May 15, 2008

Lakamas Lake 10mile/5k Run

If you don't have plans for all the sunshine this weekend has in store, maybe you should give the 4th Annual Lakamas Lake 10mile/5k Run/Walk a shot. The scenic course starts at Camas High and proceeds Northwest around Lakamas Lake, which makes for a serene setting. After running on the tree-lined paved country roads, you'll get on the Lakamas Heritage Trail. This hard-packed dirt trail offers excellent footing and just a few short hills. At this point of your run, you'll be winding right along side Lakamas Lake, offering gorgeous views of Mt. Hood. Head back towards Camas High, and a celebration awaits you full of entertainment, food, and LOTS of vendors. One lucky runner will even win a brand new Nautilus treadmill! For more information, check out the website.

Posted by orbike at 5:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 6, 2008

Sittin' Tall

It's been about a month since I've started at ORrun, which means the time spent at my computer has increased significantly since coming on board. It took just a week for me to realize that when I do sit down to work, I have the same posture as a hunched over 80 year old - no bueno. I started to feel the pain in my lower back not just when working, but pretty much the rest of the day, even while running. So I read up on how to improve my posture and learned that part of the cause could be weak lower-back muscles. Apparently this can lead to poor posture and some not-so-hot runs. Runner's Wold listed 5 exercises to help strengthen this muscle group and in turn, hopefully improve my posture and runs. You can read the same article here. And if all else fails, there's always working while standing up...yeah, right.

Posted by orbike at 6:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Magic Shoes

It was that time of year again this past Saturday - time to buy a new pair of running shoes. We all know the importance of not running in a worn-down pair, but sometimes the old ones can be a little hard to part with. (They're already broken in, right?) So it was off to the store for me. I decided to give Foot Traffic a try and boy, am I glad that I did.

Unfortunately they didn't carry my old type of shoes, but on the bright side, I had an amazing shoe-fitting. To start, the clerk (we shall call her Susie) asked me a bunch of questions about my running habits and injuries. She then had me take off my socks and watched me walk down the "catwalk" - I was a model for about 30 seconds! Susie disappeared to the back and returned with four different possibilities. As I tried on all four, she asked me questions about how they felt and very patiently answered all of my questions. The true test was her watching me give each pair a test run on the treadmill. I narrowed it down to two, ran some more, and then decided on the winner. Keep in mind, Susie was still focusing all her attention on me throughout this process. She then checked me out and I was on my way.

I couldn't wait to go home and try the new shoes out on a longer run. One word - magical. Granted, all that magic came from the shoe company, but I wouldn't have found it without Susie. Moral of the story: if it's time for a new pair of shoes, make sure you find a place that gives you a proper fitting and you too, can find the magic.

Posted by orbike at 1:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack