Thanks for the reply. I walked every day 5-10 miles in my job and have done the 17 mile hike in back to back days last summer once, the trying to find time has been the issue. I do have my backpack know and have walked once with it on with just my Camelback in it. I don't have any hills around here though. I plan as it gets closer to my time to leave to increase the frequency of my long walks if possible. I want to look for some training guides and do my best and get ready. I guess short stops won't help the sore stiff feet I am feeling and maybe it's a shoe issue. Someone had told me short 5 min stops every hours and elevate your feet. Thanks again for replying.
Besides walking on the
Camino Frances, I have thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Colorado Trail, have thousands of miles of backpacking in the Cascades, Olympics, Sierra Nevadas and Rockies. I can give you some basic training guidelines, if you are open to it.
This will work even if you are a flatlander
This is something I had posted a while back.
As to training, their are really two different parts to focus on:
1. Cardiovascular fitness.
2. Muscle strengthening.
Cardiovascular fitness is the ability for your heart and lungs to supply oxygenated blood to your muscles during exercise under load, and your muscles ability to use that oxygen efficiently so they can produce energy.
Exercises should be used which will allow you to hit a target heart rate zone, over a for a period of time during exercising, which provides the needed aerobic effort for conditioning. This is a website which will help you calculate what your target heart rate zones will be.
https://www.lifespanfitness.com/fitness/resources/target-heart-rate-calculator
Treadmills at incline, running, walking at a faster than normal pace, walking up hills, rowing machines, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts, riding a bicycle at a faster than normal pace, swimming, etc. are all examples of effective aerobic exercises when used to achieve target heart rates.
Keep in mind that as your fitness level improves, it will take a more sustained effort to hit the same heart rate zones. That is why using target zones is so effective. They don't change relative to fitness level. Someone extremely out of shape does not exercise as hard as someone who is extremely fit to reach their target.
Muscle strength is a function of how much maximum force your muscles can exert against resistance. Exercises for strength will
also provide a temporary aerobic effect, but the main goal is to increase your capability to function while under resistance.
Think about having to lift the weight of your body, with a pack, with each step going up the Pyrenees. Or being able to lift and carry a load. Or the constant resistance of your body weight and pack to your shoulders and to the 'core' muscles in your back and abdomen.
Some basic strengthening exercises for home include push-ups, lunges, squats and planks. A google search will show you the way to do these exercises.
Other conditioning issues involve things like ankles, feet, and flexibility. Do a search on this forum for posts about exercises to help prevent shin splints and to help prevent plantars fasciitis.
After you've been involved in your fitness regimen for the next three months, put on the clothing and footwear you will be using on Camino, load up your pack, and for several days in a row walk for an 8 hour period. See how you feel and at what pace you are able to best sustain yourself. That will give you a baseline estimate to calculate logistical issues surrounding the question of how many days it may take to walk your Camino.
More than anything else, enjoy the entire process of getting ready for Camino. Keep thinking about your personal goals for doing Camino and what type of experience you are hoping for. Also, think about what you can contribute, as a pilgrim, to the spirit and nature of the Camino when you begin your first steps toward Santiago.