After the third day of walking with my 10lb backpack. I developed a “tender” muscle in my upper gluteus maximus. I’m using the fancy term here because when I went on-line to see how serious this might be, everyone was very “Mayo Clinic” in their descriptions, so I thought I’d follow.
This tenderness could develop into something and I know the first thing a professional would say is – stop walking. Well, a lot of the information on-line actually said continue walking – Yay!!
Fortunately, if we are old enough and attentive enough, we know our limits. It doesn’t mean we always observe them, but at least we know them. I felt that I could walk, but I needed to ease up on the weight. I reduced my backpack by about a pound. The morning was beautiful and sunny, if not a little cold -1ºC. I know it’s going to get a lot colder, so I had to “Carpe Diem” – seize the day.
I bundled up – merino base layer and then some cotton leggings on the lower half – T-shirt, merino long sleeved pullover, coat with lining, hat and scarf on the upper layer. I am going to factor in these weights, as well. I may be carrying a lot more than I give myself credit for.
I headed out, with sunglasses. These days the sun is very low in the sky and the beams are pretty much at eye level. Believe me I don’t mind wearing sunglasses on a sunny day in almost Winter.
I always walk the same 10kms path – Mud Creek. This gives me a base line, so I know that any problems are caused by extra weight rather than varied terrain or a longer walk. Today the walk wasn’t busy so I could sing Christmas Carols to myself and not embarrass friends and family. My favourite is Anne Murray’s “Hark The Herald Angels Sing.”
“Say Not The Struggle Naught Availeth” you will see this quote often from me. It’s the title of an old poem by Arthur Hugh Clough – 1849 and it speaks to anyone who keeps at it – “Blessed are they that struggle for they shall succeed.” OK I made this one up.
…And succeed I did. The pain in the “butt” has gone. There is, however, a mild, complementary pain in the groin. I had read about this in my research. I can’t remember why or how it is related to the original, but it is. I think I’ll ignore it. Again experience will tell you what you can ignore and what you can’t. The leg is not about to fall off, just yet!! However, I am very determined to complete this Camino, so I am erring on the side of caution – never a strong point of mine, but there you are.
Buen Camino