At the beginning of the year I set an informal goal of walking 500 miles before I went on my Camino. I am pleased to report that I reached that training goal a whole month ahead of schedule.
I reached the goal during my walk today. My original plan was to do a fifteen mile walk to just cross the 500 mile point. I plan my hikes using Google Maps and I've found that the distance estimates are always off a little bit. This time the error wasn't Google Map's fault. I chose a route that, I discovered too late, crossed a bridge without biking/walking lanes. Not wanting to risk my life dodging traffic I decided to detour around the bridge. I figured the detour would add a mile or so to my original route. Boy was I wrong. I ended up walking 19.31 miles (31 km) - almost four miles farther than I'd planned ... on a day with temps of 90°F plus ... and blue skies. That sun felt heavy on my shoulders.
I think I came close to heat stroke a few times avoiding them by stopping at convenience stores to buy liquids. Everything ended well. I'm a little bit sore and my legs are a bit wobbly but my feet feel decent. I have a strange rash where my socks were - not sure what's up with that. Doesn't itch and it is already fading. Probably a heat rash.
The most important thing is that I did manage to cross the 500 mile goal (505 miles as of today) and I think I may even make it to 600 by the end of August (almost three times the amount of training walks I did before my 2011 Camino). Add in the estimated 600 miles I will be doing on the Camino and I am on the way to walking close to 1,200 miles this year.
1,200 miles. I will be very happy with that number. 50% better than my last annual record and half of an Appalachian Trail. Nothing like progress to make you feel awesome. And now ... I just need to get some sleep.
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