So it’s been over 6 months in the planning but winter does not motivate one to really get into the training so I waited for the weather to improve. It’s been 4 years since my last camino and fitness has not been the priority with motorbikes and work taking centre stage in recent years. So I was starting all over again other than with the knowledge of what I needed to do.
Once again tho this wasn’t just me training myself, Karen whilst generally fitter than myself has never done any long distance walking ever. So this is very new and Karen is not very outdoorsy so had absolutely no gear so shopping was also a big part of this adventure to this point but I will cover that more in a gear/packing list blog.
We often had little strolls around parks but nothing to the level we would need to get to so we kept the little walks up but then started making sure we did one bigger walk a week gradually getting bigger. With around 4 months to go I started upping the ante by walking every other day or at least a couple of times a week whilst wearing in new boots. Then started getting up at 5.30am and walking 5 miles everyday through the week where ever possible until my feet got more conditioned and my legs stronger until Ii once again found my camino stride, it’s definately encouraging when you get your feel for it all come back. The weekly walks reached a peak at around 18 miles and we have been keeping that up at least as well as testing some of our gear along the way to make sure it’s all fit for purpose. Karen has been walking on her own too but nothing quite as rigid as my daily walks but is doing well on the weekly long walks. I think we are as ready as we will ever be whilst also living life and having to compromise sometimes. Could we have trained more? Sure but life isn’t perfect and we will just get on with it.
I am very aware people do the camino with little to no training but with our tight plans training is the only way to go to give yourself the most comfortable confident camino you can attempt. We have mainly been walking on the flat/undulating terain. I have very rarely done much hill training I don’t see the point we have our walking sticks and if a mountain is between you and your bed your going to make it anyway just takes more time and sweat. Either way there is no time to do much else, so it will have to be enough.
The process has not been easy on Karen but she is hanging on in there, the jury is still out if she will enjoy Camino or if she comes back and sells all her gear never to be repeated again. Either way I know my next holiday will have to be a pool holiday. We really suck at taking pics on our training walks so will do better on camino. The few pics I have from training walks below:
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