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Mile 138.  Tortoise desired 4 miles of walking after work in St. George, with only enough time for half of that in daylight.  That meant choosing a path where the second half would be on lit city streets.  So ... Lou parked at the Riverside Drive trailhead and walked a little over a mile down the Millcreek and Virgin River Trails, then retraced his steps.  Following that he climbed the Foremaster hill, passed the hospital, then reclimbed the hill to return.

For more pictures and details, along with today's walking thought by F. Burton Howard, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Tortoise initially considered getting his uphill walk in by starting up the Millcreek
Trail from the trailhead.  As you can see, he got stopped on that before he started.
Rain damage is still being repaired.

That's a lot of birds enjoying dinner in the pasture!

A balloon flying high above the new homes it is helping publicize.

Tortoise's first turnaround point alongside the Virgin River

Climbing Foremaster Ridge the first time

Waning sunset view from the top of the hill

Approaching Dixie Regional Medical Center at the bottom of the hill

View looking back at the hospital at the second turnaround point.

Tortoise completed today's 4.82 mile walk in 1:18:34 hours.  Tortoise rating was 4.0, based on 443 feet climbed in the 1.89 mile uphill portion (average elevation 2683). 741 calories were burned along the way.  

Tortoise's walking map provider, www.mapmyfitness.com, has changed formats and the maps haven't transferred to this blog as well since.  (Lou keeps trying without success.)  Instead of embedding the map, let's try these links and see if that works better for you to see where he walked today:

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/633033246

And here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

138.39 miles walked, which is 13.81% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 136.93 year-to-date miles.  

41:04:50 hours walked, which is 13.12% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

6,452 total feet climbed, compared with 7,225 feet on this day in 2014. 

20,653 calories burned

12.14% of the year has passed

Lou has walked 46 consecutive non-Sundays since his last missed day on December 22, and overall has walked on 336 of the 351 non-Sundays since the beginning of 2014, a 95.73% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells Tortoise that he is on track. Yes, this is more numbers than you are likely interested in, all Tortoise can say is he's really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because he doesn't do them every, every day.  (If you doubt this, compare Tortoise's 2013 walking record with 2014)

And now for today's walking thought, initially presented in April 1996:

"Many would have tarried. Others would have justified unwinding a little by saying that the journey had been long or that they were tired or hungry or thirsty. Some, not wanting to appear too zealous, would have stayed. A few, not understanding the significance of the errand, might have tried to talk Abraham out of the assignment, Yet this servant did."

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/commitment?lang=eng #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!