I'm in Training.

My membership card and other documents arrived from the German Society of St James today (Deutsche St Jakobus Gesellschaft).  In my blog about what to do with the rest of my life, I mentioned that I was going to become a pilgrim and walk to Santiago de Compostelle. I also called this Jacob's Way, falsely translating the German "Jakob" as "Jacob" when it is actually St James. So having cleared that up, I was pleased and sat and thought a bit about it.

Most days of the week now I get up early go for a cycle ride and then do some circuit training, in an effort to get fit again. Today being Saturday I decided not to cycle but to go for a "march" instead.Years ago and in another life I trained a military march and shoot team to march 10 miles in 50 minutes with 35 lbs of equipment and carrying a rifle and ammunition. Today I can hardly fathom that I was once so super fit. A decent walk of 5 kph would be great now, but I know that I am older and not fit. But I do know how to get there.

I have always said that when training one must set a target which is just achievable with a little effort. So this afternoon I set myself the target of walking 10 kms, but at a speed of 4 kph. The first 1km did not count as I went to the cemetery to visit Hanna.

The roses in my wreath are now sad and a horrid brown colour. I have an appointment with the gardener on Monday to discuss the future layout of the plot and how it is to be planted. Soon the dying flowers will be removed and I will replace them with new ones from the money that a number of friends have given me for just that purpose. So after our chat I set off and my 10 kms started in earnest.

After two hours I had gone, according to my pedometer, 8.7 kms, so mission accomplished. My feet held up in the new boots, which I have also worn during the week to walk around town in, though the ankles still ache a bit in them. The pack sat well on my back. My left knee let me know a couple of times that I was marching and not dawdling, but otherwise I had no problems.  Next week we have to up the anti, walk further and carry more weight. Once I had reached my 10 km mark I caught a bus back, and not too soon either for it started to rain later.