A September plan

[maggee]

Hi I have just found this site and love the advice and information contained here. I intend to do this pilgrimage in September and am now working out a fitness plan in preparation. Any suggestions about fitness routines and especially nutrition info? also I will be travelling alone. I just turned 60, am healthy and active , but have never done anything like this before - a little nervous about this and my kids think I am a bit nuts too I think! Maggee

[Anne Goodman]

Hi I have just found this site and love the advice and information contained here. I intend to do this pilgrimage in September and am now working out a fitness plan in preparation. Any suggestions about fitness routines and especially nutrition info? also I will be travelling alone. I just turned 60, am healthy and active , but have never done anything like this before - a little nervous about this and my kids think I am a bit nuts too I think! Maggee

Please let me know if you get any good tips. I too am doing it in September and will have turned 60. My plan is to walk as much as possible between now and then, including lots of hill walks. Luckily I live in Wellington NZ where there are plenty of hills. That was my strategy for the Oxfam 100km walk and it worked (twice).
All the best
Anne

[Leslie]

Look after yourself, never push yourself too much - that leads to trouble.

I met a woman who was walking back from Santiago to Paris. Every year since she retired she walked 2000km. Her advice - keep the weight of the pack as low as possible and walk gently.

My advice - walk often and at the weekends if you can have a walk of 20km or more. Eat well, fruits and good protein. Have comfortable boots.

You will meet many of similar ages on the Camino. The camino is a special place to be.

[maggee]

Appreciate the quick response to my request. Good advice and I will keep watching this interesting site.

Maggee

[Storme Van Rassel]

Maggee! I am 59 and will be 60 also by the time I take my first step on the way next spring. Where abouts in Canada are you? I am in Northern Ontario just outside of North Bay. I would love to learn also about training plans and anything else that might be of help to a first timer. Yup, my kids think the same too!

[rita]

I am also going in Sept. I am 61yrs old, and going with my two cousins, also 61 and 64. This is all new to us as well. Trying to get as much information as we can. Seems like having good boots with gortex lining is the most important thing, as well as keeping your back pack as light as possible. We are from Timmins, and Smiths Falls, Ont. and one in BC. Will keep checking for tips and guidance for the trip.

[Douglas]

I walked last Sep. I'm 59, with serious health issues, but found it no problem. I'll emphasise what you've heard already- take a very light pack - try to do without just about everything.

After that, it's foot care. Keep 'em dry, and see my other posts about blister prevention with duct tape.

I think keeping pack weight low is much more important than diet and exercise - it's too short a project for those to matter. Be very, very ruthless, and get that pack weight down as far below 10kg as you can. I met a Belgian lady who didn't even carry a sleeping bag - she only used the hostels that gave blankets.

[rita]

Douglas, can you tell me how you use duct tape to prevent blisters.

[Douglas]

Apply the tape every day over the hard skin areas of your foot (the bits that touch the ground when you walk barefoot) before you start walking. It works because it is highly adhesive so it won't work off over a normal day's walking, and it's shiny on the outside so your socks can't catch it and work it off.

You'd get the same effect with a product like Compeed, but it's way too expensive - duct tape is cheap. Try a few patches on your feet before you go to make sure you don't get an allergic reaction.

One walker I advised to do this had his tape confiscated by airport security, so put it in the baggage you check through, not in your hand baggage.

I attach a photo of duct tape on my foot, the day I set out from home for Santiago. It takes about a thousand miles of walking before you can do without it, so you'll need it all the way. Duct tape is worth carrying anyway as it has so many uses.

If you meet someone who has blisters (you yourself won't have any!) duct tape applied over the area can make them much more comfortable, but make sure that there is some sort of pad over the blister before applying the tape. The tape is so adhesive that it will pull off the skin when removed if you don't do this.

Also, wear two pairs of socks: a thin wicking undersock and a normal walking sock over it. Keep your feet dry - stop and change at once if you get them wet.

Shower at night, never in the morning - water softens your feet and makes blisters more likely.

Ultreia!

d.

[joy]

Hi There All
I will be walking from St Jean Pied de Port on 8th september. I did the same route 2 years ago but this time will be going slower as have 2 months in which to reach Santiago and then on to Finisterre.
I am happy to see that the weather is cooler this year. i have been in spain for the past 2 months.In 2006 I crossed the Pyrenees on my first day in a 38 deg heat wave. Awful blisters as a result for a week.
Have taken the duck tape advice! Thanks!
i am from Cape Town. Hope to meet up with some of you.
Buen camino.
Joy

[Douglas]

Have a lovely walk. I'll be in Barcelona at the start of September and will probably head over to Pamplona about the 1st or 2nd. Will be with my partner and hope to talk her into a wee stroll out through Puente and maybe a bit further.

Make sure you're not allergic to duct tape before you go, and learn from 'Bunion' (see other posts) and don't try to carry it in your hand baggage in case it gets confiscated by security.

[walkmag]

Hi Maggee
I am day dreaming constantly about doing the full camino in Sept 2009 .
I am closer to 60 than 50
so will be interested in any comments you have time to add.

A few years ago I did a group trip from Leon to Santiago. and have been slightly obsessed since


good Luck from a Fellow Maggie

[karenleeg]

Hi there Everyone,
I too am heading off in September - hopefully the 4th - and am walking every day now, trying to build up some endurance. i keep reading that this is not a sprint which is a good thing! I am 59, from Canada also and my family also thinks I have totally lost it this time. However, as long as I can put one foot in from of the other and my knee cooperates, I will keep on looking for challenges for myself! It is so much fun to meet people of all walks of life, who can teach you so much about yourself, life and duct tape!
Karen-Lee