Getting Into Shape

During our search for the perfect Camino packing list we came across many blogs that talk about preparing for the Camino. We figure that yes, it makes sense to do some walking and actually getting the body accustomed to surviving the whole 800km walk in 35-40 days.

But somehow life and business commitments always got in the way. We walked a lot during the nine months in South America. But since we hit European shores in early May we got slack (and fatter, thanks to the fine Swiss foods, Italian wines + French wines and the foods we’ve been eating here).

Now we’re literally one month away from starting the Camino. So this is our last chance to get some training before the REAL thing goes down.

This could be interesting!

1st training walk — 7. July 2015

getting into shape for the caminoIt’s 5am and John’s phone alarm is unpleasantly waking me from a deep sleep. I really hate alarms! Today is the day. We’re off to do our first Camino training walk — a leisurely 10km into Pellegrue and back. Leisurely my ass!

It feels too hard to even get out of bed. So I lay there, pondering whether I should bother or not. I choose to roll over and fall asleep again.

“Darling, wakey wakey!” John plants a kiss on my cheek to wake me up one hour later, with a lovely cup of herbal tea.

(UGH! Leave me alone. I want to SLEEP!)

I spend the next 10 minutes in that blissful state of being half asleep and hardly awake, but then my conscience is screaming, “Get up! John is waiting for you (hullo). You DID plan this walk. So don’t chicken out on him before you even get started. Remember, it’s for the Camino.”

Oh yeah! My mind is immediately filled with images of us walking 20+kms a day, the fittest we’ve ever been, effortlessly clocking the mileage with our backpacks and walking poles. I “see” myself looking sexy and trim, no longer sporting a muffin roll and chunky thighs. Yep. That thought inspires me to jump out of bed and get my ass into gear.

After quick breakfast of fromage blanc with banana and maple syrup we head out the door at 7.20am (hey, we’re only 2 hours behind schedule, it could be worse). Charlie the dog and the three cats have been fed and taken care of. We lock the kitty in the barn to stop her from following us and off we are.

Damn this is HARD! Are we there yet? Barely 500 m down the road and we both feel like we just want to turn back and snuggle up under the covers again.

We don’t.

~~~~~~~

It’s now 9am. We walk into Pellegrue, headed for the local coffee shop “Chez Mireille.” Coffee shop is probably not an accurate description, it’s more like a glorified bar, one of the typical French local haunts where men stop by for an early morning espresso and the ladies grab a quick chat with a friend.

But nonetheless, the espresso is good and cheap. Two cups of black nectar set us back a grand total of 2.20. Soon we’re off again, this time heading home.

~~~~~~~

We MADE it! It’s 10.20am and we arrive home happy, blister free and proud to have completed our first training walk. It took us 3 hours to walk 10km, including a 15-minute stop at Chez Mireille and a couple of small breaks to eat a banana and a snickers.

I’m happy to report, we managed to survive the erratic car manoeuvres of the French drivers that hurtle at breakneck speeds along the narrow lane ways that dot the region. Not getting killed is as much of an achievement as having finished our first training walk. Kudos to us. Here is to the next one.

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  1. Getting Into Shape – Part #2 | Entrepreneur's Odyssey - July 12, 2015

    […] beep, beep, beep… that damn alarm! I really want to stay in bed. Whoever came up with the idea of training for the Camino. ARGH! John doesn’t seem too keen to hop out of the warm bed either. He’s still snuggled up to […]

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