Training for Camino Frances

[Nancy P.]

I am going to walk the Camino Frances beginning August 26th. I will have about 70 days to complete the hike to Santiago de Compostela then Finisterre and Muxia, so I don't have to do long days every day. I have been walking about 3 times a week (4-6) miles and sometimes one of those walks is (8 - 10) miles. I have done a couple of steep (almost 3000 ft in less than 4 miles) 7 mile hikes in the past month. Today I managed to do 12.5 miles (1600 ft elevation gain) with a pack that started out at 14 lbs and then drank the water on the way.
I really want to know what the best training schedule is for the Camino.
How many days a week should I be hiking? How long do my training hikes have to be? Do I have to train with the pack every time I hike? I don't want to burn myself out, but I want to be prepared.
Thanks so much for your opinions.

 

[mspath]

Nancy,

There are endless opinions by fellow pilgrims on how to train for the camino. Scan these earlier Forum threads to read their ideas and tips.

Nevertheless although training is most important nothing really prepares your body for the daily repeated routine of walking the camino week after week except walking daily with all your kit week after week. Be sure to train while wearing/carrying whatever you plan to take. Tried and true is better than new and never worn/used for all your camino gear.

Go easy. The most common injury is the result of trying to walk too far too quickly carrying too much!

Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[wayfarer]

Hi Nancy, what you are doing is just fine, you don't need to do any more training than that. With that ammount of walking you should have a good level of fitness for the Camino and you don't want to risk injury before you go. I have met plenty on the Camino who did not train and did just fine. I would only train with the pack until I was sure it was completely comfortable on me.
Have a great Camino.
Buen Camino.
Edit. As Margaret says above you will get endless opinions on this subject so just do what suits you best.

 

[Caminojane]

I think you are doing brilliantly! My sister and I walked the Camino Frances last year in May. We took almost 60 days and did it all in fairly short stages. We did some local training walks and one long 6 day walk three weeks before leaving wearing full packs for four days. This walk taught us we needed to do the short stages. Looking after feet and not marching without rest on the Meseta are the two biggest tips for success that I can give. My sister and I were in our 60's, not especially fit and we did it. Good luck and Buen Camino!

 

[dougfitz]

There are some great suggestions here. You are not only training and hardening your body, your training should also be preparing you mentally. You don't have to walk long distances each day, but getting out early and doing an hour's walk disciplines your mind to getting started as you will every day on your camino.

It looks like you are currently doing about 20km as your longest walk, and getting some elevation gain into your pattern. I try to build up to the point where one of my weekend walks is around the distance of the longest distance I will do in the first week or so. If you plan to walk from SJPP to Roncesvelles in one day, you probably want to add a few km a week to your longer walk until you go, till you get to around 30km (18mi) about once a week.

Personally, I aim to walk every day. On weekdays for about hour in the morning, and then on weekends I do my longer walks. Its okay to have a rest day, but I normally do that with a shorter walk rather than no walk. I don't think its necessary to be attempting the longer distances every day - you will do that soon enough when you are on the camino.

My last thought on this is that if you do have problems, don't ignore them. Rest might be needed, or you may need to seek medical advice.

 

[wayfarer]

There are some great suggestions here. You are not only training and hardening your body, your training should also be preparing you mentally. You don't have to walk long distances each day, but getting out early and doing an hour's walk disciplines your mind to getting started as you will every day on your camino.

It looks like you are currently doing about 20km as your longest walk, and getting some elevation gain into your pattern. I try to build up to the point where one of my weekend walks is around the distance of the longest distance I will do in the first week or so. If you plan to walk from SJPP to Roncesvelles in one day, you probably want to add a few km a week to your longer walk until you go, till you get to around 30km (18mi) about once a week.

Personally, I aim to walk every day. On weekdays for about hour in the morning, and then on weekends I do my longer walks. Its okay to have a rest day, but I normally do that with a shorter walk rather than no walk. I don't think its necessary to be attempting the longer distances every day - you will do that soon enough when you are on the camino.

My last thought on this is that if you do have problems, don't ignore them. Rest might be needed, or you may need to seek medical advice.

I would agree with you Doug, you walking schedule is pretty much the same as my own and this stood me in good stead for my first Camino and indeed walking locally. I only carried my full pack for a two hour walk before I left for the first Camino and this sorted out weight distribution, straps etc, I also got used to my new walking poles on this walk, I didn't bother doing a pack walk for the second Camino as it was a short one from Sarria. We are capable of much more than we realise IMO so over training is not necessary.

 

[koilife]

Nancy, it sounds like you have a sensible approach, mixing altitudes and distances and carrying your pack. Walking mechanics are different with the pack than without it, and it's important to acclimate your body if you don't regularly walk around with an extra 14 pounds throwing off your center of gravity, stressing tendons and muscles in a different way, etc.

You are not only training and hardening your body, your training should also be preparing you mentally. You don't have to walk long distances each day, but getting out early and doing an hour's walk disciplines your mind to getting started as you will every day on your camino. . . . Personally, I aim to walk every day.

I agree with Doug and Margaret Meredith. The key <my opinion> is to build a solid base with daily walking of shorter distances rather than a long distance day followed by one or two rest days. You'll be walking on the Camino daily, which means walking through the previous day's impact. Once the body and mind get into a daily sync of recovery and walking, I think its easier and faster to increase the size of your base.

Because I hadn't trained for day after day, by the third day my legs were screaming at me. My body and mind were used to a rest day (or several) after each big walk. I cooked my own meal than night, which included about 24 oz. of chicken; while that may sound obscene, my body was ravenous for protein, and it did jump start and accelerate the muscle repair process. By two weeks in, I had largely adapted to the "daily grind" but it sure would have been easier if I had already had the base in the first place and only needed to grow the daily distance.

I try to build up to the point where one of my weekend walks is around the distance of the longest distance I will do in the first week or so. If you plan to walk from SJPP to Roncesvelles in one day, you probably want to add a few km a week to your longer walk until you go, till you get to around 30km (18mi) about once a week.

I made the mistake of training more for intensity than for endurance and distance. My intensity training (weekend up/downs in the Colorado foothills) stood me in good stead up through and past Orisson, but I ran out of energy because I hadn't factored in the sheer length of that day. I had wrongly trained for a sprint than for a marathon, and the impact of that multiplied itself in the following days because my body wasn't conditioned to daily walking. That being said, my body did adapt, and I made concessions for the body with extra protein and a relaxed pace, and I finished the Camino with roughly 20 mile days that final week and 27 miles on the last day in to Santiago (and I had oodles and oodles of energy left over).

I think the fact that you have 70 days is a huge benefit for the early stages. You might consider stopping at Orisson (or Valcarlos) rather than going all the way to Roncesvalles in the first day. Then, go from Roncesvalles to Viskarret, then from there to Zubiri, then to Arre. This gets you to Pamplona in roughly six days instead of the usual three. It also allows you to see more of these early stages, explore more during the day, etc.

 

[manfromdelmonte]

Get out and walk, a lot. Build up to 10km and over a day. Put a few days walks in a row.
When you are used of that, add weight.

 

[cherrys]

I am going to walk the Camino Frances beginning August 26th. I will have about 70 days to complete the hike to Santiago de Compostela then Finisterre and Muxia, so I don't have to do long days every day. I have been walking about 3 times a week (4-6) miles and sometimes one of those walks is (8 - 10) miles. I have done a couple of steep (almost 3000 ft in less than 4 miles) 7 mile hikes in the past month. Today I managed to do 12.5 miles (1600 ft elevation gain) with a pack that started out at 14 lbs and then drank the water on the way.
I really want to know what the best training schedule is for the Camino.
How many days a week should I be hiking? How long do my training hikes have to be? Do I have to train with the pack every time I hike? I don't want to burn myself out, but I want to be prepared.
Thanks so much for your opinions.

Hi - the only thing I would add to all the great advice here is that if you're planning to use hiking poles, add them into the mix as well, as especially going downhill they can be of much help in improving your balance and saving wear and tear on your knees.

 

[november_moon]

We leave for the Camino in under 2 weeks, so our training regimen is basically done - Sunday was our last hike and due to my travel schedule between now and when we leave, and we may or may not get in any more long walks. We have been walking and hiking as much as we can in addition to regular workouts - cardio, strength training, core. Of course finding the time to hike and take long walks can be a challenge when you are also trying to live the other parts of your life, so we do what we can. We haven't trained as much as I had hoped, but I think we have done a decent job.

Over the last several months, we have been doing 3-4 long walks and 2 hikes per month - making an attempt to do walks and/or hikes on subsequent days sometimes to condition our bodies to that. When we walk, we don't take our packs, but walk fast to make it more strenuous and most of our walking routes include hills. The decision not to take packs is to avoid questions and hassles when walking in an urban environment. When we hike, we take our packs and our poles. We have been walking and hiking between 30-70 km per month. Our longest walk has been about 15.5 km and our longest hike about 20 km. For my regular non-walking/hiking workouts, I generally get up about 5:30 and do those, so I don't think getting up early and walking will be an issue for me. It may be for my husband, but he says he will just rely on his Army training to be up and moving at a moment's notice - LOL.

Regarding gear, we have been hiking with the clothes, shoes, and socks that we are taking with us, so we know it all works well.

So that's about it. We've done what we can and now it is just a matter of getting there and having faith that we can indeed walk this far.

 

[tploomis]

I am going to walk the Camino Frances beginning August 26th. I will have about 70 days to complete the hike to Santiago de Compostela then Finisterre and Muxia, so I don't have to do long days every day. I have been walking about 3 times a week (4-6) miles and sometimes one of those walks is (8 - 10) miles. I have done a couple of steep (almost 3000 ft in less than 4 miles) 7 mile hikes in the past month. Today I managed to do 12.5 miles (1600 ft elevation gain) with a pack that started out at 14 lbs and then drank the water on the way.
I really want to know what the best training schedule is for the Camino.
How many days a week should I be hiking? How long do my training hikes have to be? Do I have to train with the pack every time I hike? I don't want to burn myself out, but I want to be prepared.
Thanks so much for your opinions.

First, I don't know what I'm talking about, but, if I were doing what you are doing in training just prior to starting, I would be quite pleased with my fitness level. You are still three and a half months out, so I think burnout is a concern. I would not intensify training -- you don't want an injury before you go. You know you can do a 12.5 mile walk with pack, so I would not do that again. I would just try to maintain my level of fitness for the next three months with shorter walks, occasionally walking on successive days, so your body doesn't start assuming that there will be longer breaks after each exertion.

I'm walking across England, starting about the same time, and you are ahead of me in training. No early peaking for me!

 

[november_moon]

One thing that I have noticed with my training is that my feet seem to be becoming well-conditioned to the walking. I have fewer blisters and my feet are not nearly as sore as they were in the beginning after a long walk or hike. In addition to my increased fitness, I definitely thing that all the walking will definitely pay off with regard to more comfortable feet along the way.