In January I began a walking/hiking program to get in shape to be able to walk the Way of St. James, from France to Spain on the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela with my cousin Barbs. I read about the Camino about 10 years ago and have been intrigued by it since then without committing to doing the walk. With the offer of having a companion to walk with me, I felt due to age and other things in my life that this was "the" time to do it.
I completed an Avon 3-Day walk from Frederick, Maryland to Washington, D.C. when I turned 53 in May of 2000. It was the hottest May I could recall especially for the beginning of the month. They almost canceled the walk on the 3rd day due to so many folks becoming dehydrated and being taken to local hospitals. I do NOT like heat and humidity and although I was in decent shape then, I still didn't like it.
Back then I trained with a wonderful group of women from February through May to get into shape to do 3 days. Fast forward 10 years and I won't say how many pounds, 2 breast cancers, 36 rounds of radiation, the loss of our son, and in the end a bilateral mastectomy and DIEP flap surgery this past July, and I'm thinking I can do this? I must be crazy. Then I think, why not? There are people who are 80 yrs. old with arthritis that can to this walk and millions who have gone before me with other ailments. Why can't I get into shape and do this at the age of 64 (I will turn that in May before the trip)? Now mind you, this July I had 11.5 hours of surgery and for a least a month, I did nothing physical. I lost all abdominal muscle control and just needed to heal. So I have a lot more than just weight loss and getting into shape to do.
So in January I took to hoofing it with my dog Lila around our very rural area over farm fields, in the woods, anywhere to get my ankles used to uneven terrain. We lack hills here, so Lila and I occasionally go to a beach and woods to walk up and down any incline we can find. Lila seems like all is a breeze to her. She is my 5 yr, old shiny black lab mix all of 60 lbs and fit as a fiddle. I have been more careful about her weight than mine in the past. Well, no longer!
Since I started, I have dropped 5 lbs. I've purchased my back pack and have used it on many walks with about 13 lbs of water and other things to mimick doing what I will have to do when I walk this summer.
My husband has been supportive and so have friends and family, although I'm sure they all think I'm loony. I guess I would too if I weren't the one doing it. I am using the Camino as a carrot to get me to where I need to be physically and mentally to proceed with life.
I will keep this blog going hopefully throughout the walk if I am able to do so.
For now, I'm happy with the results to date, but I still need to get on a regular schedule and add more workouts between the walks.
Signing off...
Feb. 15, 2011
