When you are flying in a plane 13.5 miles is not very far; the same distance is a little longer when you are driving in a car; but when you are walking it is long way. Although I have run a half marathon and a full marathon in my lifetime, that was over a decade ago and I don't run any more because I really don't like it. So the other day I set my recent personal best of walking 13.5 miles as part of my preparation for El Camino. That trek took a little over 4 hours. That's a long time. So one thing I have learned is that training for my pilgrimage is going to take a long time.
Once in Spain I will be walking about 17 miles every day for a month or so, but that's pretty much all I will be doing other than eating, drinking, sleeping and looking around.
Friends ask about what I do when I walk every day. Well I bought this little iPod, which is about the size of a book of matches, and downloaded a bunch of my Spanish lessons on to it. We bought a house in Mexico a few years back and I am trying to learn Spanish. So I can kill two birds with one stone. Actually my wife did the downloading and she deserves the credit for that.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Over time things change somehow......
When we are very young the issues that worry us are short term issues with fairly immediate outcomes. For example when a baby gets hungry he wants something to eat right away. He is not thinking about how much it is going to cost to fix his carriage, and what he'll do while it is in the shop, etc. He'll be content after he eats, until he gets hungry again.
As you get older the time horizon for problems starts to move further out into the future. So when you are six you worry about whether you can talk your parents into taking you to a movie next weekend. And by the weekend you'll know the answer.
As a teenager you worry about dating, grades, future activities and sports events, how you are going to pay for stuff you want when your parents insist that you pay for one half yourself.
To save time I am really going to generalize from here, but hopefully you get the point..
Then you turn 21 and you have to find a job, a car and a place to live.
Then you get a real job with a future; get married; start a family
Now you take care of, worry about and raise your kids, get along with your in laws, buy a house or a second car
Before you know it you have grandkids. Do you know what grandparents worry about? They worry about not only their kids, but also their grandkids, and great grandkids, and whether they can outlive their money and what happens to everything and everybody when you die. This is all stuff that you never see to fruition because the issues are so permanent in duration and the ultimate outcomes are so far off in the future, that your worrying never seems to end. So unlike the baby who got a brief
period of tranquility after eating, the older you get, the less likely it becomes that you will ever find
any more tranquility in your lifetime.
Unless, however, you can teach yourself to really live in and focus on the moment and not worry about tomorrow, because you really can't do much about it anyway, and the tomorrow you worry about now may never come. And if it does it won't be because you worried about it. Nor will
opportunities arise unless you decide to make your own opportunities and go do stuff.
I can think of a dozen reasons why walking 500 miles alone in Spain may not be a good idea for me. Or I can just go do it and see what comes. But, by trying this, I will definitely be assured of experiencing a different series of life experiences than I would have experienced if I had just stayed
home worrying about stuff while I worked out on the treadmill.
As you get older the time horizon for problems starts to move further out into the future. So when you are six you worry about whether you can talk your parents into taking you to a movie next weekend. And by the weekend you'll know the answer.
As a teenager you worry about dating, grades, future activities and sports events, how you are going to pay for stuff you want when your parents insist that you pay for one half yourself.
To save time I am really going to generalize from here, but hopefully you get the point..
Then you turn 21 and you have to find a job, a car and a place to live.
Then you get a real job with a future; get married; start a family
Now you take care of, worry about and raise your kids, get along with your in laws, buy a house or a second car
Before you know it you have grandkids. Do you know what grandparents worry about? They worry about not only their kids, but also their grandkids, and great grandkids, and whether they can outlive their money and what happens to everything and everybody when you die. This is all stuff that you never see to fruition because the issues are so permanent in duration and the ultimate outcomes are so far off in the future, that your worrying never seems to end. So unlike the baby who got a brief
period of tranquility after eating, the older you get, the less likely it becomes that you will ever find
any more tranquility in your lifetime.
Unless, however, you can teach yourself to really live in and focus on the moment and not worry about tomorrow, because you really can't do much about it anyway, and the tomorrow you worry about now may never come. And if it does it won't be because you worried about it. Nor will
opportunities arise unless you decide to make your own opportunities and go do stuff.
I can think of a dozen reasons why walking 500 miles alone in Spain may not be a good idea for me. Or I can just go do it and see what comes. But, by trying this, I will definitely be assured of experiencing a different series of life experiences than I would have experienced if I had just stayed
home worrying about stuff while I worked out on the treadmill.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Getting ready for the trip, a year in advance...
Well since I stopped drinking on 9/6/13 I have now lost 8 pounds, or 25% of my goal of 30. Along the way I had to tweak my plan a little and, about a week or so ago, I also decided to eliminate refined sugars and flour from my diet. For me that mostly means no bread, pastries, pasta or fried food. I didn't eliminate all carbs or all sugar so I still eat things like potatoes and fruit.
On the walking side I just haven't had the time to schedule another long journey since my 12.5 mi PB (personal best) but I have been keeping up with my 5 mi/day average. I found that walking the golf course while carrying my clubs is the equivalent of walking 5 miles with a backpack.
I have been reading a book lately, which is supposedly the most popular Camino guide in the US, called "A Pilgrims Guide To The Camino de Santiago: The Way of St. James" by John Brierley. This book is so comprehensive and informative it is amazing. It is like having the experienced author by your side for the entire 500 mile journey.
I also found a website with tips on how to prepare physically for this undertaking. Basically they said to start training a few weeks in advance. Go for a 30 minute walk a few times for the first week; the second and third weeks try to walk regularly every day and try to do 6 or so miles a couple of times per week, and you should be good to good to go. Really? After that brief introduction I am now ready to walk 15-18 miles a day for 30 days in a row? Really?
So, anyway, if you want to lose considerable weight just stop drinking, eating refined sugars or flour, and walk 5 miles a day and voilá!
On the walking side I just haven't had the time to schedule another long journey since my 12.5 mi PB (personal best) but I have been keeping up with my 5 mi/day average. I found that walking the golf course while carrying my clubs is the equivalent of walking 5 miles with a backpack.
I have been reading a book lately, which is supposedly the most popular Camino guide in the US, called "A Pilgrims Guide To The Camino de Santiago: The Way of St. James" by John Brierley. This book is so comprehensive and informative it is amazing. It is like having the experienced author by your side for the entire 500 mile journey.
I also found a website with tips on how to prepare physically for this undertaking. Basically they said to start training a few weeks in advance. Go for a 30 minute walk a few times for the first week; the second and third weeks try to walk regularly every day and try to do 6 or so miles a couple of times per week, and you should be good to good to go. Really? After that brief introduction I am now ready to walk 15-18 miles a day for 30 days in a row? Really?
So, anyway, if you want to lose considerable weight just stop drinking, eating refined sugars or flour, and walk 5 miles a day and voilá!
Monday, September 9, 2013
Maybe I've already had a miracle
Many people walk El Camino for religious or spiritual purposes. This weekend I did a 9 mile moderate walk, after which some of my left toes were killing me both from a physical and emotional point of view. The physical part is easy to explain, my feet hurt to the point where I could barely walk around the house. The emotional part was because I was afraid I might not be able to complete this adventure at all. So, on to the Internet. I think I found my problem. Yesterday things were a lot better. Today the symptoms were almost gone so I was able to do a brisk 5 mile jaunt with no after effects. I really didn't do anything to cure this but the problem seems to have gone away. Perhaps I have experienced a miracle already!!!
BTW I gave away my Oboz shoes to a friend with narrower feet.
BTW I gave away my Oboz shoes to a friend with narrower feet.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
So why would I do this? In case you are wondering...
My wife, Becky, got very upset with me the other night because she felt I was harboring too much venom about certain issues in my life. I am not talking about a lot of stuff here, but enough to be annoying to my loved ones. These are not even issues that most of my friends or family would even know about but Becky has a different perspective on me cuz she is stuck with me every day and every night.
Back in the 70's I bought a 70 acre island off of the coast of Maine. I spent the month of August 1974, when I was only 29 years old, living on this island in a tent. Some friends came to camp with me for some of that time. At other times I was alone. During that time I had very limited contact with the outside world. When I left that island (called Halifax Island, Jonesport, Me) I felt so relieved I couldn't believe it. I spent a month with most day to day sounds and experiences missing. For example, when I came ashore I learned that Richard Nixon had resigned as President and one of my friends said to me that it was very likely I was the last college educated man in America to learn that news. That was an amazing life experience.
So, I have decided to use my pilgrimage to Spain as an opportunity to relive my time on my island and let the venom in my life go. I also would like to lose some weight and improve my physical conditioning.
Back in the 70's I bought a 70 acre island off of the coast of Maine. I spent the month of August 1974, when I was only 29 years old, living on this island in a tent. Some friends came to camp with me for some of that time. At other times I was alone. During that time I had very limited contact with the outside world. When I left that island (called Halifax Island, Jonesport, Me) I felt so relieved I couldn't believe it. I spent a month with most day to day sounds and experiences missing. For example, when I came ashore I learned that Richard Nixon had resigned as President and one of my friends said to me that it was very likely I was the last college educated man in America to learn that news. That was an amazing life experience.
So, I have decided to use my pilgrimage to Spain as an opportunity to relive my time on my island and let the venom in my life go. I also would like to lose some weight and improve my physical conditioning.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
A little more about shoes....
I used to run a lot, but those days are over for me. However I remembered, when I did run, my favorite sneakers were New Balance 852's because they have a wide toe box. I am not exactly sure how one measures a wide toe box but, nevertheless, I needed comfortable shoes so I went to a local Olympia Sports shop and asked this 20 year old kid, who knew nothing about long distance walking, el Camino de Santiago or even Spain for that matter about wide toe box sneakers. Yes sir we have the 608's. I bought them, he gave me 20% off. So far I have done about 20 miles with my new sneakers and my feet feel great. Some folks have asked me what the bad shoes were and they are called Oboz. I would highly recommend Oboz if you don't plan to leave your house or just want to walk up and down a ramp in a shopping center. Otherwise look at something else.
I also bought a bunch of microfiber shirts and athletic pants. They wick away the moisture, have an expandable waistband and can be rinsed clean in the shower and will dry overnight. I still need to arrive at an opinion about socks. Cotton, wool, microfiber or a blend, below the ankle, above the ankle. Why is everything so complicated?
I just read a book called the Sieve of Angkar about a woman named Sovannara Ky who survived the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia back in the mid 70's. I met her at a party in Mexico last February before I had read her book about her 4 years of absolute misery in Cambodia followed by her emigration to the US. They call her Ra for short. Given what she went thru I say to myself, every time I go to an EMS or Olympia Sports store and become frustrated with sock choices, "What would Ra do?"
I also bought a bunch of microfiber shirts and athletic pants. They wick away the moisture, have an expandable waistband and can be rinsed clean in the shower and will dry overnight. I still need to arrive at an opinion about socks. Cotton, wool, microfiber or a blend, below the ankle, above the ankle. Why is everything so complicated?
I just read a book called the Sieve of Angkar about a woman named Sovannara Ky who survived the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia back in the mid 70's. I met her at a party in Mexico last February before I had read her book about her 4 years of absolute misery in Cambodia followed by her emigration to the US. They call her Ra for short. Given what she went thru I say to myself, every time I go to an EMS or Olympia Sports store and become frustrated with sock choices, "What would Ra do?"
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