The Way

It’s kind of hard to really start preparing for something that is nearly 24 months out. I know that I’m not made of money and I’ll have to save before I start buying equipment. It would be nice to start seriously planning the trek - what routes we’ll take and our goal for every day - but with the way things may change before we leave, I don’t think that honestly setting that kind of thing in stone before February 2010 is reasonable. I do know that I can start to get in shape, so I’d like to address that.

12 months ago I was biking for an hour, 3 times a week and then doing an hour of weights. It’s not much, but it’s not nothing too. When fall came, so did bronchitis and colds and generally not wanting to get out of bed for anything. I lost a lot of muscle and put on even more weight while I was living on vitamin c popsicles. Since we came home from Japan in April, my life has been pretty hectic and I haven’t had a chance to settle down and join a gym. This has to change.

Could I, in my current condition, walk the camino? Probably. More than one friend has told me that tenacity is one of my major personality traits. Wee, I’m a cockroach. Should I walk the camino in this physical condition? Probably not. I’d finish it, but I’d be in a horrible state and probably not able to work for a few weeks when I came back. Doitforcharity.com comes to the rescue with a very managable 16 week preparation plan.

Week 1 - 6:
2 x 30mins walks.
1 x 2 hour walk. Full stretch after each walk.

Week 7 & 8:
Sat or Sun: 4 hour walk and stretch
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 9:
Sat AND Sun: 4 hour walk and stretch. (Back-to-back walks).
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 10 & 11:
Sat or Sun: 6 hour walk and stretch with backpack
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 4, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 4, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 12:
Sat AND Sun: 6 hour walk and stretch. (Back to back with backpack).
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 4, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 4, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 13 & 14:
Sat or Sun: 8 hour walk and stretch
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 5, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 5, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 15:
Sat AND Sun: 8 hour walk and stretch. (With backpack).
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 5, stretch.
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 5, stretch.
Fri: Rest Day

Week 16:
Sat or Sun: 4 hour walk and stretch
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch
Weds: Rest Day
Thurs: 1 hour walk, stretch, exercise circuit x 3, stretch
Fri: Rest Day

16 weeks is about 4 months, so if we plan to go in April then I will have to start this in December 2009. If we plan to go in June, then I will miss the horrible Oregon winter weather and be able to start in February 2010. Either way, I have more than a year before I start working on this plan to do something with myself. So, I will. I put on 40 pounds (!!!) in Japan and that’s coming off before I start the 16 week plan. I’m going to start working towards this goal by riding my bike to work every day when I move into town in October. I am not going to allow snacks in my house because they are made of bad and badness. I’m going to research either gyms in the area of my apartment or buying some equipment so I can get in an hour 3x a week again. I’m not going to go to my friends’ houses to eat dinner when I’m starving - we always eat pizza or some other crap and it’s just bad.

It kind of sounds like I’m starting my pilgrimage before I even leave my house.