The Loop

When I don't have time to take Pasta to a park or a local trail, I walk her through our neighborhood. We walk to the top of our street, then back down by way of a trail, which brings us out on the main road, and back down to our street.

I call it The Loop. (I know....genius, right?!)

See that red arrow? I stood right where it is and took this photo of our street:

It may not look like much, but this hill kicks....my....butt. By the time we get to the top of it, I have to stop and catch my breath. The other night, while walking Pasta, something occurred to me. This little 10-minute wallk we take is a perfect opportunity for some low-intensity intervial training. If I walk it several times, it provides a good cardio workout with varying levels of intensity. I work hard getting up the hill, and then I catch my breath coming down the trail, and then I do it again. After walking The Loop three or four times, I've worked up a little bit of a sweat, I've gotten between 30 and 40 minutes of cardio work in, and I have a happy dog, because she got to go for a walk. :)

Not gonna lie....when I can get to the top of my street without gasping for air or having to stop to catch my breath, I will do a little victory dance.