walking the Camino Frances. Now I am back home restless and confused on next steps. I still feel the energy and drive without another outlet or adventure to plan for. I have just experienced 45 days of freedom as a Camino Pilgrim walking each day without the usual work, family and life demands. For 45 days I followed yellow arrows and other Camino markers through medieval villages, country and forest pathways, mountain trails and historical Spanish cities. Each day was the simple adventure of walking from Point A to Point B to new locations and experiences… Freedom to enjoy each new day just focused on me and my walking partner(s) enjoying the magic of the Camino and the endearing support of fellow pilgrims and the local communities along the way. Continue reading
For the next few blogs I am going to discuss how to get happy, strong and healthy feet for the Camino (Felices, sanos y fuertes pies en el Camino). It’s very important to get your feet strong, stretched and ready to walk the long distances along the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostella.
I have been a program / project manager most of my working career which means an obsessive focus on planning. This of course runs over into my personal life and I have a Microsoft Project plan, as well as several “To Do” and outfitting lists that I am tracking. Below is my final 14 week Master “To Do” list for my Camino trail planning with Completion dates. All this planning has helped reduce my level of Camino Readiness anxiety.
It has been a solid 2 months of walking in nasty winter conditions of varying cold arctic winds, heavy snow, ice storms, and slippery, dangerous surfaces. Last week I had an “I hate winter meltdown’ caused by feeling like an arctic vampire; living without sunlight and warmth and considered moving south. It was time to recalibrate, get perspective and put a positive spin on the winter blues. After all I am Canadian, and there are still 2 months until spring so I better “get a grip” and remember why I am training in these harsh conditions in the first place – to prepare me for the endurance required on the Camino!
As I look ahead to 2014, I marvel that it will be the Year that I celebrate turning 60 and becoming a true pilgrim (a wanderer or traveler) for 40 days of walking and exploring the Camino Santiago de Compostela. Last year at this time I had no plans for walking the Camino. I was originally planning a 2 week trip to the North West Territories with friends to celebrate my 60th. In the early spring I had a change of heart. I cannot remember why the Camino Trail became my new travel choice but my friend and fellow walker Marta was as excited as I was and the decision was firmed up. I am proud of how far I have progressed in 2013 on my training and preparation for my Camino sojourn.
In this blog post I was planning to write about my shopping search for Trekking poles. However the last 2 weekends have been a snow fest and I have not been out shopping. This is unfortunate since the more it snows, the more I need those walking poles. During my last walk I found a tree branch and used that as a walking pole to help me trudge through the snow on the Trans Canada Trail. Instead I will write about my other major exercise commitment for my Camino Santiago de Compostella training in the form of Yoga warm up and cool down poses for long distance walking.
Now that I am training with my backpack and hiking boots on longer distances and varied terrain trails, it is time to add trekking poles to my training gear. I was debating when to start training with the trekking poles, but the first winter snow, and the additional weight of my backpack convinced me to start shopping for new poles. When I sat down and evaluated the benefits of using walking poles it was a “no-brainer” decision. The 5 benefits of Trekking poles are:
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I recently had a comment submitted asking questions about blisters and shoes for walking the Camino de Santiago. And so Vicky, in answering your questions, I decided to include my guidelines for evaluating, planning for and maintaining foot health in the following 4 tips:
Like Winston Churchill, I don’t like worrying in advance about events or activities. I start with understanding the goals, challenges and expected outcomes and then plan for success. That is the reason I developed a formal training plan for achieving my Camino goal of walking an 800 kilometer route to Santiago de Compostela in 40 days. Here are the 10 Steps I followed in creating and maintaining my training plan:
