Hi Kerry, an Australian pilgrim friend of mine introduced me to the brilliant concept of the guilt free "5 to 10 Camino" (5 to 10 kms a day if you want) so you won't be alone out there taking short days (if you do, I found that it is terribly difficult to walk short days ... comes to 11am and the energy is still there!). What you may find is that after a few days you will become fitter and find that you are walking further.
Though you don't say where you are starting - is a big haul up and over from St Jean .. so you could start in Roncesvalles or Pamplona perhaps?
On the Frances there are many refugios and b&b's all along the way with just a few sections that may be more kms in between.
On Camino 54 is a youngster! just an egg! - plenty of pilgrims out there in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s!
I think that the best Camino guide is the
Brierley but the mistake so many people make is that they read it as a 'rule' book rather than a 'guide' book. So - it is Not necessary to walk the given day stages, just stop when you get tired. One of the benefits of this is that if you miss the big day stage stops you instead stop at small and wonderful refugios in between, where you will meet many other 'walk at my own pace' independent pilgrims who also see a guide book as only that, a 'guide' book.
What a fantastic step .. drop the young (finally!) off at college and go off on Camino - how utterly perfect! (Just don't get the bags mixed up on that day
).
To survive well this last twenty years you will have had to be terribly organised so the trick is, on Camino, is to let the attempt to control go ... don't overplan, don't try and 'organise' it .. do what I think you have already decided to do .. let go, take it as it comes, breath deep - enjoy!
By the way, Pamplona to Santiago is about 700 kms so if you do walk 10 kms a day it would take you 70 days - 10 weeks ........ sooo.... what will you do? Start in Pamplona, walk until your time is up and go home and come back next year and take up where you left off?
Buen Camino!!