Saturday, February 28, 2015

36 DAYS TO GO, THE TRAINING CONTINUES

This months numbers are, 94 miles walking and 286 miles on the bike.  All goes well with the training with some minor adjustments made to my pack.  My back started hurting right between the shoulder blades when I had my pack on, so I've been making some adjustments to it to see what works best.  If I don't get any improvement soon, I'll be making a trip to REI to talk to the experts. The pack weight is right where is should be at just over 16 pounds, before I add the 1.5 liters of water that I will start each day with.  The water is in a hydration bladder in the pack with an attached drinking tube.  I like this best as I drink more water this way since I don't have to take the pack off to get to a water bottle.  


This is what's going in my pack: Rain jacket and pants, lightweight sleeping sack, fanny pack for day use and valuables, (1) long-sleeve tec T-shirt, (1) short-sleeve tec T-shirt, (1) long-sleeve hiking shirt, wool beanie, pair of gloves, mesh bag with toilet articles and medicine, iPhone, iPad Mini w/charging cables, (1) pair convertible hiking pants, (1) pair lounge pants, (2) pair underwear, (2) pair double layer socks, sandals and Camino guide book.  I will add a small first aid kit, clothes pins, small pocket knife and the all important corkscrew.  This list does not include what I'll be wearing.

AND IT ALL GOES IN HERE

Last year I postponed going on the Camino because of painful bursitis in my left shoulder.  Most likely due to carrying the pack, but it's starting to hurt some again.  Not to the point of another postponement, but enough that I've made an appointment for another injection of cortisone.

I still haven't been able to do a real test with the rain gear.  I walked once in light rain an it did fine.  I may have to go stand in the shower to do a real test.  There has been a little rain here in Southern California.  When I started my training walks, I posted this picture on the blog of our brown hills.


Here's what it looks like after a little rain.  Being Southern California, it will soon be brown again.


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