15-351

Mile 1,066.  It's plenty cold in the mornings, and most of the time in the afternoons these days.  But for one December afternoon, Tortoise was comfortable walking in a long sleeved shirt.  No coat, no beanie, no scarf, no gloves.  He was in Mesquite for work appointments, and when they were done, he headed out on a loop of that city's trails, enjoying the sunshine, no wind, and temperatures in the low 50s.  Today's walking thought is by Linda Reeves ...

Cheerio!

Tortoise parked his car near the ducks at the Hafen Trailhead Park

And started his loop counterclockwise, by going east on the Virgin River trail.
(Wouldn't it be fun if all of them met someday?)

Now headed north

Approaching Library Park

When I-15 is reached, Lou took sidewalks along Old Mill Road
to connect with the southbound trail.

Which goes along side of this park

They have a special park for dogs and their owners.

Now at the west end of the Virgin River trail, headed east to complete the loop

Past the trees and the brush, the river comes into view.

Today's walk was 4.66 miles and had a 6.2 tortoise rating earned by climbing 79 feet in the 2.33 mile uphill portion.  Average elevation was 1593. This walk burned 732 calories in 1:16:39 hours.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

1,066.33 miles walked which is 106.42% of Lou's 2015 goal.  On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 991.77 miles.  

327:46:30 hours walked which is 104.72% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year).  

58,672 total feet climbed, compared with 48,397 feet on this day in 2014.

160,270 calories burned.

96.17% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 189 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11, Overall he has walked on 292 of the 301 non-Sundays in 2015, a 97.01% consistency rating.  This compares with 288 days walked in the same period in 2014 (a 95.68% 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.  He hopes you find what works for you).

And now for today's walking thought ...

"Brothers and sisters, how do we protect our children and youth?  Filters are useful tools, but the greatest filter in the world, the only one that will ultimately work, is the personal internal filter that comes from a deep and abiding testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and our Saviors atoning sacrifice for each one of us.

"How do we lead our children to deep conversion and to access our Savior's Atonement?  I love the prophet Nephi's declaration of what his people did to fortify the youth of his day:  'We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ ... that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

-- Linda S. Reeves, "Protection from Pornography -- a Christ-Focused Home", April 2014 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!