16-48

Mile 117.  Perhaps Tortoise got a little carried away on his walk today, reverting to a 4 mile magical mystery walk up the hills of Mesquite after his appointments.  The original objective was to park at the bottom of Kitty Hawk Drive (how's that for a great name for a street that takes you to the airport?) and walk up the hill to its end.  Lou got part way and started thinking he wouldn't be walking far enough with that plan, so he took a detour down Marilyn Parkway (named for the widow of the inventor of the video poker machine who donated a park to the city).  Great idea, but Tortoise underestimated how much hill was left to reach the airport.  Oh well, it was a beautiful day to make a "mistake" like that!  Lots of pictures today, and Bonnie Oscarson's walking thought reminded Tortoise a lot of his own youth, and the lessons learned in those days.   The results of which have been observed over the years since ...

Cheerio!

Marilyn Parkway

Here's that park Marilyn Redd donated to Mesquite 

Getting a little further up the hill

Yes, Tortoise obeyed the signs and did not walk into the airport.

But he enjoyed looking at the planes there.

Lou tried to get a picture of a little jet taking off very quickly from this
downhill runway, but he couldn't push his phone buttons fast enough.

A better view of the little water feature at Wolf Creek.

Slope averaged 3% today, with a couple 6% segments.

Today's walk was 4.35 miles and had a 5.0 tortoise rating earned by climbing 331 feet in the 2.18 mile uphill portion. Average elevation was 1790.  This walk burned 698 calories in 70:16 minutes, a pace of 16:09 minutes per mile.  It was Lou's ninth 5k walk of 2016. 

Here are the overall stats so far for 2016:

117.12 miles walked which is 17.15% of Lou's 2016 goal of 683 miles.  His goal for this date is 89.18 total miles.  

31:48:55 hours walked which is 15.20% of the 2016 goal (which is to walk 40 minutes a day on the 314 days other than Sunday in the year).  

9,053 total feet climbed so far in 2016, compared to a year-to-date goal of 8,036. Lou hopes to climb more than the 61,316 feet he climbed in 2015 -- but in 40 or so minutes, rather than an hour daily.  (So far in 2016 Tortoise's walks have averaged 46:34 minutes each, compared with 1:07:04 hours each in 2015)

18,783 calories burned.

13.06% of the year has passed.

Lou has walked 242 consecutive non-Sundays since his 8 missed days May 2-11, Overall he has walked on 345 of the 354 non-Sundays in 2015-16, a 97.46% 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.  And of course, he also wants to keep the Boredom Committee supplied with plenty of boring numbers so those good folks will be happy ...

And now for today's walking thought ...

"I would like to share an example of how living a principle helps us become converted to that principle.  I was a young woman in the '60s and the only LDS girl in my high school.  It was a revolutionary period characterized by the rejection of traditional morals, drug use, and an 'anything goes' mentality.  Many of my peers were good people but found it easy to get caught up in the excitement of this new morality, which actually was just the old immorality.  My parents and teachers at church had impressed upon me the value of treating my body with respect, keeping a clear mind, and most of all, learning to trust in the Lord's commandments.  I made the decision to avoid situations where I knew alcohol would be present and to stay clear of tobacco and drugs.  It often meant I was not included at parties, and I rarely dated.  Drug use was becoming more and more common among young people, and the dangers were not as well knows as they are today.  Many of my peers later suffered permanent damage from mind-altering drugs or got caught up in serious addictions.  I was grateful to have been taught to live the Word of Wisdom in my home, and I gained a deep testimony of that principle of the gospel as I exercised faith and lived it.  The good feeling that came to me from living a true gospel principle was the Spirit of the Holy Ghost confirming that the principle was true."

-- Bonnie L. Oscarson, "Be Ye Converted", October 2013 LDS General Conference

The tortoise is smiling!