We just began our training for our Lewy Body fundraising on the Camino de Santiago. In April we will walk more than 500 miles on the ancient pilgrim road in northern Spain to benefit the Lewy Body Dementia Organization. We will have to walk a minimum of 12 miles per day to complete the walk in 40 days. I’m a runner and Bob and I both walk and hike but we have never walked anywhere near 12 miles per day, day after day. I have run 5 marathons and 5 half marathons but I find walking much, much harder. But being hard is what makes it a challenge!
Our Training Schedule
We are using a half marathon training schedule we found online to train for our walk. We normally walk or run about 3-4 times per week but now we have to increase it to 5 days per week, which includes one long walk each week. This week is our first long walk of only 6 miles but it increases pretty quickly. I’m also going to try to squeeze in my lap swimming twice a week. That’s a lot more physical activity than we are used to!
Walking in the Sun
Our first week of training we experienced two days of rain in southern California. Nobody does anything in the rain! We’ll have to walk rain or shine in Spain but here in California we are weather wimps and pushing back those training days. I really, really hope we get good weather in April!
Please Contribute to the Lewy Body Dementia Organization Through Our Walk
As we walk, we will be handing out information and talking to fellow walkers about Lewy Body Dementia to help create awareness. Most people with the disease are misdiagnosed and not medicated appropriately to slow the progression. All donations go directly to the Lewy Body Dementia Organization for education and research. You can DONATE HERE–Crowdrise–Walk with Lewy!