Here's the Latest

Not much to report, but here's what I've got....

Spanish Anyone??
Now that I have all of my stuff for my trip, there isn't much to do besides conditioning my body along with learning Spanish. Still not doing so hot in the area of learning Spanish. I thought that using an audio learning program would work; however, I can hardly remember anything from the lessons. A book I must get to help me I guess. There are only 37 days left before my flight takes off, so this is crunch time. I am considering taking a book with me so I can study on my long flight to Paris. Since I can't sleep on planes, and there are only so many movies the airlines can play, it might be a way to pass the time away.

The Camino Forum to the Rescue
The Camino forum has been my best friend this week, trying to get the details ironed out for a safe and smooth arrival to Saint Jean Pied de Port. Personally, I don't feel like getting lost in Paris--a foreign country with a different language doesn't seem like a place to get lost. When the only thing you know how to say in French is "do you speak English", having a plan is imperative! I will study the layout of the airport to know where to go for immigration and how to get to the bus station. From the bus station, I will need to find out where the train station. Easy peasy....well...I hope so. Thank goodness I already have a plan for getting to my hotel after the long train ride.

Since I am going by myself now, I was in need of information about when to book my hotel at the end too. I just wasn't sure what to do because my arrival date to Santiago isn't really final. There is not a way to know if I am going to need to use my 7 resting days along The Camino or not; therefore, my arrival date isn't set into stone. Now I can relax....the forum said that I can wait to book the hotel when I am a couple of days away from Santiago! YAY!


It's also been helpful with trying to find the best way to share video. I have some folks that will KILL ME if I don't send them video regularly while I'm gone.  First I was going to use Dropbox as suggested, but it won't run on my iPod. Then iCloud or just using email was suggested. Email might take a little too long, but that might be the last resort. If anyone else has any better ideas, I am all ears.

Training Update
There hasn't been much training the past couple of weeks. A good friend of mine (well....my traveling buddy to be more precise) has been in the hospital; therefore, being with her is a little more important right now. Also, while I was visiting my friend, my dog thought it would be a good idea to chew my running shoes! She's lucky to be alive! I may be able to resume training in the next few weeks. Being on my feet most of the day counts right???


***Don't forget to sign up for email updates if you want to keep up with me along the way. I am NOT going to be posting my blog on Facebook....so, if you want to "be in the know", you've got to follow with email updates.

New Plan of Action and Adjustments

Itinerary Update:
As I was putting tentative dates onto the itinerary, I noticed that I have 11 days to "play with". This meant that some of those 18/19 mile days could be split into 2 days. As it now stands, there are 7 days that are designated as sick or resting days. Hopefully, we won't need to use these days due to injuries or sickness. I would love to be able to use these days at the end in our swanky hotel.

Here is the new itinerary:

Trekking Pole Issues: 

My trekking pole protection tips came in the mail the other day, so I thought I would try the poles out walking around the house. I guess I must be a total moron, because I don't  think I was using the right. Is there really a wrong way to use them??? Sad to admit, but I had to look how to use them on YouTube. The information was pretty helpful....learned the proper way to use the wrist loops in order to grip the poles without putting too much pressure on hands. Also learned that I needed to make sure that my poles are tilted, not straight, in order to make sure that I am using the poles to propel me forward.

Training update:

Tuesday, I was going for my run in hopes of going 5 miles (the run before that was 4.75 miles). However, my body didn't want to cooperate. My calves got so tight around 1.5 miles that I had to stop. I had to wait until Thursday to try for 5 miles again. Well, I made it.....barely. There was LOTS of stopping and waiting after mile 3. At least I made it! This getting in shape thing is over-rated. If my body would be able to handle the Camino without this, I would not run another step!

Candy and I made to our "training grounds" Saturday (last weekend was a bust because of all the rain). We trained with our fully loaded packs. I am not sure how much Candy's weighed, but I have been very choosy in what goes into my pack. My pack weighed around 13 pounds, that included my lunch and water. This was the first time that I took my new pack out on a trek. It is very different from my other pack, and it is going to take a while for me to get used to it. The only that bothered (well, still does) me was not knowing where the pack should sit on my hips...one the hop bone, above the hip bone??? Once I figure this out, I believe that this pack is going to be just fine. 

Since I have been running a lot, my feet are starting to get those pesky "hot spots" around the arches of my feet. Prevention is key when it comes to blisters. The tape worked wonderfully. Even though we did not trek as long as we normally do, I could still tell a difference in my feet. Another thing was I finally put my Superfeet inserts into my boots. I waited because I didn't want them to get worn out. They provided much needed shock absorption and support. 

Glasses Situation:

I quickly realized that using contacts on the Camino is just too much like work. Who wants to keep up with several pair contacts, glasses, and sunglasses??? NO BODY! That's why I decided to go with transition lenses (well...there was someone who suggested transition lenses too). Now I will only have to worry about the glasses on my face.

Getting Updates While I'm Gone:

I have had several people ask me how they could they keep up with my blog while I was gone. The answer is simple.....I will not be posting the link to my blog on Facebook while I'm gone. So, you can get email updates by signing up using the "Follow by Email" box on the right hand side of this blog.