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Pushed myself a little extra today by doing a 7.47 mile walk with 164 feet climbed in 2:00:04 hours along the shoreline on a beautiful fall morning in Long Beach, California.  Tortoise rating:  6.8. 

Update:  This not only qualified as a Benjamin Category Upgrade walk, it was a full 10 kilometers and then some.  :-)

Please click below for a map, pictures, and more ...

Cheerio!

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Tortoise was having what Sunny would call a stellar day ... .... Walked to work with his pack. Doug Jr was at the house over the weekend, and was amazed when he lifted my pack ... so I weighed it. 19 pounds. He was surprised it was that low. Anyway, I did the 3.01 mile walk with 180 feet climbed in 54:58, which is an 18:17 minute per mile pace, and feeling great!  (Tortoise rating:  5.5)

.... The Confluence Park ribbon cutting ceremony was this afternoon from 4 to 7 pm. Doug Jr had to be to work by then, so we went on a magical mystery tour around noon, checked it out and walked around a little. Not enough to measure, but we had a good time, and every little bit helps!  Please click on the line below for more pictures, a weigh-in and to continue reading:

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I enjoyed another Sabbath day of rest today (September 23).  Life took me on a 0.50 mile walk in 12 minutes up 20 feet of stairs.  Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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A variation on my standard walk of the last week or so, this morning, Saturday, September 22 ... I followed my usual path home for the first 0.8 miles, past Hurricane Elementary and Valley Academy, and along 600 North almost to the utility buildings.  Then I turned and took the steep (short sections of 12% grade on a slippery rock path) East Cinder Cone trail, which rewarded me with some great views!

Round trip from my office to the loop on top and back:  3.15 miles with 433 feet climbed in 1:07:22, a 21:23 minute per mile pace.  The path is rated 3.4 tortoises, my first 4 tortoise bracket walk first since July 7.  Click on the line below for a map, pictures, and more:

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The walking to work string ended today ... sort of.

I needed the car to be home tonight, so it wasn't practical to walk home.  Solution?  Walk half way home at 8 pm, turn around and go back to work, then drive home.

After talking with Josh today, I will try to find my way on a sustainable and challenging pace.  Shin splints would not be a good plan, and I was definitely flirting with them.

So ... 3.01 miles with 180 feet climbed in 51:02, which is a 16:58 minute per mile pace.  It included a HumanaFit category 5 climb

Please click on the line below for a map and more:

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Walked home from work this evening (Thursday, September 20). 6th day in a row.  3.01 miles walked with 161 feet climbed in 44:31, a pace of 14:48 minutes per mile.   HumanaFit category 5 climb.  Tortoise rating:  5.2.  Please click on the line below for a map and more:

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Walked to work this morning (Wednesday, September 19). 5th day in a row.  3.01 miles walked with 180 feet climbed in 44:58, a pace of 14:57 minutes per mile.   HumanaFit category 5 climb. Tortoise rating:  5.2. Please click on the line below for a map and more:

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Walked to work this morning (Tuesday, September 18). 4th day in a row. Battery died at 2.08 miles so that is the official count, but I did walk the rest of the way. 197 feet climbed in 38:21, a pace of 18:24 minutes per mile.   HumanaFit category 5 climb.  This brings my chapter 3 totals to 171.07 miles walked in 64 hours 11 minutes, with 12,287 feet climbed, and 14 swims totalling 4,640 meters in 4 hour 57 minutes.  This was my 35th category 5 walk. They total 55.31 miles, with 4,402 feet climbed in 18 hours 38 minutes. Average grade while climbing 3.58%.  Please click on the line below for a map and more:

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This evening's walk (Monday, September 17) was 3.01 miles, with 157 feet climbed in 57 minutes.  The climbing portion was rated HumanaFit category 5, my first since Saturday, and averaged a 2.9% average grade.  Tortoise rating:  5.2. This brings my chapter 3 totals to 168.99 miles walked in 63 hours 33 minutes, with 12,090 feet climbed, and 14 swims totalling 4,640 meters in 4 hour 57 minutes. This was my 34th category 5 walk. They total 53.23 miles, with 4,205 feet climbed in 18 hours 0 minutes. Average grade while climbing 3.60%.  Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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I enjoyed another Sabbath day of rest today (September 16).  Life took me on a 0.50 mile walk in 12 minutes up 20 feet of stairs.  This brings my chapter 3 totals to 165.98 miles walked in 62 hours 36 minutes, with 11,933 feet climbed, and 14 swims totalling 4,640 meters in 4 hour 57 minutes.  Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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I opted to walk home from work last night and walked back to work this morning (Saturday, September 15), rather than do a long walk with a category 3 climb today, since it is a deadline week at work.  This morning's walk was 3.01 miles, with 180 feet climbed in 48 minutes.  The climbing portion was rated HumanaFit category 5 for the second consecutive day, and had a 3.1% average grade.  Tortoise rating:  5.2. Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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This is a deadline week at work, so rather than do a long walk with a category 3 climb on Saturday, I opted to walk home from work tonight (Friday, September 14), and will walk back to back to work tomorrow morning.  This evening's walk was 3.01 miles, with 157 feet climbed in 47 minutes.  The climbing portion was HumanaFit rated category 5, my first since Tuesday, September 11, and averaged a 2.9% average grade.  Tortoise rating:  5.2. Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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Walked 2.51 miles with 66 feet climbed in 38 minutes ... to the doctor's office and back to get a kenalog allergy shot today, September 13.  This brings my chapter 3 totals to 159.46  miles walked in 60 hours 49 minutes, with 11,576 feet climbed, and 14 swims totalling 4,640 meters in 4 hour 57 minutes. Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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Walked 0.60 miles downhill in 10 minutes rather than take a ride from one appointment to the next this afternoon (September 12) so I could get some kind of walk in on this busy day.  Got to do something every day!  Please click on the next line to read more of the details:

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Walked 1.50 miles, climbing 112 feet (3.4% grade) in 21 minutes this evening (September 11).  Second straight day with a HumanaFit category 5 climb. Tortoise rating:  4.7.  The map doesn't load, but at least gives some of the stats.  It is essentially the same route as the past few days, except I went a little farther along 600 North before turning around.  Please click on the next line to continue reading:

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Today's walk (September 10) was 1.35 miles, with 108 feet climbed in 20 minutes.  The climbing portion was HumanaFit rated category 5, with a 3.4% average grade. Tortoise rating:  4.6.  Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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I enjoyed another Sabbath day of rest today (September 9).  Life took me on a 0.50 mile walk in 12 minutes up 20 feet of stairs.  Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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The walk was good ... but the highlight of my day was going with Willyne
 to watch our grandson Ethan play soccer.  You can tell
 Uncle Doug and Riley are having a good time too!

Continued work on a route for what I am calling the La Verkin Scenic Circle trail this morning, September 8.  I hoped to do the entire circle,  but only had a little over 2 hours, and now believe it will take me 3.  So I started from the top of the Confluence Park trail at 480 South, headed to the overlook, then down basically using the route from three weeks ago with one modification that hopefully you can see on the map below ... I found a path closer to the ridge line and didn't use as much of the overlook road.  Once I got down to Wanlass Park I continued to where the La Verkin Crescent Park will be, and then on to the Confluence Park trailhead on 560 West.  At that point I was at two hours, stopped the primary walk, and started walking towards home until Willyne met me en route.

I can visualize future trailheads and parking areas on the Scenic Circle trail at the top of the Confluence Park trail on State Street near the La Verkin-Hurricane bridge, the bottom and top of the Overlook Trail, Wanlass Park, Crescent Park, the 560 West trailhead of the Confluence Park Trail, and the Confluence Park parking area and information kiosk.  People will be able to enjoy all or part of the Scenic Circle trail that includes and connects these other trails as their time permits using these various trailheads.

Please click here for maps, pictures, a weigh-in and more ...

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Today's walk (September 7) was 1.08 miles with 82 feet climbed in 15 minutes.  The climbing portion was rated category 5 for a fourth consecutive day, with a 3.2% average grade.  Tortoise rating:  5.4. Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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Tonight's walk (September 6) was 1.37 miles in 20 minutes.  The 112 feet climbed (3.3% average grade while climbing) qualified it for HumanaFit category 5, for the third consecutive day. Tortoise rating:  5.3.  Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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Second straight day with a mild (category 5 climb) ... but a climb all the same, today, September 5.  Walked 1.27 miles, with 102 feet climbed, in 23 minutes.  The climbing portion had a 3.1% average grade. Tortoise rating:  5.3.  Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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Today's walk (September 4) was 1.36 miles, with 108 feet climbed in 23 minutes.  The climbing portion was rated category 5, with a 3.4% average grade.  Tortoise rating:  5.3.  Please click on the line below for a map and additional information:

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 I got to enjoy walking with Doug Jr, Josh and Ethan, Benjamin, and Ryan Despain in Zion Park today (Labor Day, September 3).  My GPS went haywire and recorded a much longer walk than we actually did (if you look at the map closely, you will see it has us walking in the air more than once)

Please click on the line below for that map, lots more pictures, and other goodies:

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I enjoyed another Sabbath day of rest today (September 2).  Life took me on a 0.50 mile walk in 12 minutes up 20 feet of stairs.  Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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Did lots of driving today (September 1) ... from Safford, Arizona back home after visiting with John Wilson in the Federal Correctional Institution.  John's wife Sharon made the trip down too, she stayed on for a longer visit after we left.

Had the minimum walk, 0.50 miles in 12 minutes with 20 feet of stairs climbed.  Please click on the line below to continue reading:

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Now there is my kind of sporting goods store - seen on this morning's walk!

I walked 1.25 miles and climbed 60 feet up 8 flights of stairs in 25 minutes today.  Tortoise rating:  6.1. No map, the GPS on my phone didn't work today (August 31) for some unknown reason .  The path was walking on the sidewalk adjacent to the circular service road around the Arrowhead Trail Mall in Glendale, Maricopa County, Arizona.  (Glendale is the Phoenix westside suburb known for its large domed University of Phoenix football stadium, which has hosted both the Super Bowl and the BCS title game ... yet the University of Phoenix does not have a football program!)

Please click on the line below to continue reading: