Preparing for the Walk of a Lifetime...

At the time this post is published, I will be sitting in the airport in Toronto waiting for my flight to Spain, where I will begin the first leg of my hike. But, I didn't get here in a vacuum. There is a fair amount of planning and preparation that must be undertaken, if you want a fighting chance of completing this rather lengthy stroll through Spain...

In April of this year, I went for a sleep study that was necessary in order to acquire a new CPAP machine, which I have used for the last 15 years, to basically keep me alive while I sleep. I started with a weigh-in, and the number was not pretty. As the nurse continued to move the weight to the left (old school stand-up weight scale!), I watched the number settle in at 277, and an epiphany came to me- I was going to have to bring that number down in the near future, if I wanted to avoid, or at least push back, the inevitable decline of health that older generations suffer.

With this seed germinating in my mind, an offhand conversation I was involved in reminded me again of the Camino de Santiago, and I knew that this could be an opportunity to change my lifestyle to a healthier alternative. I know myself well enough to know that I am too comfortable in my environment, and the chances of me changing my routine without some major shakeup would be mediocre at best. So, when Andrea said that I was welcome to leave on my own for Spain, I jumped at the opportunity. Even at the beginning, when I wasn't certain that this trip would come to fruition, just the thought of the opportunity got me out walking.

Starting in mid-June, I began walking around a large farmer's field next to our cottage at Hillman Marsh. The rectangle covers a perimeter of approx. 6.3 km, and I walked it numerous times without issue, before starting to increase my distance. Early in July, I added a side road that brought the mileage up to 9 km, again with no issues (although the first couple of times I was happy to be done!). From there, I added the base walk and the longer walk together, gradually increasing my distance every week from 9km, to 11km, and then to 15km, including doing back to back days. And that's when a (not so) funny thing happened.

My feet started to hurt. Like, a lot! As I did more reading about hiking long distances, I started to experiment with different options, including wearing san merino wool socks, applying Vaseline to my feet before walking, adding a second layer by way of pairs of Andrea's nylon ankle stockings, wrapping my toes and heel with runners tape, and finally, going to see a podiatrist and ordering a pair of orthotic walking shoes. I have been told ever since I was a child that I had flat feet, or fallen arches... it turns out, I am bow-legged, and walk with a supination... who knew? While waiting for my shoes to arrive, I continued to increase my distances walked, as well as changing the location of my walks to Point Pelee National Park, where I was able to go from 18km, to 20, and then 22km, essentially mimicking to some degree a day on the camino, albeit with feet of agony! My first attempt with the new shoes saw me walk 15 kms before realizing that a thin insert in the bottom of the shoes was pushing my feet against the roof of the shoes, causing my big toes to turn purple with bruising, and large twoonie sized blisters to develop on the back of my heels. Once removed, I continued on for another 7 kms, and was alternately immediately relieved of the future destruction of my feet, while still enjoying the lingering discomforts of the damages sustained in the first 15km.

A highlight of my training, and the first time I felt with some confidence that I had a chance to complete this challenge was the first weekend of August, when I was able to walk 22km on back to back days. I have chosen to start my hike with my new orthotic shoes, san merino socks over nylon ankle stockings, and Vaseline on my toes and heels, all in an effort to protect against the dreaded blisters that come from walking great distances. Thankfully, there will be a number of larger centres that I pass through, so if I need to change my strategy, there will be pharmacies at fairly regular intervals. My biggest concern moving forward, is, moving forward... Specifically, I hope to heck that I have done enough walking to condition my feet to the pounding they are about to receive, and I have some serious concerns that there were not any hills to climb in Essex County that could prepare me for the mountains and cliffs I will encounter in Spain. Lets just hope that I can make molehills out of those mountains...

A couple of final thoughts as I wait for my puddle jumper... I will use the next post to show you all what I am carrying in my backpack. It is an interesting study, because you have to weigh what is necessary to have with you for a 40 day thru hike, against the actual weight of what you have to carry on your back for 40 days... And finally, while I am certain that the Spanish coastal route will be magnificent, I want to give a shout out to our own Point Pelee National Park, where I regularly saw beautiful butterflies, rare birds, rabbits and wonderful foliage throughout my training walks... sometimes the grass (and trees, and bushes) are just as green on our side!