Only One Week Left

I have not trained since last Sunday. I made the decision to allow my body to heal from the workouts, especially my feet. I walked 10 miles last Wednesday using new heel inserts in my boots, trying to protect a bruised heel. The inserts tore my heels apart, leaving me with a very large blister on my right heel, a few smaller ones on the other side of the same foot, and a couple of smaller blisters on my left foot. So out with the heel inserts.

Last Sunday I walked with new full length gel inserts. I only went 4.5 miles as my feet were still tender from the 10 mile blister disaster. There were no problems.

Today I spent some time gathering the smaller supplies that I need for the Camino. I had already purchased the boots, the sleeping bag, and the backpack. But I still needed to get a headlamp, safety pins, rope (to hang myself if the walk becomes too painful), batteries for my one luxury item, my CD player, small toiletries, a rain cover for my pack.

I finally broke down and purchased some walking sticks. Zillions of posts on the Internet swear by them - they say that they will save your knees and your hips, can be used to fend off wild dogs and other savage beasts, and can double as a clothes line. So what the heck - I now have some.

What I don't have yet is pants!!!! Those who have been following me on the Camino website know the trouble that I was having in finding technical pants that fit me. Finally someone put me in touch with a company near Boston who specialize in 'extended' sizes. I like that term. To make a long story short, I finally got them last Wednesday, tried them on, and they were too small. So I sent them back and after watching the Canada Post tracking system say that they were still in Canada after 3 days, I called the Boston company directly this past Wednesday. There is a very friendly lady there who said that she would send me two pairs of replacement pants right away, and would e-mail me the tracking number. Two days later I have not heard back from her, nor do I have a tracking number. So I am going to call her tomorrow because having the proper pants is a make or break for the sucess of my walk. Otherwise, I will have to take my toga!!!!