Camino Fitness Week Eight
Week eight (5 minutes reading).
~ Fitness Test #2
~ Plus additional long walk.
You’re approaching the 2/3rds mark of the Camino Fitness Twelve week plan. A question we could ask is:
“If someone handed me a rucksack and a plane ticket to start the Camino de Santiago tomorrow…. How would it go? How would I do?”
I like to think that once I reach this point, I could give it a strong attempt. And with good conditions and the stars aligned, I’d probably make it all the way. Everyone doing this plan at week eight can feel confident. We've walked a lot of miles and trained our bodies well.
This is the mindset that goes with the next few weeks. There are still weeks to go in order to arrive at the start of the Camino de Santiago in great preparedness, but you can feel confident that you are already more prepared than many people who undertake their pilgrimage. Take time to feel that progress, based on the consistent training you’ve accomplished.
To quantify that feeling of preparedness, we’ll do the fitness test again this week. You can expect solid gains over your results from week 4, due to the miles of and number of training sessions you have done since then. And the fitness test is a way to measure that progress. One tip is to raise your mental game as you prepare for the fitness test. Look at the last test and ask yourself how much fitter and stronger you feel today. And as usual, safety first - but raise the bar and use this chance to challenge your body to new heights.
For the hike, we’ll suggest adding a long walk to do a back-to-back endurance walks. Try to walk 6 hours total over two days. This could be 3 & 3 or 2 & 4 hours. This will simulate the longer back-to-back distances on the Camino. Honoring the time tested principle of adding one thing at a time, we suggest keeping the same pack weight you’ve been using.
Notice how you feel on the second day, do you feel more hungry or thirsty? Does fatigue happen sooner? Do you feel stiff?
The fitness test and an additional long walk may not sound like much, but you are working hard, so be sure to focus on self care as well as rest and recovery. Feel good about your training and remember it's not about going hard, but about moderation and consistency.
Enjoy the week and take some moments to celebrate your progress and your consistent efforts. And remember, perfection has no place in this plan. Where you are today, is where you are. Have fun, let a gentle momentum and a sense of joyful progress carry you forwards.
Buen camino y buena preparacion!
Images below:
1. Week eight overview
2. Fitness test overview and results card
