My Training Plan: Part One

     When I committed in my heart and mind to walking the Camino, I knew that I needed ample time to get my body and mind and spirit prepared for what would undoubtedly be the most arduous endeavor of my life. And I've always been the sort of person who likes to be as prepared as I possibly can be for a large undertaking. It's not that I have any illusions that I can be in control of what unfolds in my life, but rather that I'll have a better chance of being able to handle whatever that is.
      So when I was pregnant with my first child, I read every book on birthing that I could find, explored options for childbirth (not as varied then as young women find now), chose the LaMaze method, read books, took a course, followed through with the breathing exercises, and, of course, knitted little sweaters and booties and a blanket. I knew I couldn't predict what might happen during my own labor, but I did believe that the more I knew, the better I'd be able to cope with whatever transpired. And I think that was true.
      I behaved the same way when my husband was sick with one thing after another, from diabetes to strokes to gall bladder disease to a major heart attack and surgery to kidney failure. I researched and read all that I could find about each problem, hoping to be better prepared and better able to help him. I couldn't know what next might befall him, but at least I could face each event with some understanding of what was happening. It's just the way my brain works, for better or worse. Sometimes "A little learning is a dangerous thing," as Alexander Pope warned, if it leads us to believe we know more than we do, or leads us to believe that we can control what happens to us. But sometimes it helps us cope with the unexpected.
    Thus I approached my Camino training with all the enthusiasm of the convert. I read a plethora of books, and then reread my favorites, sometimes three times! Here is a list of the books I've read thus far:

My Camino Bibliography

To the Field of Stars by Kevin A. Codd  

Keeping Company with Saint Ignatius: Walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela by Luke Larson

Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus  by Father Dave Pivonka  

The Camino Preparation Handbook: Get the Maximum Potential Out of Your Camino By Being Prepared by Miles Hermannsdoufer

Practical Tips for Walking “The Way” by Elinor Le Barron

The Pilgrimage (Plus) by Paulo Coelho 

Grandma’s On the Camino: Reflections on a 48-Day Pilgrimage Walk to Santiago by Mary O’Hara Wyman

Walk In A Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino by Joyce Rupp

Hiking the Camino de Santiago: A Village to Village Guide by Anna Dintaman and David Landis 

A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley

Camino Lingo: English-Spanish Words and Phrases by Reinette Novoa with Sylvia Nilsen

  

The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David M. Gitlitz                              and Linda Kay Davidson 

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway

St. Louis: 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles

The Year We Seized the Day  by Elizabeth Best and Colin Bowles 

The Way Is A River of Stars: A Buddhist’s Journey by Helen E. Burns

Seven Tips to Make the Most of the Camino de Santiago  by Cheryl Powell

To Walk Far, Carry Less by Jean-Christie Ashmore

I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino by Kape Kerkeling

The Way Is Made By Walking by Arthur Paul Boers

Women Of the Way: Embracing the Camino  by Jane Blanchard

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Camino de Santiago: Practical Preparation and Background by Gerald Kelly

Camino Pilgrim Tips and Packing Lists by S Yates

Slacker Pilgrim: Guide to the Camino de Santiago by Sunshine Jen

Fumbling: a Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino

            De Santiago by Kerry Egan

A Million Steps by Kurt Koonz

In Movement There is Peace by Elaine Orabona Foster and Joe Foster

The Long Road Home by Alesa Teague

The Way, My Way by Bill Bennett 

No Complaints: Shut Up and Walk by Emmett Williams and Jasmine Emmerich 

  

The Artists Journey: the Perfumed Pilgrim Tackles the Camino de Santiago by Marcia

            Shaver

Walking with Stones by William Schmidt

Redemption Road: Grieving on the Camino  by Brendan McManus SJ

Discovering the Camino de Santiago:A Priest’s Journey to the Tomb of St. James by

            Rev. Greg J. Markey

Pilgrimage To the End of the World by Conrad Rudolph

Multi-media

Blog by Donna Erickson http://caminoafter60.blogspot.com/2013/08/in-beginning.html

           

Walking the Way: Six Ways to Santiago (DVD)

The Way --2010 movie with Martin

Un Camino de Santiago—CD-- Arianna Savall, Ensemble La Fenice, Jean Tubery

Camino de Santiago forum online, a really great resource. Lots of information.

            https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/

    And there are more to come!  One of the most remarkable things about these books on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is how different each is from all the others. Each writer had a unique experience that was expressed in a unique way. The lesson to be learned is that no one's Camino is like any other's, that my Camino will be just that, MY Camino. But the fact is that I'll be walking on the same road and trails and paths, the same Way that pilgrims have walked for centuries, passing through the same villages and cities, crossing the same mountain ranges and staying in many of the same albergues, or refuges, or, if you prefer the English word, hostels. The books are my way of preparing my mind.