PTCPapa

I have run or walked in Ritter Farm Park scores of times in the past 20 years. I enjoy the outdoor air, the woods, the trees, the animals that live there, and am so grateful to the Ritter family that made the property available for all of us to enjoy, and to the City for gently maintaining it in its natural state, absent excessive improvements. Lakeville mows the trail shoulders as needed otherwise the trail shoulders get overgrown to heights of 4 feet or so. This is rich heavy soil. T he trees are tall and old; trails are steep in a few places, but gently rolling in most areas. Trail amenities are VERY simple, which is fine with me. A single port-a-potty, no running water, about 6 widely scattered benches, plenty of picnic tables, no playground equipment, but plenty of wildlife. I often see deer, infrequently snakes, occasional turtles, various small animals like rabbits chipmunks squirrels, skunks, rarely, a coyote, lots of birds, from bald eagles to little songbirds to wild turke...

I've become a convert to the idea of being a fitness center member. I fought it for a long time because I took pride in running (ok, jogging really) outside, year-round, except in conditions of dangerously-poor footing, or strong in-your-face wind. Something in me has changed so that now I don't mind the treadmill like I used to, I like the hubbub of the busy LifeTime Fitness center that I attend just 2 miles from home. I get a kick out of seeing all the pre-school kids that come in with their moms, and the little snippets of the kids' conversations that I catch as they walk through LifeTime holding their moms' hands. I've increased the length of my not-quite daily runs there from 3mi to 5mi, occasionally dropping to 1-mile when I get a message from a body part that it's working on a problem, and "please hold, pain-free service should be restored shortly." I reply, "thank you," and gladly oblige. For the past 21 years (years before then were...

I've been jogging at LifeTime Fitness the past 5 days @ 3 mi per day@ 12 min/mile pace. It's not as enjoyable as running outside, but it's been so cold this winter, that I've appreciated the warmth of LifeTime. I haven't looked at the temp stats, but it seems like we haven't had an 8am temperature above zero for about a month. Well at least it's not sloppy under foot. And everybody's cars are dirty cuz it's too cold for a carwash without freezing the locks. Vivi, Bonanz, & Meatball came over and played or baked monkey-bread and chocolate cake, or at least licked the bowl when told they could.