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Mile 831.  Tortoise walked the direct route to church this evening, then found a hill to climb to finish a winding loop home afterwards.  There's a picture highlighting the contrast between the shaded street and the sunset lit hillside among the features waiting for you when you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

Today's walk was 2.84 miles, with a 5.4 tortoise rating earned by climbing 100 feet in the 1.42 mile uphill portion.  Average elevation was 3244.  The walk burned 425 calories in 48:08 minutes.

Weigh-in:  226.1.  This was a 2.8 pound increase from Lou's last weigh-in on September 30.  So we have work to do.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

831.62 miles walked, which is 83.00% of Lou's 2015 goal.  On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 813.84 year-to-date miles.

254:55:57 hours walked, which is 81.45% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year).

43,924 total feet climbed, compared with 39,325 feet on this day in 2014.

124,671 calories burned.

78.27% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 133 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11.  Overall he has walked on 236 of the 245 non-Sundays in 2015, a 96.33% consistency rating.  This compares with 232 days walked in the same period in 2014 (a 94.69% consistency rating).

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of both distance and of 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 walking record up until 2013 with 2014 or 2015 ... for him, it is what it takes to be consistent.  And Tortoise feels much more vibrant when he is consistent.  He hopes you find what works for you).

And now for today's walking thought ...

"The world in which we live is similar to the potter's spinning wheel, and the speed of that wheel is increasing.  Like the clay on the potter's wheel, we must be centered as well.  Our core, the center of our lives, must be Jesus Christ and His gospel.  Living a Christ-centered life means we learn about Jesus Christ and His gospel and then we follow His example and keep His commandments with exactness.

"The ancient prophet Isaiah stated, 'But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.' (Isaiah 64:8)"

-- Richard J. Maynes, "The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life", October 2015 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!