April 14th  More lessons learned

Had a late start to my walk today. I didn't head out the door until around 11 am. The temperature was 75 F and the humidity was at 90%.  My goal for the day was 10 miles. There is a bench at about 5 miles out from my house and I thought that would make a nice spot to have lunch and a break.  In fact its the bench in the picture from yesterday.  So I set off,  happy that the rain was holding off.  There was a lot of cloud cover as I walked and the wind was a nice cooling breeze.

As I made my way toward the bench I was really looking forward to a break.  It was very hot and humid and I just wanted a break. Then I saw the bench sitting there, in the sun. Yes in the sun.  Every other time i had been by the bench it had been in the shade. But today, due to later time and the clouds decided to clear for that moment, my little bench was in the sun.  I was tired and a bit disappointed I didn't have shade to rest. So I walked a bit further down the road and found a wooden bridge. The bridge is over what would be a swamp. Luckily for me it was dry and I was able to sit on the bridge and let my feet hang over.  I made my self comfortable and enjoyed the lunch I had packed.  A nice sandwich, chips and Gatorade.  Just as I finished eating the shade was was enjoying was no longer. Time to get moving again.

The walk wasn't really difficult today, it was just so hot. I felt as if the heat and humidity was sucking out my energy.  As I made my way back home I was happy to see the skies cloud up again. The clouds were getting dark and I prayed i would make it home without rain.  The wind was picking up and was cooler which felt so good to me.  I am happy to say I made it home before the rain.

At home as I was resting and cleaning up I noticed that my legs and feet had red blotches on them. I did some research and found that most likely it is heat rash.  It never occurred to me that I could get heat rash on my legs when I was wearing shorts.  So tonight i will relax and keep the spots cool and dry.

So todays lessons are don't count on the shade always being there for you. Sometimes you may need to look a little further for some.  Also its important to watch the time you walk and the weather. If its too hot or humid its okay to postpone, making your walks more enjoyable.  Early walks are best in the spring and summer. Also in Spain, an early start will be more necessary than I realized.

This is why we do this training. To get to know theses pitfalls and how to handle them. I am feeling stronger every day.

April 13, 2015

i have been a little lazy about writing my blog. There are those days when it seems I have done nothing towards my Camino Experience. Then there are those day when I do all sorts of preparation whether in walking or packing and then run out of time to write.  Or just too tired to write.

I find it amazing that as I walk I can think of all sorts of things to write about. Then when the walk is done and I get cleaned up, somehow I forget it all.  So tonight I will do my best to capture some of those thoughts and recap where i am on the preparation for the journey.

We are now 7 weeks out from the beginning of our Camino. Or as I have begun to call it...my mini camino.  I have purchased new boots and have been breaking them in. I do believe I have all of my gear for the trip. Well apart from a pretty outfit to wear the night we are in Bordeaux. I know it seems silly, but I would like to look decent that evening and not like a pilgrim.

Today I set out to walk 10 miles with my pack. I had gone through the pack on Sunday and repacked it. I also weighted and noted that weight of all of the items on the packing list. Going through which toothbrush was lighter, that sort of thing. I went a head and put in bigger bottles of Gatorade to add more weight. When all was done the pack weighed in at 17 pounds.  I figured this was a good weight to train with since I believe in the end the pack will be lighter.

At the start of today's walk the weather looked like it might rain. It had rained most of the night and into the morning. The forecast called for rain all week in fact. Luckily the rain held off and I was able to do my walk. I decided that I would just go for it. Knowing I needed to walk and that I did have rain gear and cover in the pack. What better training for the rain in Spain. Funny, that now put that song in my head, From My Fair Lady "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains." We can hope, can't we.

I set out on my walk and headed towards Subway sandwich shop. The route i took was through a few neighborhood and added an extra mile or so.  When I arrived at Subway on Dean Forrest Road I had completed 6 and a half miles.  After having a quick break and a bite to eat, I headed back. I did learn that i should not have eaten a 6 inch sub and half a bag of chips at the stop. After about 20 minutes my stomach started to ache.  I have learned that I need to either eat smaller meals or wait longer after eating before heading back out.  Better to learn that lesson today and not on the Camino.

When i returned I was surprised to see that I had completed 12.88 miles. That was nearly a half marathon. I also did it in 4 hours, which was good training for having the pack on for 4 hours. I did take it off for the break, which i am sure we will do when on the Camino.  All in all I feel today's walk was a success. Yeah! And no blisters!

My goal for this week is to do 50 miles with the pack. Now I have done 12 I only have 38 more to go.
I think I will reward myself with a pedicure on Friday if I complete my goal. After all my feet deserved to be pampered.

Soon I will be posting my packing list, with pictures.