Side-Stepping My Way to Strong Quads.

Our marathon training schedule has been posted.  Official start date for training: July 4th, 2011 (maybe there will be fireworks!). Official race date: October 23rd, 2011.

I now know what my running life will look like over the next 5 months. It's exciting and, of course, a little scary.  If I am actually able to pull this whole thing off, I will be very impressed.

So I did what I always do when I get a new training schedule.  I printed it off and headed upstairs to show one of my co-workers who happens to be a non-runner.

When I showed her my first 10k schedule, she was impressed.

My first 1/2 marathon schedule - she was doubly impressed.

My first 30k - she voiced some concern about my ability to handle the distance.

My marathon schedule - she took one look at it and burst out laughing.  Kept laughing.  Stopped long enough to say 'good luck with that' and laughed again. 

Apparently I've officially entered the 'you're crazy' realm of running. 

I'm ok with that.

Speaking of crazy, last night I spent a whopping 5$ on a therapeutic band that will apparently help strengthen my hips and quads.  Another problematic area of mine.  Turns out I have a lot of muscle mass up there but it's not strong enough to keep me stabilized when I run. So I received instructions from both Geoff and Janice to work on that area. 

Must.  Get.  Stronger.

Picture this if you will.  I tie the band in a loop and then step inside of it.  The loop goes around my knees.  I stand with my feet fairly close together and then take one big step sideways, keeping the other leg in place.  I bring the leg that didn't move back into position and then take another big step sideways.  I have been told to to this from one end of my house to the other and back again - six times.  Twice a day. Six days a week.

So this morning, in a state of semi-dress (I get hot damn it!) I was side stepping back and forth from kitchen to living room and back again.  Doug puttered away in the kitchen as through this was perfectly normal and this is what everyone does after breakfast.

The band is stretchy but there is a lot of resistance.  It takes strength to take a big step and keep the other leg stable. About five steps in to this routine, the entire outside of my hip and quad were feeling the burn.  Twice a day every day.  My quads are going to get so big I won't be able to fit through the door!

So, if you're out and about in the early morning hours and see a strange looking lass walking kinda funny in her living room, don't worry about it.  She's just getting in shape for her marathon training.

Crazy runners indeed.