Camino Newbie - Lots of Advice needed and appreciated

[kaycharmed]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

 

[Harland2019]

As you can complete a marathon, which for most is about mental strength than speed/fitness then I would go for the longer distance. Adjust your pace, start early in the day, take rests (eat, drink and chat) a shame to come that far for 100kms if you could complete a greater distance - double your enjoyment!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Welcome to the forum! You say that you can't take a month off but you don't actually say how long you will have to walk - which will of course affect the answers you receive.

There is a massive amount of excellent information here on the forum. You can type specific points into the advanced search function . I hope you enjoy reading!

Holy week - Semana Santa. It's massive in Spain. Any public holiday - but holy week in particular - many, many Spanish pilgrims take the opportunity to walk the Camino. So yes it will be moderately busy. I walked the Inglés during Semana Santa 2023. The week before roughly six to eight people were walking every day. I started on the Monday with 70 or 80 people at least. 1 (Spanish) group alone was 40 strong. Having expected a quiet camino it was a massive shock!

The Frances from Saria is even more popular.

I haven't walked the France's, my experience comes from walking two other Camino's, so can't comment on accommodation etc.

From my personal experience, the key to a successful Camino is 1/ training, 2/ starting slow and 3/ considering a combination of both!
There's mention on another recent thread here of an ultra marathon runner who seriously struggled on the Camino. It's different. Very, very different.

It's many years since I ran. But when I did I did not run with a seven kilogram pack. I trained daily, but I did not run a half marathon ( or more ) every day.
So I appreciate that you will be fit. But believe me when I say that it's a very different type of fitness. Your fitness will significantly help you, changing your training regime now to a camino regime will help you more. (Walking 3 to 4 days every week minimum, gradually building your mileage - no dramatic increases! - and training with your pack. After a month try to do at least three days at your current target distance back to back. Repeat). After a month or so of training you will have a much better better idea as to how far you are comfortable with walking, then plan accordingly. If you're moderately fit a hundred kilometers is easily doable in four days. But only if you're used to walking with your gear.

Shoe/ sock combo's - start trying them now. Buy at the end of the day preferably after walking five kilometers or so. Buy a minimum half size larger ( mine are a full size larger). Walk everywhere with them, don't just train with them. Not completely comfortable? Either figure out ways to make them comfortable (different socks, different insoles, changing the way the laced etc) or consider getting a different pair. Yes it's that important. Learn to prevent and or deal with blisters. Preferably prevent!

Get your pack. Most use a 30 to 40 litre pack, you're walking on the shoulder season so a smaller pack will probably not work - mine is 32, I walked just one week later than you are planning. Get the staff to help you fit it properly, with around five to seven kilos in it.

After a few weeks train with it.

Enjoy!!

 

[DoughnutANZ]

O Cebrerio is a very popular starting point for people who want to have a slightly longer "shorter" Camino.

Of course you can start anywhere you like but by starting at Ponferrada you are setting yourself a major challenge right at the beginning because soon after starting you will need to make the significant climb up to O Cebrerio. It is possible that you might encounter snow at that time of year

You may want a major challenge close to the start, certainly starting in St. Jean means that pilgrims are presented with a major challenge at the start.

Your marathon fitness will be useful but you will find that walking half a marathon day after day requires a different fitness than running a marathon.

 

[JabbaPapa]

So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie?

Ponferrada is an excellent starting point, even though the first few Ks out of there might seem "boring" -- so I would strongly advise you to take pauses for drinks and/or coffees and so on walking out, until you get out into the countryside.

There are a few good places to take a little break, mainly leftwards in the direction of Santiago, and these can make the walk out of Ponferrada less tedious.

And then once you get out and up into the hills and countryside, it's wonderful !!

I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Sounds to me like you're quite capable of it.

Yes hiking ≠ running -- but in that respect my second Camino from Paris was a marathon a day for 44 days, so that given the distances you're capable of, 100K is just WAY too short !!

I never did, but I could have done Sarria to Santiago in 2 days.

I'd say think about 30K/day, see what that works out to, then add one more day for the Way, and +2 days, 1 for Santiago plus 1 to start the journey home. So 3 days, then multiply however many days remain in your time frame by 30K, then that's the distance I think you should start from given your capabilities.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

You might be able to get your distances even with the pack, though if you're more comfortable long distance not so encumbered, then you'll have no trouble getting your pack sent ahead.

Oh -- and at that end of the Camino, I would very strongly advise sending your pack, if you need to, from bar to bar rather than Albergue to Albergue. There's just too much theft, and the bars as sending and receiving places are MUCH more trustworthy nowadays.

 

[Luz de Luna]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

As newbies, and much older than you, we started in Leon and completed the walk in 16 days. That included an extra day in Sarria, you won’t have any problem. Buen Camino!

 

[TorontoGMan]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

Hola Ading!
I'm not an expert, but walked the CF with a Filipina last May, June.

1. It's NOT the same as a Marathon....except that part when you just want to get it done after you hit the wall. BTW, you hit the wall EVERY day! lol... Marathoners tend to have NO idea how tough this is on them btw...

2. I would suggest that you DON'T push it, Katrina. In fact, I'm going back this May....I'm slowing down. I want to have the flexibility to smell more flowers...There are lots and lots and lots of "flowers" on the CF....remember, the tortoise wins (Aesop)!!! If you can only do a part, start at Saint Jean Pied de Port, like the small percent that do the whole thing. Do what you can do! Keep at it, (like many Europeans) until you enter Santiago de Compostela having completed the Camino Frances. You sound like you'd do it all in one fell swoop, if you could, so do it on your timetable!

3. 10% total pack weight (without water) is NOT just a suggestion....unless you are a Filipina! LoL My partner killed the CF, over weight by about 8 pounds and wearing shoes she picked up from a second hand store! She is from Nueva Viscaya and can truly be called a mountain girl! She was amazing....a machine! I too was over and I am committed to NEVER doing that again....many I've kept up with are still feeling the effects of the Camino many months later. This is no joke Ading, it's a grueling, epic trip. IMHO you should make it as tough as you can on yourself, "without breaking the camel's back"! The challenge seems to me to be associated with making the journey as connected to the sense of "pilgrimage" as possible and for me, that meant carrying my pack as much as possible. I built in some "carrots".... on my birthday (and happy birthday Ading!) I had a service grab the bag. No big deal to find them, don't worry about transport until you get there! They change anyways, depending on where you are on the Camino.

4. 215 km separate Pontferrada from Santiago de Compostela. You don't actually say how many days you have, but at 12 days you are doing about 18km per day. Very doable, if you choose that approach, and also a bit of slower pace to smell those proverbial flowers I was mentioning! hahah! Also, when our Camino only had about 3 HOURS of rain, for the entire 35 days! Rain slows EVERYONE and EVERYTHING down. I'm sure you'll see this play out in the timeframe you are planning!

5. Go to godesalco.com and create your own personalized Camino! It is an exceptional tool that made a HUGE difference to my Camino. You can literally create your own stages here.

6. Go to EVERY pilgrim mass you can. Go to the Spanish ones, even though you may not know what is going on exactly. Go to the mass held in the Pilgrim reception office, (where you get your Compostela(?)), and where the Filipino priest moves peligrinos to tears with his homilies! There's also a debrief room upstairs, but I would save these for when you well and truly complete your Camino....whether with 215, or 800km!
Buen buen buen Camino, Pelegrina!!!
gary
(5:14 in my marathon btw)
My first YouTube with more on the way I hope:

 

[joramos]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

Hey kababayan, I just did my second Frances first week of April 2023 - June 2023. I want to help you in your wish to do the Frances. Email me at XXXX so we can discuss at length answers to your questions and concerns without all the noise. Thanks.

Note from the mods - we typically remove private email addresses from forum messages. We encourage forum members to either discuss things publicly on the forum or to use the private conversation function.

 

[joramos]

Hey kababayan, I just did my second Frances first week of April 2023 - June 2023. I want to help you in your wish to do the Frances. Email me at XXXX so we can discuss at length answers to your questions and concerns without all the noise. Thanks.

Note from the mods - we typically remove private email addresses from forum messages. We encourage forum members to either discuss things publicly on the forum or to use the private conversation function.

Apologies. Thanks.

 

[Nelle]

@kaycharmed — even though the experiences are different, I found some of the lessons of marathon training to be helpful in preparing for and walking the CF this past October. Things like — getting my muscles and joints used to spending several hours on my feet, how my body responded to mid-race refueling, strategies for dealing with the weather, developing the mental toughness to keep going, etc. I wish I would have paid more attention to how my feet handled marathon running — I could have planned better for the bad blister the developed on my left little toe on Camino day 8 (which had never happened in training) had I remembered that same toenail turned black and fell off the NY Marathon — something that hadn’t occurred in marathon training either. That sort of thing. Buen Camino!

 

[duncanwhyte]

You need to change from a racehorse to a workhorse.

 

[David Tallan]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

As others have said, it is hard to say how doable a Ponferrada start is without knowing how much time you have. For what it's worth, I'm planning a short Camino with my daughter (20) and it will be her first. I'm thinking it will be 10 days from Villafranca to Santiago. Our flights back a re considerably later though, with time for seeing some of Spain so if it ends up taking longer we can do so. I'm a great believer in building big cushions into Camino plans, especially for first time Caminos. You don't really know until you are walking how your body will respond or what it will need. The accounts of many on these forums seem to imply that the fitness needed for long single-day races doesn't necessarily translate into the fitness needed for day after day after day walking. If you find that you don't need it you can always walk on to Finisterre/Muxia and/or see some of Spain.

Unfortunately, I can't help with how busy it will be in Holy Week. My last experience with a Holy Week Camino will be 35 years old this spring and is probably no longer applicable.

 

[dbier]

Buen Camino!

How long do you actually have? You sound like you're planning about 15 days, if you're starting before your birthday and intend to be on Camino during Holy Week/Semana Santa.

Several places (cafés, bars, and hotels/ albergues) are not going to be open in mid-March, or, during Semana Santa, are more likely to be full. Gronze is only as reliable as its updates.

If you do find a service (Correos?) to ship your bag, you *may* be asked to have a reservation where you ship your bag. Or at least know if the destination is open.

I am probably a generation older than you. I was fine with regular half marathons and walking Sarria to Santiago, 114 km, in 6 days with a daypack in summer. Easy peasy.

I was *not* fine, with the same level of training, walking the Primitivo (consistently hillier for the first 10 days) in September. With a daypack, I still covered about 305-319 km in 13 walking days, but I made no intended detours and used all my half and full marathon mental training to gut through it (Gracias a Díos).

Can you push it? Quite probably. But is the purpose of your Camino only to challenge your physical and mental fitness? If you're looking for something more than that, then think about going slower.

Again. Buen Camino, however you choose to do it.

 

[EricJR]

Good luck Katrina! Oddly enough, I timed my first two weeks on Camino for my 40th birthday too - in part to avoid the risk of a surprise party!

One bit of advice. I tried to do Leon to Santiago in 13 days. A mistake, due to poor planning of stage lengths on my part. Unfortunately, because I wanted to book accommodation in advance, but I was aiming to book 1 day in advance during what turned out to be a busy period, I was not able to book accommodation in the right places for some mountain stages, resulting in some unmanageably long days (which I didn't finish on foot!). If you're on a limited schedule, like I was, then either book a bit further in advance, or plan for shorter stages so that you can lengthen them if needed. I didn't leave myself flexibility to do that... But it was tremendous fun anyway!

 

[AlexHamilton]

Hola! I am Katrina from the Philippines, and I am planning my first Camino Frances! It has always been my dream to do it (the entire CF) and it's also in my "to do" list before I turn 40. Well, I am turning 40 in March of this year so now is the time.

I don't have the luxury of time to disappear for a whole month (or more) to do the entire CF. So my initial plan was to do the last 100KM. However, I am stubborn, and I thought maybe I can do 200-250KM. So my plan is to start in Ponferrada. Am I being too ambitious for a newbie? I am a runner and have finished the NY marathon (around 5.5 hrs to give you an idea of my fitness level) so I THINK I can do it, but of course that's just me being too confident. I would appreciate a knock on the head from vets if I need to dial it down and stick to the orig plan of 100KM.

Like I said I am turning 40 this March 17, so I plan to start a few days before. I don't necessarily need to finish before my birthday, but just really want to start at least before. But I am aware that the weather will most likely be a wet one. For those of you who have done the CF (particularly the last 100-200KM) around the second half of March, how was your experience in terms of difficulty, access to accommodation, etc.?

If I push thru with the Ponferrada to Santiago route, my last few days in the Camino would coincide with Holy Week. Is there a surge of peregrinos during Holy Week in your experience? I may be able to finish before Maundy Thursday, but would like an idea how "crowded" it gets along the way during that time.

Can you also adivse on a bag transfer company that could help me in case I would opt to have my bag transferred? I came across this highly suggested company, but they won't open until after Easter Sunday.

You can definitely do 200km especially if you’re staying in Ponferrada. The last 100km can get crowded so we booked our stays as soon as possible. You’ll need a Spanish SIM card and What’s APP. The luggage transfer company will be listed at each stay. I would think the last 100km will have something available.
Go for it