Just a little update....

Here's just a little update on what's been going on lately....

Training is the focus. I already have all my big things, so it's just a matter of gathering the small things when it gets closer to leave.

As you know, I am doing a mud run to help train for this pilgrimage. Let me tell you...it's tough trying to run a 10k. Right now I have trained my body for a 5k which is still tough. Now I have to be able to double to distance. If you see some skinny "kid" running around the neighborhood in the cold you know why....it's me trying to get reading for this mud run. I think that I am getting runner's knee though....yuck! After researching how to treat this, I am going to have to start strengthening my quads. Lets hope that this is an easy fix.

My partner in crime has injured herself, AGAIN! Now I have no running partner until after Christmas...way to go Rebecca!

For this Christmas, my mother and have decided to take a trip "home" to Michigan. By the time that we go, I should be able to run a 10k. It will be nice to run on flat land for a while even if it will be in super cold weather.

I want to be able to stay in the Scriptures and prayer while I'm gone. I would love to be able to find the Common Book of Prayer of Liturgy of the Hours in a pocket version. This would be the best way to do this. However, if I am not able to find one then I will have to do something else. Maybe one of those pocket Psalm/New Testament bibles.

It's Booked!

Well, it's finally happened. I booked my plane tickets! On May 25, 2014, I will be heading to Paris to begin my journey on the El Camino de Santiago in Saint Jean Pied de Port. I'll be on the way home on July 10th. That's a whopping 43 days! The only thing left to book is my train ticket from Paris to Saint Jean to complete my traveling plans. Haven't decided if arrangements need to be made for Orisson...I have until February to decide.

It's amazing how this has come all together. After watching the movie "The Way", I felt compelled to do this walk. When I mentioned it to my mom, who mentioned it to Candy, it was only a hopeful desire. It was just something that I could do after I finished graduate school. Now, it's becoming more of a reality. God has really been putting the pieces together from the most simple things, like getting my items I need to travel, to getting my plane tickets. I just can't get over it.

Here's a great example: I have been wondering about how I was going to handle my expenses without a huge cost (most institutions charge an exchange rate fee when you're overseas); I mean I was really struggling over what to do. Many posts on the El Camino boards talked about using an investment company that allowed you to have a checking account, but I wasn't too sure about that. Well, I had gotten locked out of my saving account and had to call the company to get it unlocked. Through this I was able to set up a separate account with a debit card with NO fees in about 2 minutes. The conversation with the "agent" just naturally went to me going out of the country and needing some way of having access to my money while keeping my "trip funds" separate from my "normal funds". Thank you Jesus for locking me out of my account in order to make this possible. This may seem like no big deal to most people, but it's a huge deal to me. I have to have every detail planned and know how things are going to get done. Not knowing torture for me.

Many months ago, a dear sister in my church gave me a scalloped shell to put on my pack during my pilgrimage. I hung it on my rear view mirror just so I wouldn't loose it. Well it has become more than just a place to keep up with something. It has become a symbol of hope and anticipation. The hope that I will be able to complete the journey, and the hope that God is going to do something magnificent in my life during the pilgrimage. Along with the anticipation of WHAT God is going to do. Nothing is more exciting when you know that something big is about to come in the horizon. You may not know what is coming, but you know that it's going to be something that you'll never forget and will change your life forever. I might not even realize what God has done until I return, but I do know that this pilgrimage was by God's design. Things have been falling into place so easily, and I know that God is working behind the sense to make it possible. He's even making it possible for Candy to go (she wasn't too sure that her boss was going to let her be gone for such a long time)!

Now lets see if I can get through this Spartan Race in March.....I am trying to think of it as training for the Camino. So if you see some weirdo running in the middle of the winter in Alabama, you now know why.

Plane Tickets and Such

It's that time....time to buy the plane tickets! Whoot! Whoot!

My friend and traveling buddy, Candy, and I got together last night to discuss the final dates and flight times for our El Camino. We had our paper and pens ready to sketch out the details. Ipads and Macs were handy to look up the flight info and new blogger information.

We went through several different dates and scenarios that could affect the traveling dates. How long should we allow for arrival and rest before starting? What if there was an emergency? Why not just stay a few extra days to relax before returning home? Those were just some of the things that went through our minds as we perused the internet for tickets.

It took us a little bit to find some returning flights that we NOT at 6:30. But we did. Hallelujah!! It don't know if I could get up at the butt crack of dawn to fly home after a journey like the El Camino. 

So on Thursday, I will be purchasing my plan tickets for May 25th to July 8th!! We are going to fly out of Birmingham into Paris. After the flight, we will catch a couple of trains for the final destination of Saint Jean Pied de Port. Neither one of us has ridden on train before, so this going to be exciting. I am more excited about riding on the TGV (the high speed train) than the "regular" train...I don't know why, but I am. When coming home we are going to fly out of Santiago (well, actually about 14 km outside Santiago) into Birmingham. I can't wait! Candy and I have been planning this trip for a little over a year now, and it is finally coming together. We are actually going to do this. It's amazing how God has been working out all the details for this trip. The direction God has been taking my prayers about this journey. The anticipation about what God is going to do while I'm gone is just so exciting.

Candy did mention to my mom last night that she has read many stories about how people met their spouses on the Camino. Hhhhmmmm.....maybe. The only thing Mom said was, "all I ask is that he speaks English". Ha ha ha!! 

Before we called it a night, Candy showed me this blogger on About.com that wrote every day of his journey on the Camino. It has some really good information about what to expect from the locals in some of the cities, cities that make great stopping points due to food and accommodations, and some general tidbits that could be useful. 

Spartan Race to Train

This week has been about getting down to serious business. I finally charged my iPod to listen to my Spanish lessons! I always get tickled when I hear the Scottish people speaking perfect Spanish.

Trying to make plans with Candy for hiking. Those plans are hit or miss, but...........

I have found a solution to this "I need to get off my hinny" problem. A friend of mine at work suggested a site to get healthy, gluten-free recipes each day. While looking at this site, I noticed information about Spartan Races. Hhhmmmm....what's this???? It's a race where you run and do a bunch of obstacle courses. Sounds fun!!! This will get me in shape. I tell my friend that I would love to do this, and she about attacks me out of joy! She has been dying to do this race.

We looked it up online and began watching YouTube videos of these races. Oh my word! What have I got myself into?!?!?! All well...now I know that I will be ready for the El Camino, and I will have a workout buddy. A schedule has been made for the next 24 weeks. It's going to be a bunch of running and weight lifting. Oh goodness...I have never trained with weights, but here I go. I know that I will build strength and endurance which I will need to complete a 500 mile journey across Spain. 

Just in case you are wondering what this "wonderful" race is like....here is a video for you all to enjoy. 

The race is in March, so that will give me plenty of time to get ready for 15 mile days. 

Training, Books, and Pants

This month has not been the greatest for training. There were a couple of days that I was able to go hiking, but most of the time I was stuck doing cardio at home to build endurance. Hiking has been limited due to the amount of rain...this summer been almost like a monsoon here in Alabama! If it wasn't raining, there was extremely high humidity that made it almost impossible to hike more than 30 minutes. Now that the weather is starting to cool off, I am going to try hitting the trails once again. Only 8 more months! I can't believe that a little over a year ago I started planning this amazing pilgrimage.

Since I had to order some materials for work (my classroom), I ordered a book that I was wanting to read about someone's journey along Camino de Santiago. It came today! I started reading the back of the book to find out this man, Arthur Paul Boers, is a Mennonite and a Benedictine oblate. Neat! The beginning is very good. He writes about the spiritual journey that he experienced throughout his journey.

I am very interested in what God is going to do. As the time comes closer, I find myself pondering on what God is going to do while I am gone. This is not just a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but it's a time to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ, a time for transformation, and a time of reflection. What this will look like when I come back, I don't know. However, after reading just a few pages of my book, I am quickly realizing that God's work might not become clear or even be finished when I return. All of this is very exciting!! I find myself praying about it more and truly desiring God to prepare me for this journey. Journalling along The Way is probably going to become very important to me, allowing me time to reflect on the journey/walk during the day. I am not a journaling person, so that is going to be challenge.

I finally ordered my pants! There was a lot of research involved in making the final decision. Convertible pants were a must, but there are hard to find when they need to be light weight and quick drying. For a long time I was looking at a pair of North Face paints that would convert into capris and shorts, but after reading the reviews I marked them off the list. Many people said that I would want pants that had zippers on the sides and converted to shorts. The side zippers allows a person to take off the "legs" without removing his/her boots. I finally settled on REI Sahara pants. The are a bit long and sit a bit high on the waist, but I can fix that. Other than that, they are wonderful! They are light weight, quick drying, and are roomy. I highly recommend REI Sahara pants.

I just realized that I have GOT to get going on my Spanish!!! I have the podcasts. I just need to start listening and learning Spanish. Can I learn to understand AND speak Spanish in order to hold a conversation without making a fool out of myself in a few months?? We'll see.....

What a weekend!

My weekend has been one filled with things that I want to do! YAY! First free weekend in 2 months!! After finishing my last major school project on Friday, I decided to go for a walk at a local track. This track is hilly and 2.5 miles one way. Saturday was guaranteed to be filled with sore muscles, and my body didn't fail me either. 

I thought that it would be a good idea to have a day of hiking following my long 5 mile walk the previous day. Since Candy has my boots, I was able to try my Keen sandals that I bought for my trip but haven't worn yet. There was a nice surprise when I got to Oak Mountain....a race...using the trail that I normally use. It was a day for a new adventure on the "green" trail which did not disappoint in being filled with lots of climbing. 

I kept getting rocks and dirt in my sandals. This means that I won't be using them on the actual trail--maybe just around town after a long day of walking. 

On the trail, I met two women from Austria and Germany! They were super nice. We struck up a conversation about languages and how families don't pass down traditions from their home countries. One of the ladies talked about wanting to learn Spanish, and I mentioned that I am trying to do that right now for my trip to Spain. They were both interested in where I what I was going to do in Spain, so I told them about the El Camino. The lady from Austria was very excited, because she has been wanting to walk the Camino for some time! Then we talked about that horrible TGV train wreck in Spain. I wished I had asked them to allow my take a picture for my blog just to put faces to this little story. 

When I got home from concurring 5 more miles, I had trouble getting out of the car! I am so stiff and sore already!! Needless to say, I will not be hiking Sunday...it will be a day of rest. I have to be ready to start working on my classroom on Monday. Can't do that if I am not able to move, ha ha ha. 

Even though I did two 5 mile days, I can tell I have a LONG way to before I am ready for Spain. Ten more months to prepare!

Stages Are A Go

Each day is all mapped out. Now I have an idea of what kind of training I am going to do during the next few months. I made a chart that includes starting and stopping point with the number of kilometers (km) and miles (mi) for each day.

El Camino de Santiago Itinerary

(34 days + 3 sick/rest days = 36 days)

Day #	From	To	Distance
1	Saint Jean Pied de Port	Orisson	8 km / 4.97 mi
2	Orisson	Roncesvalles	17.1 km / 10.5 mi
3	Roncesvalles	Zubri	21.5 km / 13.35 mi
4	Zubri	Pamplona	20.4 km / 12.67 mi
5	Pamplona	Puente la Reina	24 km / 14.9 mi
6	Puente la Reina	Ayegui	23.6 km / 14.66 mi
7	Ayegui	Torres del Rio	27.4 km / 17.02 mi
8	Torres del Rio	Logroño	20 km / 12.42 mi
9	Logroño	Nájera	29 km / 18.01 mi
10	Nájera	Santa Domingo de la Calzada	21 km / 13.04 mi
11	Santa Domingo de la Calzada	Belorado	22 km / 13.61 mi
12	Belorado	Agés	27 km / 16.77 mi
13	Agés	Burgos	23 km / 14.29 mi
14	Burgos	Hornillos del Camino	21 km / 13.04 mi
15	Hornillos del Camino	Castrojeriz	20.2 km / 12.55 mi
16	Castrojeriz	Frómista	25.2 km / 15.65 mi
17	Frómista	Carrion de los Condes	20.5 km / 12.73 mi
18	Carrion de los Condes	Terradillo de Templarios	26.8 km / 16.65 mi
19	Terradillo de Templarios	Calzadilla de los Hermanillos	26.9 km / 16.71 mi
20	Calzadilla de los Hermanillos	Mansilla de las Mulas	24.5 km / 15.22 mi
21	Mansilla de las Mulas	León	20 km / 12.42 mi
22	León	Villar de Mazzarife	22.2 km / 13.79 mi
23	Villar de Mazzarife	Astorga	31.2 km / 19.38 mi
24	Astorga	Rabanal de Camino	21.4 km / 13.29 mi
25	Rabanal de Camino	Molinaseca	26.5 km / 16.46 mi
26	Molinaseca	Villafranca del Bierzo	30.9 km / 19.20 mi
27	Villafranca del Bierzo	O’Cebreiro	30.1 km / 18.70 mi
28	O’Cebreiro	Triacastela	21.3 km / 13.23 mi
29	Triacastela	Sarria	18.7 km / 11.62 mi
30	Sarria	Portomarin	22.4 km / 13.92 mi
31	Portomarin	Pafas de Rei	24.8 km / 15.41 mi
32	Pafas de Rei	Ribadiso de Baixo	25.8 km / 16.03 mi
33	Ribadiso de Baixo	Arca/Pedrouzo	22.1 km / 13.73 mi
34	Arca/Pedrouzo	Santiago do Compostela	20.1 km / 12.49 mi

Now that school is about over, I am going to take the time to learn Spanish. I think I will throw a little French in there too for those 3 to 4 days that we're in France.