I am doing it my way or so i thought

[Agnogel]

Good evening fellow pilgrims
I have stated i will be walking the Camino Frances on the 27th of August this year flight is booked and so is the first stop in Orrison, I also stated in another tread that i am not a walker per say but i set myself a goal last November to walk the camino after getting the call 36 years ago when i was in Santiagio on a one day business trip. Its a long story but life just got in the way getting married, buying a home, and raising a family, Since November i have been mostly training with small walks around my home town to a distance of 4kms and the odd longish walk in the country at the weekends. When i started i would be lucky to reach 300/400 meters but have gradually stretched my distance, The weather has not been good here since the new year with heavy rain and very strong winds most days ,Last weekend i walked the canal tow path in the poring rain for 8kms my small dog Nuby was not impressed to be getting another bath when we arrived home covered in mud (both of us) , Today we walked in good sunshine part of Saint Kevins Way over the Wicklow mountains that are about 20km from my home this is also a very old pilgrimage route to the mountain retreat of Glendalough
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Glendalough Monastic.html
The way is also marked by sign and posts with a small yellow pilgrim with staff and a yellow arrow with a cross insert, As the walk is over mountain terrain up hill and down i had a friend who lives near by arranged to collect us (the dog and I ) at the end of one of the stages i guess about 4.5kms when i went to make the return phone call to be collected there was no phone reception so we started back up the hill untill such time i would get to make the call, One step led to another and so on untill we arrived back at our starting point, I checked the distance on the view ranger phone app i down loaded after reading posts on the forum and it stated 11.3kms WOW i have never walked anything like that distance in my life it just goes to show St James can work his miracles ( he may have just blocked the phone reception) on any journey in order for us to reach Santiagio. Roll on next week
Buen Camino

 

[Agnogel]

Here is one of the way markers

 

[domigee]

Very nice sign! And well done on your training!

 

[Maggy]

Good evening fellow pilgrims
I have stated i will be walking the Camino Frances on the 27th of August this year flight is booked and so is the first stop in Orrison, I also stated in another tread that i am not a walker per say but i set myself a goal last November to walk the camino after getting the call 36 years ago when i was in Santiagio on a one day business trip. Its a long story but life just got in the way getting married, buying a home, and raising a family, Since November i have been mostly training with small walks around my home town to a distance of 4kms and the odd longish walk in the country at the weekends. When i started i would be lucky to reach 300/400 meters but have gradually stretched my distance, The weather has not been good here since the new year with heavy rain and very strong winds most days ,Last weekend i walked the canal tow path in the poring rain for 8kms my small dog Nuby was not impressed to be getting another bath when we arrived home covered in mud (both of us) , Today we walked in good sunshine part of Saint Kevins Way over the Wicklow mountains that are about 20km from my home this is also a very old pilgrimage route to the mountain retreat of Glendalough
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Glendalough Monastic.html
The way is also marked by sign and posts with a small yellow pilgrim with staff and a yellow arrow with a cross insert, As the walk is over mountain terrain up hill and down i had a friend who lives near by arranged to collect us (the dog and I ) at the end of one of the stages i guess about 4.5kms when i went to make the return phone call to be collected there was no phone reception so we started back up the hill untill such time i would get to make the call, One step led to another and so on untill we arrived back at our starting point, I checked the distance on the view ranger phone app i down loaded after reading posts on the forum and it stated 11.3kms WOW i have never walked anything like that distance in my life it just goes to show St James can work his miracles ( he may have just blocked the phone reception) on any journey in order for us to reach Santiagio. Roll on next week
Buen Camino

We too will be on the camino this summer, starting just 3 days before you. Maybe we will meet you along the way Buen Camino

 

[Agnogel]

We too will be on the camino this summer, starting just 3 days before you. Maybe we will meet you along the way Buen Camino

Hi Maggy i went to book my flight for the 24th but it was sold out and the next one is the 27th, There will be no fear of me getting to Santiagio before you at the pace i walk i have allowed 40 days and have the option of extending it if need be as i have no return flight booked untill i see how i get on but strange thinks happen on the camino so i am told we may just cross paths indeed.

 

[stratophile]

Congrats on your training progress!

 

[Al the optimist]

Well done. You will find on your Camino that one foot in front of the other like you just did works well! You will also find that after a few days you will get your "Camino Legs" and what was a mountain to start with becomes a hill and the hills become inclines. Buen Camino.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hi Maggy i went to book my flight for the 24th but it was sold out and the next one is the 27th, There will be no fear of me getting to Santiagio before you at the pace i walk i have allowed 40 days and have the option of extending it if need be as i have no return flight booked untill i see how i get on but strange thinks happen on the camino so i am told we may just cross paths indeed.

Yes you will find that the first few days will take their toll. Start out with short days and increase as you get your Camino legs. Buen Camino!!

 

[AshaDasi]

Good evening fellow pilgrims
I have stated i will be walking the Camino Frances on the 27th of August this year flight is booked and so is the first stop in Orrison, I also stated in another tread that i am not a walker per say but i set myself a goal last November to walk the camino after getting the call 36 years ago when i was in Santiagio on a one day business trip. Its a long story but life just got in the way getting married, buying a home, and raising a family, Since November i have been mostly training with small walks around my home town to a distance of 4kms and the odd longish walk in the country at the weekends. When i started i would be lucky to reach 300/400 meters but have gradually stretched my distance, The weather has not been good here since the new year with heavy rain and very strong winds most days ,Last weekend i walked the canal tow path in the poring rain for 8kms my small dog Nuby was not impressed to be getting another bath when we arrived home covered in mud (both of us) , Today we walked in good sunshine part of Saint Kevins Way over the Wicklow mountains that are about 20km from my home this is also a very old pilgrimage route to the mountain retreat of Glendalough
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Glendalough Monastic.html
The way is also marked by sign and posts with a small yellow pilgrim with staff and a yellow arrow with a cross insert, As the walk is over mountain terrain up hill and down i had a friend who lives near by arranged to collect us (the dog and I ) at the end of one of the stages i guess about 4.5kms when i went to make the return phone call to be collected there was no phone reception so we started back up the hill untill such time i would get to make the call, One step led to another and so on untill we arrived back at our starting point, I checked the distance on the view ranger phone app i down loaded after reading posts on the forum and it stated 11.3kms WOW i have never walked anything like that distance in my life it just goes to show St James can work his miracles ( he may have just blocked the phone reception) on any journey in order for us to reach Santiagio. Roll on next week
Buen Camino

Well done with your training, and yes, I quite believe in miracles! If I walked 8oo kms last year, anyone can! I wasn't the fittest person, but like you I walked for three months before and it all prepares you. It's still difficult mind you, what with walking almost every day, but like Al and Mike say, the legs get used to it eventually. I love your photo! Good luck and buen camino! My hubby wants to do the camino this year, so we might see you along the way!

 

[jmcarp]

The key for me was not focusing on how far it is to Santiago, but rather how far it was to my planned stop for that day. In between, as I walked I focused on some landmark along the road or trail -- some as close as 100 or 200 meters -- and not on the 10, 15, or 20 km to the stop for the day. In other words, I just needed to get to that crossroads ahead, or that cluster of trees. Then I looked for the next landmark, and so on. That way I had a series of very doable goals and didn't get discouraged by the big picture. This works for training as well as for the Camino itself.
Buen Camino,
Jim

 

[Agnogel]

Hi Jim
You know i found my self doing just what you disscribe mostly on the return journey the start was a long incline to the top and the decent was shorter but on the return the decent became a good climb that i passed by focusing on the next tree or the brow of a hill etc etc and before i knew it we were over the worst but what threw me was the long walk back down the first hill i was amazed how far i walked up it with ease, I have tried to make the longish walks a different route every time and one i dont know what lies ahead just to keep it interesting.
Thank You and all the other members for posting there experiences.

 

[AnnieH61]

Buen Camino. You have a good attitude.
Annie

 

[cherrys]

Hi - nice to see a picture of the Irish countryside. I agree with the above comments about goals you can see (sometimes even the shadow cast by a small bush 20 feet up the path, other times the next village church spire peeking out over the hill) - always one foot in front of the other, and then you're there. Keep walking, and don't forget to put some time in on country roads like the one in your picture, because you will be walking on those hard surfaces quite a bit of the time, and I found those to be the most fatigue-inducing or hurtful to my legs and feet. By the way, we have done a lot of walking in West Cork as my father lived in Schull. I did the camino in his honor. Buen camino - Cherry

 

[Agnogel]

Another week has passed so that means i am a little closer to walking the camino in August.
In order to keep the weekend walks a little different i am trying a new venue every week. This week is the turn of Bray Head and the cliff walk along the coast to Graystones, http://www.wicklowwalks.com/bray-cliff-walk
The seaside town of Bray is about 40 miles from my home my self and my dog Nuby often take a ride out to here on our motorcycle in the summer months and sometimes we treat ourselves to the best fish and chips in the whole of Ireland sold at a little shop run by Mary most of her life located on the seafront. The walk up the mountain is quiet steep that goes through some scrub and small woodland , It has a large cross on the top and is a favorite climb by visitors to the town. On reaching the top it has fantastic views over the town and country side some say on a clear day you can see the coast of Wales in the UK, We met with another walker by the name of Eamon who hikes this coast often we got chatting and i told him of my planned walk on the camino while he has not walked it him self he knows of many members of his walking club who has, We walked the upper cliff route to just short of Graystones and returned on the lower cliff walk back to Bray with a distance of 10 kms, On the link posted above is the map of the walk on the lower side but you can see the higher trail that runs parallel along the cliff top. As i posted before i find the country side walks to be easy on the legs and knees compared to walking ashpelt and concrete, I will update my training as we go as it may help other members with there walks because believe me if i can do this any one can. The pic is the mountain from the sea front

 

[Agnogel]

The cross at the top

The view down along the beach and town

This one is the upper cliff walk you can just make out the trail in the distance

 

[Kanga]

Looks like a lovely part of the world.

 

[wayfarer]

Aaaah David you have brought me back, I lived in Bray for nearly twelve years in the 80's. It was a great place to live then, my wife loves the sea and I love the mountains so it was just perfect. Its a great place to train for the Camino as some of the local walks are similar to the toughest you will face . Enjoy you training and Buen Camino.

 

[Tigerandahalf]

Nice part of the world it seems. I live in the west of ireland now and it is a lovely place with lots of hikes and walks to do. We havent visited the east of the country much but will get there at some stage.