Tougher Than I Thought

Ever since I had my left foot rebuilt, I have been able to walk long distances without any major issues. If my foot has ever been sore after a long walk, it was because of the long walk and not because of the condition of my foot.

My foot now becomes just as sore as anyone else's from being on it all day.

When DW and I were in Portugal, in 2022, we walked everywhere, opting to not rent a vehicle. To get between cities, we either took a train or flew. But for getting around cities, towns, and countrysides, we walked.

Lisbon and Porto were a workout for walking around, with their many hills, steep roads, and stairs. I would often surpass 20,000 steps in a day. And when we were in the Douro region, walking around a terraced hill, surrounded by vineyards, DW's feet gave out before mine did.

We've walked several kilometres, through mountain jungles, in Costa Rica and Peru, and my feet never failed me, though there were times when I was anxious about whether I could keep up the pace of family and friends.

But I managed it, with no problems, proving that I'm tougher than I thought.

When DW and I decided that our next vacation would be to walk the Camino Portugués, I decided that I needed to start training now. I'll be five years older than I was the last time we were in Portugal and I'm not nearly in as good shape as I was in 2022.

Lately, DW and I have been walking to our weekly trivia night, rather than taking the car, and it takes us between 15 and 20 minutes to walk just over two kilometres, each way. And on these walks, we hardly break a sweat.

I decided that as of October 1st, I would start walking distances each day, gradually lengthening my walks until I would cover about 25 kilometres or so on a single walk. The Camino Portugués, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, is 260 kms: we hope to complete it in 10 days but we're going to plan for 14 days to do it.

I gave some thought to the types of walks that I would complete as part of my training. I'll do some area nature trails and will do some city walking, both of which we'll likely encounter on the route. And last Thursday, I started with a trail hike.

I looked to see what trails would take me in a circuit, over varying terrain, and looked at the Rideau Trail system, which goes from Ottawa to Kingston and passes not too far from our neighbourhood. At least, it's only about a 15-minute drive.

The Lime Kiln Blue Loop mixes part of the Rideau Trail and the NCC Stony Swamp trail system. It's an 8.6K hike that takes the Lime Kiln Trail, the Chipmunk Trail, the Beaver Trail, the Stoney Swamp Trail, and the Jack Pine Trail.

Being familiar with most of these trails (or parts of them), I started at the Lime Kiln Trail and followed a map that I acquired from the Rideau Trail Web site. I carried a small knapsack that held a bottle of water, a sweater, and my rain jacket. I'll increase the weight as I train, until I'm carrying a backpack that will hold everything I intend to bring on the Camino.

About a hundred metres past the trailhead, I felt a chill in the air as a Scotch mist fell on the path, and I pulled my sweater out of my knapsack. I then remembered that I wanted to officially record this trek so I started a hiking activity on my watch.

Just over a kilometre into the walk, I realized that my sweater was starting to get damp, so I took it off and put on my raincoat, instead. It was a good decision because the mist became heavier on the hike, though it never quite turned to a drizzle.

I was comfortable for the rest of the walk.

While I used the online map for the first half of the walk, I decided to use the NCC trail markers as soon as I crossed Moodie Drive and was on the Jack Pine/Stoney Swamp segment, and that's where I made a mistake. At a crosspath, I turned right when I should have turned left.

It wasn't a big deal. By turning right, I missed the path that took me to the Stoney Swamp parking lot, on West Hunt Club Road. It knocked a little over a kilometre from my walk but I was getting hungry and the day was getting close to lunch.

I didn't pack any food in my knapsack.

When I returned to my car and stopped my watch, I discovered that I had only completed 7.35 kms (plus about another 100 metres at the beginning). But I felt good and was encouraged to keep up the training.

My feet had a couple of hot spots—I wore my Keen hiking boots that have taken me to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru, plus all over Canada—but I had no blisters or any other irritations. These boots might just come with me to Portugal and Spain.

The next day was a different story.

When I woke up on Friday, my feet were sore. My right foot, which still suffers from osteoarthritis, was stiff: my left foot was only a little sore.

Perhaps I'm not tougher than I thought.

DW suggested that I take it easy, that I ease into the training. But I wanted to get some steps in so I walked a short time on our treadmill. Like, 20 minutes short.

Same with Saturday.

I got outdoors, yesterday, and walked the trails around Mud Lake: around the lake, up on the ridge, and along the Ottawa River, whose waters are low and let me hug the shore. I only covered four kilometres but at least I'm still walking.

I think my first walk showed me what I can do but that I'm going to need more time before I can handle 25K days on the Camino. Time will tell.

Wish me luck.