Nervous!/Excited! ...Help!

[petro]

Hi Everybody,

My name is Petro, I am from South Africa and I am leaving for Spain tomorrow. It is 5 o'clock in the morning and I have been up for an hour. Can't sleep. I am thinking about the million things I still have to do and hope that I will be able to attend to all of them.

I have walked the Camino Frances three years ago so I know what to expect (maybe that's why I am so nervous!). I feel unprepared and not organised at all. Because of work pressure I have not been able to train as I should or focus on the walk as I would have liked to. I am hoping that in expressing all my fears and concerns that I will be able to relax. I try to think of how much I enjoyed the walk in 2008, the beautiful scenery, wonderful people I met, the peace I experienced on the walk but instead the fact that I am three years older now (I will turn 59 on the walk) and haven't trained much chase all those lovely thoughts away.

OK, I wll try to calm down, stop running around in circles like a beheaded chicken and try to accomplish one thing at a time.

Thank you all forum members for this oppurtunity to air all my fears and also for all your wonderful posts that I have been avidly following every day.

SJPP here I come! Wish me luck!

Petro

 

[nellpilgrim]

Hi Pedro,
Wishing you luck by the bucket. Have a joyous Camino.
Nell

 

[wilkinsonsworld]

Hi Petro

From a fellow South African who is doing the Camino in September/October, I wish you a wonderful blessed walk. Don't panic - just relax and enjoy it.

Via con dios!

Jane

 

[vandrefalk]

Good luck with your Camino Petro, it sounds like it is just what you need. God bless.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

As one who has not trained for a couple of walks, I suggest you look at the basics. If you decided to go to the gym to begin an exercise regime, you would not begin with two hours on the bicep machine, right? You would build gradually. If you are faced with starting your training as you start your Camino, or nearly so, then spend the first two weeks building. Abandon the thoughts of what you were able to do on your last pilgrimage, particularly the full days toward the end. If you allow yourself to be guided by ambition and competition, you could be setting yourself up for injury or failure. Ten kilometers, 6 miles, would not be a bad first day with a pack that will make you 10 kg heavier than your weight while training. A second similar day might actually leave you quite sore and exhausted. A rest day might feel pretty good at that point. After some recovery, you might push on to 15 km, knowing you could do it, but that it probably will leave your leg muscles shaky. After two weeks, you should find that you are capable of the 20 to 25 km days of your last walk.

Beware of the repetitive stress injury. As you tire and begin to stagger a little bit, your walking mechanics may change, perhaps only subtly -- toes slightly in or out; striking the heel more strongly; favoring a knee. It won't take much distance with the new angles of stress to injure a muscle or connective tissue. Shorter daily distances and a recuperation days allow you to recover before you reach the injury point.

Know your limits, take it easy, and have fun!

 

[fynbos s.a]

Hi Petro
Wishing you a great Camino.I have a week to go before i leave for Spain.Starting my first on 22May from Leon.It looks like a lot of us South Africans are doing the Camino this year.
Greetings to all doing the Camino from a cold Cape Town.

 

[Anniesantiago]

It's just like riding a bicycle... you will remember the minute your feet hit the Camino.

Have a wonderful time!
Keep us posted,
Annie

 

[jpflavin1]

Petro:

The Camino will take care of you. The best advice I ever received was poco poco.

Ultreya
Joe

 

[petro]

Hi all,

Thank you for all your kind replies.

I have calmed down, breathing normally again as everything is starting to fall into place. Got my pack down to 6,5kg (after some brutal cutting down) and now I am happy excited. I am staying over in Orisson so hopefully that will make the first day a bit easier , after that I will just have to play it by ear. I know that the camino is not a race and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

Looking forward to meet some forum members on the way.

God bless

Petro

 

[ksam]

Good Morning!

Hey Petro...Maybe I'll see you on the road! I'm off to Madrid this afternoon! Buen Camino, Karin