Training in winter

[revrenjen]

The subtitle of this post should be "I may live in Nebraska but I am still a wimp." I plan on walking the Camino Frances next May & June, which means I will need to train in the winter. I spend winters in Nebraska sprinting from car to building bundled from head to toe, not walking miles outside.

I'm a reasonably fit 59 year old, but still, I'm 59. I really feel the need to train, especially for endurance. And while April may be lovely in Nebraska (or hideous, who knows), I'm a local church pastor, which means serious training in the weeks leading up to Easter (April 24 next year) will be impractical.

I work out regularly at the Y, but the idea of trudging for hours on the treadmill makes my eyes cross. Beyond dressing in layers, any tips for winter training?

Also, any suggestions about the best way to train with your pack. When to add it to your walks, how much weight, etc.

I have learned so incredibly much from this community--thanks in advance for your always wise advice.

Rene

 

[CaminoGen]

Hello revrenjen,

It seems we are in the same situation as I will be walking the Camino Frances at the same time (plan to start walking from SJPP May 16). Québec winter is also quite harsh but since I live in the city, I plan to continue walking to and from work (12 km) at least twice a week as long as the sidewalks are cleared of snow and do the weekly walks organized by our Association. I will also add 1 or 2 days at the gym for some light weight training, swimming laps for cardio and some threadmill even if that prospect doesn't exactly thrill me. Since I hate winter and don't do any winter sports, I guess I'll have to make the sacrifice.

Hope to see you on the road,

Geneviève

 

[ksam]

Well, expert at anything no...but we did the Camino Portuguese in '08! I found that layered up walking outside was great. It's when you stop that you freeze. Except for the treadmill, don't know what to tell you. Except maybe trying to get others to walk with you. When it's social, the miles fly by.

In our small group, I was the only one to always wear my pack and to add weight to it. I was also the only one with only one teeny little blister Other than that my feet were good. SO ... I'd say, use your pack and do what I did. Stand at the pantry and just chuck in stuff! :shock: I would grab canned goods as they were heavier and each week a few more cans. If we'd ever gotten really stuck...I had enough food for several meals. The think we laughed at the most was the large can of candied yams! Funny at the time but my legs and feet were happy of it later.

There are also..snow shoes??? Tried em last year and I'm in love. Just a suggestion! :roll:

happy training, Karin

 

[Chignecto]

I am also planning to walk the Camino Frances starting at St Jean in May and June next year. The winters here in New Brunswick are like Nebraska long, cold and snowy. I am planning to go to the Y regularly, cross country ski, and walk as much as possible. I consulted a trainer who has helped me develope a an exercise and weight program to help me get ready. I have been following this forum for months as I thought about doing this pilgrimmage and this is my first post. Thanks to everyone who has posted information on this site which has helped convince me to do this pilgrimmage.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Training for my first camino hike involved keeping fit through a Lake Erie winter. I went to the Y every other day and alternated hour-long cardio stints on the elliptical (stair-climber) machine, the Nordic-Trak, and the rowing machine... gotta keep that upper body toned too! Repetitive cardio exercise can be very meditative. Use it as an opportunity for contemplative prayer!

You can start with the backpack once the weather breaks, and carry your books/water/lunch in there on the way to work and then home again. WALK A LOT. Borrow the neighbor´s dog, he´ll love it! (so will the dog.) Walk to work, walk up the stairs when you come to a tall building. And when the camino comes along, your boots and pack will be broken in, your body will be good to go, and you´ll come out of the long winter all svelte and fit.

 

[lynnejohn]

Just another way to train:
I take my empty pack to the grocery store and buy a week's worth of groceries. Then I take the Loooooong way ~ 15 km home. It's pretty genuine and informs me that I'm a Loooooong way from being fit for the camino.

Humbling, really humbling.

lynne

 

[skilsaw]

I'm all for training. Did the most for my first Camino, and it really paid off.

Put variety in your training like Rebekah did.
Get outside for some of it. I snowshoed on some Saturdays the winter before my camino and really enjoyed the experience. Snowshoeing was a really positive addition of variety to my routine and having to lift your feet made it a real workout.

I walked to and from work. Forty five minutes each way. I bet you need your car during the day for your work. Leave it at work so you can walk back and forth from Monday morning to Friday evening.

Good Luck!
David, Victoria, Canada.

 

[hel&scott]

[quote="ksam"layered up walking outside was great. It's when you stop that you freeze.[/quote]

Yup but the real problem is getting the stuff dry when you are on the move... especially when its cold and the refuges don't have drying facilities... any suggestions?

 

[Debinq]

hello - sounds to me that Lynne has the right idea - but instead of walking to the market with an empty pack, perhaps gradually fill up/bulk out pack in 1 or 2 kg increments (empty 1 or 2 l. plastic milk bottles filled with water are good) i.e gradually add to the pack's weight out - and dispose of the water and in recycle bin the plastic bottles when filling pack up with groceries for homebound trip! start out with 2 kg (2 l bottle) and be carrying 4x as many out 5-6 weeks later - keep doing that for 2 months, should see you zooming along at a great rate of knots

happy trails

Peter

 

[Debinq]

ps

and errr - crank up the frequency of trip to the market - twice (later thrice) per week - help a neighbour with their shopping!

P

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Yup but the real problem is getting the stuff dry when you are on the move... especially when its cold and the refuges don't have drying facilities... any suggestions?

I did what I do at home in KiwiLand. I have a completely- hopefully- dry change of clothes in my pack that I put on when I reach the gîte/albergue. If the 'wet stuff' hasn't dried by morning, I put it on damp and start walking as fast as I can! I did see some clever ways people tried to dry out wet clothing though- one couple stretched their walking poles between two bunks and dried their gear hanging on those. And some people had string that they strung up around their own (bottom) bunk to hang things on.
Margaret

 

[nellpilgrim]

"Yup but the real problem is getting the stuff dry when you are on the move... especially when its cold and the refuges don't have drying facilities... any suggestions?"[/quote]

Elasticated two ply travel washing line. This allows you to securely 'thread' items on the line without pegs and hooks at each end can be hooked around bunk bed posts, the handles on doors or windows etc (be careful not to do this across any access routes though :shock: ). Also useful to secure rain cover on pack in gales and to bundle up sleeping bag when outer bag lost. We found this to be our most useful gadget. My line is now a three times Camino veteran so its lasting well and only cost about three euro...I wouldn't be without it
Nell

 

[Kitsambler]

Back on the topic of training in winter:
It might help to break down your training objectives, and try to meet them somewhat independently when weather doesn't allow you to address them all at once.

1) Strengthen the trunk (back and abs) - Wear the pack with 20 lb as you do household chores. Add strengthening exercises in these zones to your routine.

2) Harden the feet - Modify your desk so you work standing up. Stand up when you're on the phone. (This won't work for committee meetings or parishioner interviews).

3) Build cardio stamina - walk, swim, cross-country ski, or that treadmill.

And whatever level of training you are able to achieve, it will be enough. Just adjust your daily distances (you're going to be "walking yourself into shape? the first ten days regardless).

 

[daesdaemar]

This probably won't help anyone in this thread, but just as a contrast, I live in sunny and warm southern Florida and will spend my winter training by jogging up and down our local bridges. They are the only non "pancake-flat" terrain within two hundred miles of where I live.

 

[peregrina2000]

I think there's a lot of good advice here, and I'll just throw in my own experience. I did my first camino at the age of 50, in 2000. I live in very flat territory and the only elevation I could find was one 12 mile loop with a few hills about 30 miles away. Other than that, it was just flat flat flat. I walked with a pack for 12-15 miles once or twice a week during the springtime only, sometimes on those hills, but usually on pavement through a forest preserve.

What I found on my first Camino was that I met no European (and that was the bulk of who I met back in 2000) who had done any similar training. True, there were those wiry types who can leap tall mountains in a single bound and who regularly walked 40+ km a day, but for the most part the others I met had done very little, if anything, outside their normal routines to prepare. Granted, their normal routines included a whole lot more walking than mine, but I was surprised by that.

Since that camino, I've walked every year and I have pretty much given up on pre-camino training with no ill effects. I maintain a fairly high level of daily exercise, one hour a day on an elliptical at a decently high level, a few weight machines afterwards, but that's it.

So this is a long way of saying that in my experience, if you have decent cardio strength from any kind of workout, be it elliptical, treadmill (NOT four hours a day, though ) and if you can do a decent distance comfortably with your pack on (I like lots of these suggestions about loading up the pack and walking, expecially because I think one common problem is that packs just don't fit right and that is a problem that is easily detected before departure with some long walks), you will probably be fine. This is not mountain hiking, there are very few hugely steep days. I think the biggest problem you are likely to find is how to prepare for the daily beating the feet will take. There is a fair amount of asphalt walking on the Camino Frances and that takes its toll. And I don't know how you can prepare for that. I've taken to daily icing for 10-15 minutes after each etapa, but that's another topic. Good luck with this, buen camino, Laurie

 

[sillydoll]

If you have a large shopping mall anywhere near you do some early morning Mall walking before the shoppers arive.
Our Mall has three levels, and an open roof, each floor being about 500m long, the roof's circumference about 1km and there are staircases, escalators and elevators in between.
Use the stairs. Walk the length of one floor, take the stairs up and walk to the other end of that floor, take the stairs up, and again; repeat it walking down on the other side. If the weather isn't too foul, walk around the circumference of the roof. You'll get a fair amount of training, especially if you carry your backpack as well.
And, you might find a juice bar or coffee bar open early!

 

[jeff001]

I agree with Laurie. This is not some kind of marathon where you can't take frequent rest breaks or a mountain trek where you will be climbing and descending 1500m every day. More important than the physical training might be a weight loss program. Extra pounds around your waist are the same as those in your pack and keeping both to a minimum will mean less stress on your knees, ankles and feet and problems with these is a much bigger problem than sore muscles.

 

[ranthr]

Hi!
I live in Norway and have started two caminoes end of april , the camino Frances,and one middle of August , from Le puy to Santiago. If you do some trips outdoors through the years, I do not see why you need some special exersize. I usually have an one hours or two walking every day without a backpack and I have never trained before a camino other than trying out which shoes to choose.
If you need to train in winter use walking poles and a backpack and walk along the road or go skiing if you have the opportunity. I am 62 and not very well trained and my caminos in 2005, 2007 and 2009 was not a problem.
Ranthr

 

[Rebekah Scott]

So much wisdom here!

Having detailed my Lake Erie Winter routine, I gotta echo Jeff above. I did that Lake Erie biz preparing for a 2001 camino, and that is ancient history. Nowadays, when I see exercise machines I shoot to kill!
I did a full Roncesvalles-Santiago 2010 camino with almost NO previous training compared to 2001... but I was in much better physical shape in general, a good 12 kilos lighter and overall much more healthy, having escaped the North American fat/stress diet four years previous. My body was nine years older, but the second camino, (aside from a nasty case of dysentery) was MUCH easier physically, even though I took a tougher route this time.

So much depends on what shape you are in, starting out. Listen to your gut. If you want an acid test, simply put on your backpack early Saturday morning with 6 kilos of weight in it. Walk 20 kilometers of whatever terrain you´ve got. Plan from there.

In any case, Just Do It. If the Camino wants you, you´re going.

Reb.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

one thing to note as well: You can be Olympically fit going in, but at some point the Camino is going to Kick Your Butt. Or maybe just break your heart.

It´s going to happen. Not much advertised, but true. Just so you know.

 

[revrenjen]

Wow--thanks for all the great advice. Unfortunately, neither Omaha nor my work are walking-friendly. Some of the advice I've thought of (extending & intensifying my regular workout at the Y) & some of them I would never have thought of (wearing my backpack while doing housework--great idea!) I hope I will indeed meet up with those of you who are also walking in May & June. What a great community!

 

[Nandy61]

The last posts are spot on. The most important things are to break in your shoes and keep your weight in your pack down. Since returning from my camino this year I have been continuing to walk with my pack (loaded with 3 of my kids old algebra books!) and my poles, just as I did to train before my June departure. I also used to use the old-fashion stair master at the gym a couple of times a week. I'd get on it for about an hour with my pack loaded up with 25 pounds of weight. I'd be a pool of sweat at the end of it, and I felt like I could conquer just about anything. I also biked to work every day- about 11 miles RT. But the reality is that nothing can really train you for walking 6+ hours/15+miles per day. It all came down to my feet/shoes (fine for the most part) and the weight of my pack. (overloaded!) Just take it easy the first 3-5 days on your trek, and you will find that the Camino will train you.