Well on my way to continue the 1200 km walk soon…

Recently, I gave you a sort of update and flashback of my interrupted 1200 km walk towards Santiago de Compostela. I also wrote in that message a big thank you to my team and all sponsors. And I promised you that I would not give up and that I would return to Spain to finish my walk.


So, what have I done in the meantime (apart from working)? 
I went to a specialized sport physiotherapist and to a podiatrist. They extensively studied my stance, walk, muscles, et cetera. It is not entirely clear why my tendon gave me so many problems, but they were convinced that insoles may reduce the risk of recurrence of the tendinitis. So, insoles specially adapted to my feet and walking shoes were made.
I then started walking short distances, gradually increasing the length of the walks and the weight of my back pack. Since getting the insoles, I have been walking every Sunday. As soon as I was able to walk 25 km without pain, I decided to go for a special challenge: to walk the “Afsluitdijk”.


Afsluitdijk challenge
The Afsluitdijk is a long dyke that forms the boundary between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands. The dyke is 32 km long and there is no way to get lost (see pictures). I thought this was good training to see how fit my tendons are.

So, off I went on Sunday, August 4th. My husband dropped me near Zurich (North Friesland) and I walked south-west towards Den Oever (North Holland). The weather was excellent: hardly any wind, cloudy but dry, and not too warm. The largest part of the walk (30 km) is on the grass dyke. That might seem boring, but I enjoyed the magnificent view: on my left hand side the IJsselmeer, on the right hand side the Waddenzee, and in front of me the seemingly never-ending grass dyke with wildflowers. 

After 6 hours and 45 minutes, I finished the 32 km walk and, most importantly, my tendons were fine!

Still 400 km to go: on we go! 

I still have 400 km to walk in order to reach Santiago de Compostela, and I promised to do this as soon as my ankle had fully recovered and my work at the hospital allowed for a three-week break. 

The good results of the Afsluitdijk challenge encouraged me to make plans. And so I booked my flight to return to the Camino! On September 15th I will fly to Bilbao, and the next day I will return to the town where I stopped in June. So, on September 17th, I will start walking again on day 43 of my 1200 km walk for chromosome 6.

Fundraising

If you have ideas for us on how we can improve the fundraising project, please email these to chromosome6@umcg.nl. We are grateful for any suggestions you have.

Below you will find an impression of my walk on the Afsluitdijk.

Follow @c6study