Dog days

If you’re looking to build some stamina and get healthy, there’s still time to take advantage of Red Dog’s Dog Days, a free, community workout that happens each year in Lawrence.

I’ve been attending this year and the workouts have been incredible and butt kicking.

As a full-time web guy and full-time husband and dad, I spend a lot of time at a desk in front of the computer and being busy. Thanks to the comforts of modern life, I have the ability to expend very little energy above the bare minimum during my day. While this was suppose to be a charmed life, it really is a curse. Couple a stagnant lifestyle with the typical food temptations everyone goes through, it can be quite damaging to the waistline.

Fortunately, Lawrence’s residents seem to be committed to getting and staying healthy, so there are opportunities around town like Dog Days to get some type of physical activity in. Earlier this year, the LJWorld reported that Douglas County was among the top five healthiest counties in Kansas. A similar, different, study in the same paper last year had DoCo as the 27th healthiest out of Kansas’ 105 counties.

Those are some great numbers. However, there are some sad numbers in those reports as well: a couple of the unhealthiest counties in Kansas – Cherokee and Montgomery – are where my family calls home. Clearly, I have a lot going against me to be as healthy as I’d like to be. But, I’ve done it before and I’m confident I can do it again.

Maybe I’ll see you at Dog Days? It runs now through Aug. 7, 2010.