It feels good to walk

[Turga]

I do most of my training walks in the city area. I could easily find nicer places to walk, there are pretty forests and quiet, open farmland not far outside the city, but that would require me to drive for around 45 minutes or so. I do that occasionally, but for some reason driving out to walk doesn’t feel right. My walking routes are carefully planned to quickly take me away from roads with heavy traffic and into some quite tranquil suburban areas, through small parks and along the coast of the bay opposite the harbor. Around 7 kilometers out, I get to a point where I have to decide if I’ll walk the 12 km, the 17 km or the 22/25 km circuit. Previously, at this time of year, I would have walked the longer circuits several times, but this year I haven’t really felt the motivation; there has been some unclear thought telling me “Why bother? You are not going to walk a Camino this year anyway and there are other things to do”.

You know how it is when you are walking – you get to think about things. On the way out today I passed an old man walking slowly and unsteadily supported by his cane and later another supported by a walker and I thought about how lucky I am being able to walk without even thinking about it and I thought about getting the best out of that for as long as I can – who knows for how long? I came to think about the same time last year when I was limping around with a ruptured Achilles tendon looking enviously at anybody who could walk effortlessly.

Now I am sitting here by the pc tired and hot after 25 kilometers of walking in the blazing sun thinking about how good it feels to walk for many hours and how lucky I am to be able to do so – even if it isn’t on some Camino.

(And now I need a shower )

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

The walking gives me always a good feeling. I try to walk alone four times, through the streets to the water and then I walk very relaxed along the water, it clears my head. The walks are about 5/6 km. We try to walk together on weekends. But first a bit by car to the nature reserve on the other side of the water. This is pretty much the walking schedule since the start of the Corona outbreak. At the beginning of September we will go for a walk in South Limburg for a few days if the Corona does not make it worse. And we hope that the volunteering in Santiago will continue next May. We will see

Be safe .❤

 

[trecile]

but this year I haven’t really felt the motivation; there has been some unclear thought telling me “Why bother? You are not going to walk a Camino this year anyway and there are other things to do”.

I'm feeling the opposite. Knowing that I won't do a Camino this year I feel compelled to walk at least 8 - 16 km/day. Sure, there are things that I can do around the house, but they can wait. Right now, for me, walking is the priority.

 

[C clearly]

Around 7 kilometers out, I get to a point where I have to decide if I’ll walk the 12 km, the 17 km or the 22/25 km circuit. Previously, at this time of year, I would have walked the longer circuits several times, but this year I haven’t really felt the motivation; there has been some unclear thought telling me “Why bother? You are not going to walk a Camino this year anyway and there are other things to do”.

I have similar options as I live on a peninsula that is about 25 km in circumference and there are numerous walking routes within that area. I often walk a 15 km route, but have never done the full 25 km.

This is the first year ever that I have had no travel and only limited work obligations at this time of year. In recent months, I have so much enjoyed my garden and the leisure to watch the plants grow, that I allow myself to work in the garden instead of walking many days. In part (but this is an important lesson that I am trying to convince myself of) this is because I feel that it is wiser to take joy in my home situation and nourish that aspect of my life, given that future walks in Spain are uncertain.

 

[Colette Z]

I do most of my training walks in the city area. I could easily find nicer places to walk, there are pretty forests and quiet, open farmland not far outside the city, but that would require me to drive for around 45 minutes or so. I do that occasionally, but for some reason driving out to walk doesn’t feel right. My walking routes are carefully planned to quickly take me away from roads with heavy traffic and into some quite tranquil suburban areas, through small parks and along the coast of the bay opposite the harbor. Around 7 kilometers out, I get to a point where I have to decide if I’ll walk the 12 km, the 17 km or the 22/25 km circuit. Previously, at this time of year, I would have walked the longer circuits several times, but this year I haven’t really felt the motivation; there has been some unclear thought telling me “Why bother? You are not going to walk a Camino this year anyway and there are other things to do”.

You know how it is when you are walking – you get to think about things. On the way out today I passed an old man walking slowly and unsteadily supported by his cane and later another supported by a walker and I thought about how lucky I am being able to walk without even thinking about it and I thought about getting the best out of that for as long as I can – who knows for how long? I came to think about the same time last year when I was limping around with a ruptured Achilles tendon looking enviously at anybody who could walk effortlessly.

Now I am sitting here by the pc tired and hot after 25 kilometers of walking in the blazing sun thinking about how good it feels to walk for many hours and how lucky I am to be able to do so – even if it isn’t on some Camino.

(And now I need a shower )

That’s great and I’m the same.....start with a 7-8 km total in mind then it’s like, “it’s such a nice day, I feel good, it’s such a beautiful area” and it’s 10, 12, 15km.

 

[Turga]

I often walk a 15 km route, but have never done the full 25 km.

I think that makes good sense. I only walk the longest routes when I feel really ‘inspired’ or when I feel that I have to prove to myself that I can do it. I have a friend who is a marathon freak, he has run dozens of marathons over the years and I once asked him how many 40 km training runs he did preparing for a marathon. He told med none! – he usually runs 15 km and occasionally 20 km. He says that if he can run 15/20 km then he knows that muscles, tendons and cardio is up to the job and the rest is all a matter of will. I guess the same goes more or less for walking.

 

[trecile]

I think that makes good sense. I only walk the longest routes when I feel really ‘inspired’ or when I feel that I have to prove to myself that I can do it. I have a friend who is a marathon freak, he has run dozens of marathons over the years and I once asked him how many 40 km training runs he did preparing for a marathon. He told med none! – he usually runs 15 km and occasionally 20 km. He says that if he can run 15/20 km then he knows that muscles, tendons and cardio is up to the job and the rest is all a matter of will. I guess the same goes more or less for walking.

I trained a lot before my first Camino, so that I knew that I could handle walking 25 km. After proving to myself that I could walk that far day after day I didn't feel the need to do that much training for subsequent caminos. I do always walk regularly, because I enjoy it, and to keep my fitness level, but usually not the same kinds of distances that I would on the Camino. Without a daily destination it's not that interesting.

 

[martin1ws]

My normal walk is in the Olympic Parc in Munich. Going about 10 minutes by bike, about 30 minutes walking and then by bike again. I go up the 'Olympiaberg' - a hill with a height of about 60 meters and a nice scenery. Often 4 or 5 times a week... in the summer sun or in the night... sometimes in the rain and sometimes in a stormy winter night. I enjoy it... especially after a (too long) working day.

 

[David Tallan]

I have a nice ~10 km circuit walk that I've been doing these days. A couple of years ago, when I was training for a Camino, I would walk it twice - once, then breakfast, then again. It starts with a km through the neighborhood to a local park. The park is filled with architectural fragments collected 50 or so years ago when the historic buildings in my city were being demolished to be replaced with bigger, more modern successors. Then it is down through a ravine to the shores of Lake Ontario and a long walk with the lake on one side and scenic sandstone bluffs on the other. Then it is a long steep climb beside a burbling brook with lots of tiny waterfalls. Then a bit more of a walk through a wealthy neighborhood, a downhill walk through another wooded ravine to another park with scenic lake views from the top of the bluffs I was walking under and then another km through my neighborhood home.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I live in a small town of 2100 residents in the country about ten miles away from a larger city. Just a few blocks from my home is a flat "rails to trails" bike/walking path which I walk daily, going for three miles of its 9 mile length.
In addition, within a radius of about 8 miles from home are several lovely forest preserves with varying terrain of hills, limestone bluffs and creeks, so a short drive in the car gets me in a whole new environment to hike.
Tomorrow I am driving with a friend to a beautiful deep blue, spring fed lake an hour away, where there is a 22 mile walking path around its circumfrence. It is rimmed with hills and many mansions and cottages with beautiful landscaping, docks and boats...and the path gives us access to the owners' lakefront properties to enjoy the views. We will take two days to complete it at a leisurely pace.