A Small Hiccup

Two weekends ago we headed off for our usual Saturday hike, this time carrying almost full packs (per our masseuse Natasha, each about "the size of a big turkey") with plans to drive over to our local 270 meter 'mountain' and put in a solid 20kms. It was a brilliant sunny day and things got off to a nice start with little difficulty experienced on approach and upward journey. We rested at the top while enjoying the amazing view across the local waters to the US mainland and our own coastal mountains.

We must have been a little too dazzled by the view as we decided that the 'up' portion had gone so well that we would descend down the more rugged back-side route. This would mean that Annemarie would not have the use of her poles for the first quite steep portion. Things started well, but at some point Annemarie tweaked her knee and continued along in her usual 'keep moving' style. Once we arrived at the bottom she told me that it only hurt when she stopped, so against her partner's sage advice she kept on hiking. Some 5kms later as we were heading back into the park area to re-climb the 'mountain' I heard Annemarie let out a significant yelp of pain, and I turned to find that she had come to a complete stop! There was no choice, we had to get her in for medical treatment, and it was fortunate that we had not yet entered the park. Although we were on a dead end road, I was able to fairly quickly arrange a ride for Annemarie. A very nice fellow from out of town (Keith) made sure that Annemarie was safely inside the clinic before he departed. A good Samaritan if ever there was one...didn't leave any contact information...who was that masked stranger?? I guess this could be interpreted as a Camino moment...we'll take it as such.

By the time I'd hiked back through the park, located our car, stopped for a hot chocolate (it's a joke people!) and arrived at the clinic, Annemarie had been checked out and told that there was no injury...did I say that there was a loud popping noise when her knee quit? I found the diagnosis hard to believe...I've seen lots of knee injuries on TV and those folks are always hurt, so why not Annemarie?

Long story short, Annemarie did pretty well to keep the knee 'fairly' immobile and iced for 4-5 days, but you know...its Annemarie. Enough said. I told her she couldn't drive either car anyway as she had hurt her left knee and with both cars being manual, she couldn't manage the clutch...so cool to know you have someone 'over a barrel'. Drove her to her doc the following Wednesday where she was informed that a tendon had been damaged and that it would be a 4-6 week recovery process. Somewhat limited activity initially and she has her first physio with a knee specialist tomorrow.

A set-back for sure, but for a while our Camino adventure flashed before our eyes...mine any way! Stay tuned...  Still 12 weeks to get fully mobile again...time enough!

June 20th: Update: The injury is an odd one...small muscle in the back of the knee...should be back to normal in 4 more weeks if the physio and treatment are successful. Good news!

It's About Time

"Time flies... It's up to you to be the navigator." I came across this quote earlier this week, and it reflected some of my recent thoughts. Today is day two of a requirement that I stay off my feet for up to 5 days...not something I adjust happily to, but it does give me the bonus of "down time". More on the reason for this untimely restriction later. For now, I'm taking this bonus downtime as an opportunity to put together another blog entry - about time. Until my recent confinement, my reflections on time were about the time commitment of the Camino, both in terms of prep time and in terms of time away. I am now adding some thoughts about planned and unplanned use of time.

Time really is a limited commodity - a realization that may be a little late in coming to me, but true nevertheless. Time does not always expand to meet the need, and in fact there are actually only 24 hours in a day (unless you're crossing time zones, in which case what you gain going one way you will almost invariably lose going the other way). So why the new obsession with time? In short, walking takes time (again, a surprising insight given that it's taken 57 years to gain this realization, but better late than never). This all translates to the fact that the walking required for preparation - or at least the level of preparation we are comfortable with - is taking a fair bit of time. For me this is primarily weekend time - time I would normally use in other ways.  In the summer I like to use weekend for getaways - and in May I had several; one to Kelowna, one to Santa Barbara, one surprise getaway to Saltspring, and one to Calgary. These were all important and lovely family connection times - but they did interfere with my walking time. Add in the general home maintenance requirements (cleaning, groceries, etc.), and a wish to maintain at least a minimal connection with friends, and the end result is that finding the time for those walks - which require at least 4 hours - becomes a challenge. In fairness, Geoff has taken on a lot of the maintenance, so my load has lightened significantly in that area, but all of this has made me think more about the choices I make regarding my free time.

In terms of the time required for the Camino itself - this, too has triggered some thoughts. We made the decision last fall to commit to a six week window. When thinking a year in advance, this made complete sense. This would mean that Geoff would need to add some extra time into his regular work schedule so that he could add the extra days to his vacation. For me, it meant that the majority but not all of my vacation time would be dedicated to this one event (I had some time to carry over from the previous year, so that was helpful). As the time for our trip approaches, the implications of that time commitment come out in different ways. Despite our best intentions, there will only be one camping trip this summer - we don't have the time to expand our weekends into long weekends, and our focus on the weekends does have to be our training. Planning for six weeks away from work is also, for me at least, showing itself as more of a challenge than it seemed it would be, with several critical events all converging on the time that I will be away (this will serve to reinforce the fact that I am not indispensable, which is always a good reminder).

And then there's the topic of planned and unplanned time. We had a lovely weekend planned...starting with a training hike (full packs) up and over Mt. Doug (twice), taking in "Quartet" at the Cinecenta, biking and lunch with Ted and Sue, and dinner with Caitlin. Then my knee decided to give me a message - we don't always get to do what we thought we were going to do. I am uninjured but unable to walk...hmmm...what does this mean for the Camino? I'm taking it to mean that with all these reflections on time, and how I choose to use it, sometimes we don't actually get as much of a choice as we thought, so when we do, we should maximize our choices. I am a couch potato and not happy about it, but I am enjoying having the time to put some of my thoughts together...something I seem not to have been able to find the time for in any other way.

We Have a New Toy!

While Annemarie was away at a conference in Calgary she took some time to find and purchase an iPad mini. I've been waiting for the new iPad Mini2 to come out hoping it would be here before we departed, but Apple release has been delayed until fall 2013.  Annemarie has wanted one too and picked up the original. I'm typing this on the new toy as I give it a test ride. Not too bad, and my typing style, or lack of style, suits it too a tee! Annemarie will also use it for her reader....saves weight, allows us to Skype home and email, etc. 

Update: Annemarie's orange poncho arrived yesterday...now we will both look equally ridiculous...safely visible...but ridiculous!