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[Nick Hayes]

Edie and others

I walked the Camino in 98 and 2000. ( 62 and 64 at the time)

The first time was from Leon, and I suffered considerably from lack of physical
preparation, even though I thought I was reasonably fit.

The second time was from St Jean and I was smart enough to do some serious
physical preparation before leaving for Spain.  My pleasure on the Camino the
second time was orders of magnitude greater.
Many, myself included, have commented in the past that  it is possible to get
fit ON the Camino. This is true but predeparture prepping makes life much  more
fun.

If you are interested in the details, I was at the gym 3 time a week for 4
months lifting and treadmilling.
A lot of this was just fear of being ditched....  :-)   ...by the 3 teenagers I
had with me, but it paid off.  we made it over the Pyrenees in 7 1/2 hours.  I
know this is not supposed to be a race but try telling this to teenagers who
have legs right up the their armpits

good luck......Nick Hayes

Edie Bennett wrote:

> To Russ and All on the Santiago List:
>
> When I saw Russ' message (see below) I sat bolt upright.  I too am retired,
> 52, and planning to walk the Camino this coming May.  At present I'm reading
> Lee Hoinacki's book "El Camino" -- he made his trip at age 65, and points
> out that many pilgrims he met along the way were in that age group.  I think
> this list will be a valuable source of information and support.
>
> Best of luck to you Russ, and maybe we'll meet on the road.
>
> Edie Bennett
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I'm Russ Irwin and I'm from Pittsburgh, PA.. I retired from Bell
> > Atlantic (now Verizon) a year and a half ago at age 51 so that I'd
> > have plenty of time to enjoy life while I was still young.
> >
> > I'll be walking the pilgrimage starting from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
> > I plan to begin in early May and take 30-40 days.