I keep at it, the training that is. I've increased the distance hiking and slightly reduced the miles on the bike. Christmas helped as it fell on a Thursday, a normal bike day. So for December the mileage was, 87.2 hiking and 370 on the bike. Starting at the first of the year I'll be doing some back to back hikes to see how my feet hold up. As I walk along I feel different parts of my body reacting to my hike. OUCH, a twinge in the knee, OH, my hip hurts, or pain in the ball of my foot. Several years ago I was diagnosed with Metatarslgia, which means, "Pain in the Ball of the Foot". That's why at times my feet hurt. Anyway I intend to keep moving forward as I expect that because of the mileage traveled, I will always have some pain. That's what they make Ibuprofen for, which is known on the Camino as "Camino Candy".
I continue walking on trails around my home, and have started putting some hills in the mix. Here's some photos of the scenery along the way.
I continue walking on trails around my home, and have started putting some hills in the mix. Here's some photos of the scenery along the way.
Typical Southern California brown. We did have some rain this past month, so I was able to finally test out my rain jacket. A little rain jacket history first. A couple of years ago I bought a Marmot Precip jacket. It leaked. Big time. Then in England a couple of years ago, I bought some inexpensive rain pants. On the same trip and while in Germany I bought an Icepeak rain jacket, which was made in Finland and came highly recommended. With the recent rains, I took out the rain gear for a test. The cheap rain pants preformed well, keeping the bottom half dry. The Jacket started out fine, but after 40 minutes of steady rain, I was pretty much soaked through. So, back to the drawing board. Actually, back to REI, where I've been spending much of my free time, not to mention money.
This time, with the help of the fine folks in the store, I selected a Outdoor Research Foray Jacket, made with Gore-Tex, so we shall see. I should mention that my Tilly Hat worked well. Shading my face, ears and neck in the sunshine and keeping my head dry when in rains.
So, you want to know more about the Camino? Just mention it in my presence and I'll be happy to fill you in on all the details. It some how enters many of the conversations I have. It seems that it occupies most of my thoughts as of late. Now if you don't want to know about the Camino, then it's best not to start a conversation with me.
