The Camino Frances

The Camino Frances

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Plans for training for my 2016 Camino

I'm walking the Camino this summer and fall. I'll be turning 70 while I am there, so I am giving careful thought to my training in preparation for about 4 weeks of walking, and 2 weeks of 18 hour days, caring for pilgrims at Refugio Gaucelmo in Rabanal.

The largest part of my training is the walks that I lead here in Toronto. I have been leading 3 hikes a week for several years, and I'll continue to do that while I am in Toronto.
On Mondays, we walk for about 4 hours with a break for coffee - about 15 km.
On Tuesdays, we walk for an hour or so, then have coffee, and walk home - roughly 6 or 7 kms.
On Fridays, my goal is 20 kms. Sometimes we go further, especially if we walk home after lunch. Sometimes it is shorter.
That adds up to roughly 43 kms on training walks.
I walk about the same amount over the week, doing my errands. I walk to pick up my grandson, to pick up my email at the library, to church on Sunday and back again, food shopping.....I walk almost everywhere I go.
My goal is 100 kms per week, and I have averaged that over the last 18 months.


Miguel Cura did this caricature of me and put it on his blog. He walked the Camino with his dad, and trained a few times with us. See his Camino at miguelcura.com

I also attend a 90 minute Iyengar yoga class each week, and have been doing this for the past 12 years. It has helped my stamina, strength and balance, and I enjoy it (mostly).

I wear a backpack wherever I go, and it usually weighs in at about 10 pounds, so that is part of the training too. When I start to practice with my Camino backpack, I hardly notice a difference.

I am thinking of walking to my cottage this spring as part of my training. It is about 120 kms, and most of it can be done on trails. I have friends along the way, so I can possibly stay at various homes, maybe taking 5 days to walk it. So far, I have no definite plans, just the possibility, but it is a fun idea.

All this walking makes me a happy woman!

I read about the Camino, follow blogs, and help to organize our twice yearly meetings about the Camino. Yes, and I dream the Camino!

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