Getting back on track!

I have had my precious daughter, Paige, and two of her 3 boys here this week so changed where I walked so that I would not be gone so much. I can walk 2 hours in my neighborhood here in Rome and not double back at all. Plus, I can go up a 700 foot incline along the "power line." I have used this power line to train for hard treks for the past 20 years and it always works. My problem is that it only takes me 30 minutes to go up AND down and the first 2 days of this trip I will be walking 8 hours UP before I start down. This is not enough but it is the best I can do.

I am on my 7th books of personal accounts of the Camino and this one is the most real one I have read but I hope my trek will be better than his. This fellow, a German, was also alone but he stayed in the hostels instead of the hotels until he decided that never would he stay in the hostels.Too many people snoring! Too few showers and toilets. But heck, the hostels are practically free, all you do is pay for the food. He seemed to get lonely a lot. This kind of scares me. I am such a people person and a friend warmed me about being too friendly on the trail and after reading this book I have decided that I need to tone my personality down and be a little more aloof. I do not want to be misunderstood. I am also going to buy some mace to take with me. I have 35 more days to really get in shape and indend to do it! Maybe next week I can do a REALLY long walk of about 15 miles which is less than my average day I will have for 36 days.

Trying to get back on track!

Well, I did my long walk on Tuesday and did okay but it was so hot and that about finished me! I did my usual walk with my Tuesday walking buddies then went back up to the House of Dreams. I did not double back as I had thought I would as it was brutal in the heat. I did what had suggested and took and extra pair of shoes/socks in my pack and about 3 hours into the walk I sat, had a real Coke, peanut butter crackers and a little tub of applesauce, then changed my shoes/socks. That made a real difference. My socks were Icebreaker wool and I wear them summer/winter but they were soaked although it had wicked away from my feet. This is supposed to keep blisters away and I have to agree with it. When I am actually on the trip I plan to take 2 pair extra socks with me every day to swap out. It is blisters that cause people so much trouble on this trek. Have gone back to wearing my boots for practice and have put an MBT intersole in them for cushioning. Will walk with these today and see how they do with the extra intersole.

First Long walk since knee surgery

I am planning on doing a long walk tomorrow, 13 miles, by doing 2 6.5 miles back to back. The first one will be with my usual Tuesday walking group and when I finish that I plan to do it again. I am not going to mention doing it to my group of friends as they will worry about me being along. I'll finish our walk, let them leave, then repeat it. It won't be nearly as much fun the second time, I am sure, but I need to know where I really stand in my training. If I am dead tired near the end of the first walk I will shorten the second one by leaving my group early and going up to the House of Dreams. That will make me have 10 or 11 miles instead of 13 but that will be fine. In fact, that is what I should probable do.

Walking the power line

I had a great time walking this morning! Started at 8:00 as it was supposed to get to 100 today and walked the 5 miles in my neighborhood as well as up the infamous "power line" that goes up Mt. Alto. It is so steep that I have to shorten my hiking poles going up but lenghten them for the downhill. Spent 2 hours doing all of this and felt great! I wish that I could get my mind off of my knee though. It is like waiting for a tooth to hurt! You think it will and just want it to happen so you can get thrugh it but it did not! My daughter Paige told me today that a physical therapist friend of hers told her to tell me that I should not be doing so much walking on pavement now, or even trails but that I should go back and forth in deep water in a pool but I cannot make myself do that. She said that I would get as much exercise doing this as I would by the actual walking but I can't bring myself to just do that. I honestly don't see how I can build up to do 20 miles a day for 36 days by walking around in deep water. Wish I had someone to give me an opinion on that.

50 more days until I leave!

I am on a real countdown now! Got my Delta ticket last night, frequent flyer!, as well as my Iberia Air tickets to get me to the start and back to Madrid after the finish. Checked on my Delta itinerary this morning just to be sure they had not taken my free ticket away and it said "50 days until check in!"

I have a training schedule I am working on and feel that I will be fine. Maybe I am in denial but I really feel that I will be able to handle it. I better as it is too late to back out now as I have paid for the trip!

Getting up early tomorrow to walk about 4 miles in my neighborhood and then up the dreaded "power line" that goes up Mt. Alto. The up is hard but the down is harder-lots of little loose stones that threaten to make me fall. My hiking poles are invaluable. Going down I lenghten them and going up I shorten them. I try to put all of my weight on them going down so as take pressure off of my knees.

Hiking in Iceland

I got back on June 27th from my 12 days hiking in Iceland and I did fine. I did wear my knee brace on the advice of a doctor friend on the trip and it helps by reminding me that I do have a problem with my knee and need to watch where I put my foot. Have begun my training again but know that I need to do a couple of 15 + mile walks in the next 7 weeks but it is hard to do in Rome as it is so hot. I am in the mountains now but am afraid to get out in the woods for that long as we are having a real problem with the bears. Guess I will just have to do several of my usual 6 mile routes in Rome by doig them back to back. Hey, good idea Marie! If I can do my Berry route back to back, 13 miles, then I will be good as it is hot as hades so that balances out not going to 20 miles. Don't have the time this week as Paige and boys are coming on Tuesday but will do it beginning the 12th.