Do not lose your desire to walk

For many years we have been walkers. We both wear pedometers. I have a fitbit Zip which syncs with my phone and uploads to the fitbit.com website; Stoney prefers a low tech pedometer.  The numbers under the Steps column of the graph are miles. The graphs are for the last 3 months. Every now and then I take an off day. Stoney almost never takes a rest day -- it's not in his nature. 

In March we began walking with our packs. This past week we walked 5 consecutive days at our highest daily mileage yet. Kind of test to see how we might fare walking on the Camino day in and day out. We stopped for a coffee break at Starbucks one day, sandwich at a BBQ restaurant another, and an ice cream cone on another day. Stoney likes strong coffee and I think he's looking forward to Spanish coffee. I'm hoping the cafe con leche won't be too strong for me. He jokes that at home I have a little coffee with my milk.

When we talked with a friend (thanks, Mike) who walked the Camino this past Fall, his recommendation was that we "prepare as if the Camino was an athletic event." Having prepared for 10K's and a half marathon in the past, we gradually built our mileage (time on our feet) and that's the strategy we are using for the Camino.  In a few weeks our "boots will be on the ground" -- a nod to lingo Stoney was accustomed to in the Army -- but in reality our trail runners will be on the ground. We know the Camino will be different from walking around town (asphalt and concrete) and different from hiking in State parks (some elevation changes but not mountains); we hope our preparation has been sufficient.

Over the years we've walked a lot of miles around town. People we don't know even honk at us; we consider it a thumbs-up. From time to time, someone will roll down a window and make a comment:

"Y'all sure walk a LOT!" 
"I see y'all walking ALL OVER this town"
"How many miles do y'all walk every day?"

However since walking this past month with our packs, we've gotten the most interesting comments/questions/looks:

One guy said "Y'all running away from home?" 
From a guy on a bike "Are you training for the big one?" (We thought he might be referring to the Appalachian Trail). 
"Boy, where you go'in?"
Yesterday, as we walked along a highway, a man slowed his truck and said "Where you headed? (I thought maybe he was gonna offer us a ride in the back of his pickup - thinking back to my time on the Appalachian Trail) and then he said "Are you training for a hike?"

When hearing our reply that we are going to Spain to walk 500 miles across the country, the looks we receive are priceless and usually followed by quite a pause as they process the info. An older guy in McDonald's replied "just thinking about walking 500 miles makes me tired; glad it's you doing it!" Another person said "You must be crazy!"  Young people think it's "Cool". Most people wish us well.

Colossians 1:10 -  so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;