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Lessons learned

johnnyman

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
June/July 2011 and 2013
Finishing my first Camino today, and wanted to throw in my two cents worth of advice. If I had it to do all over again:

Train harder -- be able to walk at least 40 kilometers, several days in a row. This will translate to about 20-25 kilometers on the Camino. It´s not the distances you walk that makes it tough, it´s the time you spend walking, day after day, that takes its toll on the feet.

Take a break every two to three hours. Take off your shoes and socks. Massage your feet, let ém dry out and change your socks.

Don´t expect too much out of yourself. If you "only" walk 20 kilometers in a day, you´ve done great! It´s not an easy thing, and not everyone can walk 40 kilometers in a day.

Allow at least 5 weeks and maybe 6 to finish the entire Camino Frances, if you want to walk the entire distance. If you have to bus ahead to save some time and distance, ain´t no big deal ....
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
Insightful advice, but for me, there are not enough hours of daylight to cover 40 km! I am down to about 3 kph on the road with breaks, so I would need 13 hours. My legs are not capable of that amount of continuous movement. Eight hours has become my limit as I age, but training is probably the key to holding the line there. You have accomplished a lot, and have earned contentment.
 
I would like to mention that when training it is important to hike up hills to engage those upper leg muscles they are not much used when walking on flat terrain. Also to train in a mountainous/hilly area to give your feet an understanding of where to place your foot next. That can be mentally draining when you are not use to it. If you have no mountain or hill then go to the pool and put on some ankle weights and do a marching motion.

Walking with the backpack fully loaded is a great workout in itself.

Johnny - your blog touched my heart,
thank you
Gatineau Gypsy
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I just want to say that if I had to walk 40 kilometer,
someone would be carrying me the last 15 kilometers! :lol:

I did not train to that extent at all and I was fine.
I walked 7 to 10 miles here before I left for my trip.
I walked, on an average, of 25 k each day on the Camino, less in the beginning.
There's no way I would walk 30 k unless a wolf was chasing me!
Although training is a great concept, I'd venture to say most people don't train at all. :wink:
 
Yes, 25 kilometers a day on the Camino is excellent. I´m not sure exactly where I went wrong in the beginning, except maybe it was not taking breaks. And that damn Compeed backfired for me, big-time. I had a small blister on the ball of my left foot, stuck a Compeed on it like I thought I was supposed to, and it became a monster blister the exact size and shape of the Compeed. The next 10 days, I was in a lot of pain ...

Overall, though, my feet never really got used to the pounding, even though I took breaks, took off my shoes and socks, changed socks, etc. My longest day was 24 kilometers, and my feet were always kind of hurting. One of the best parts of the day was taking off my shoes and socks ...
 
Carole said:
...when training it is important to hike up hills to engage those upper leg muscles they are not much used when walking on flat terrain. Also to train in a mountainous/hilly area to give your feet an understanding of where to place your foot next.
Definitely true, and you should do so wearing your backpack a number of days before starting the Camino. Admittedly, it is not possible for many people to do this on a daily basis. In which case one should not plan to walk long distances on the Camino during the first 7 to 10 days. Certainly not 40 km, and probably more in the 20 to 25 km range. It's a pity if, because of exaggeration during the first few walking days, one's physical overestimation forces to terminate the adventure.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
living in the southern hemisphere
i had to train during my winter for a walk during spains summer
.
although not 100% simulating the real walking experience
i used the gyms treadmill and walked for many hours indoors when the weather was too bad to go out
i used the uphill setting to feel the inclines
.
i also spent time most days in the sauna, simulating spains 40deg C
not perfect, but it helped
 
Re: Lessons learned - on pre-training

I thought it had it all figured out. I trained many weeks before my actual Spain arrival. I trained with my backpack loaded with bottled water at full weight (20 lbs). I trained with my boots, my pack, my socks - - - downhill, uphill, flat, earthy roads, grass, mud.

What got to me on the Camino were the river banks, the uneven really rocky downhill paths... nothing prepared me for those! so even the best of plans can't always address everything!

This said, I am glad I trained as much as I did but that didn't mean I strolled through it all. I also had that wonderful "oh my, I don't think I can go another day" moments. Once at day 5 when I was so tired I fell asleep with one boot on, and after the O'Cebreiro climb! but 2 days out of 28 is a gift!

Train as much as you can,
and remember, as it has been said hundreds of time on this forum, IT WILL GET EASIER!
Aldy - missing the Camino lifestyle already!
 
In 2008 I had to give up the moment I'd hit my goal of completing the running total of 2000km on the Camino. (It was my 6th visit).
That was despite the fact I'd been in the gym.

In June 2009 I managed both legs of the Camino Inglés and the route to Muxia but I never got above 2km per hour. That was despite intense training at the gym.

In November 2009 having told me there was nothing wrong with my heart, a doctor told me he would like to do an angioplasty. There was nothing else he could think of.

Turns out I had silent angina and a closed artery.
In December 2009 they opened my blocked artery and put in three stents.

If I had not trained I would probably have had a heart attack on the Camino and that would have been that.

Training is a good idea.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I did the Camino Ingles last summer, and just finished again last week. The first time my training was scant and I had terrible foot and knee pain. I limped for two weeks after finishing. This year I trained on a regular basis as well as jogging for cardiovascular. The difference was night and day. I had no pain and generally walked much faster, averaging 4 km per hour regardless of terrain. Training made a HUGE difference for me.
 

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