Holy hamstrings!
I awoke this morning to hamstrings that were super tight and sore. Apparently yesterday’s leg workout was seriously legit. One hundred squats is no joke!
I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d even be able to run when Ryan and I got to the gym, so I began my time on the treadmill with some fast walking. Walking fast actually made my hamstrings feel worse, so I picked up my pace and started running. After about five minutes, they loosed up a bit and didn’t bother me much for the remainder of my five-mile run.
I made sure to spend a good 10 minutes stretching them out after my run which hurt so good.
And now I am walking like a duck.
Breakfast
Today’s breakfast was awesome.
I made myself a wafflewich by topping two toasted whole wheat waffles with muenster cheese and two fried eggs. Turkey bacon rounded out the meal.
I love using waffles as the bread of a sandwich. For some reason they make breakfast sandwiches much more fun.
Most Walkable Cities
The other day I stumbled upon an article about the most walkable cities in the Unites States.
The article defined “walkability” as the ability to walk to the grocery store, restaurants and other amenities like the post office.
The most walkable cities in America include:
- New York City
- San Francisco
- Boston
- Chicago
- Philadelphia
- Seattle
- Washington, D.C.
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- Oakland
You may search for your city’s walkability score on this website.
My former hometown of Orlando pulled in a score of 74 out of 100, earning it the title of “Very Walkable.”
When I typed in my current zip code, the location of our new home earned a score of zero, deeming it “Car Dependent.”
I definitely miss the conveniences of Orlando. It was so nice to live in such close proximity to everything I needed but Ocala has a lot more trees, greenery and the stars shine extra bright at night. That counts for something, right?
Question of the Morning
- What score did your hometown receive on the walkability scale?
- Do you think it’s important to live somewhere extremely walkable?
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Mine ranks at one of the least walkable, but I find ways to get out and stretch my legs anyway. We at least have nice walking paths around various parts of town – now if only they were functional, as in, if only I could walk one to my office!
I got a 29…car dependent. Which is true but there are several places you CAN walk to from my house. A grocery store (although I always buy way too much to do that) a few resturaunts, a Starbucks and a fro-yo shop. But other than that it is drive city. I wish I lived in a walkable city!
Minneapolis received a 69.3. Oh how I miss being up north!
And yes, trees and greenery definitely count for something! Especially when the only place you see that is Disney World! 🙂
Nice! Minneapolis scored a 9 on your list! I love living close to everything–because even when I do drive, I don’t like being in the car forever.
PORTLAND, OR!!!! A 97 🙂
I definitely live in a walkable city. I don’t even own a car so if I’m going somewhere I either better be able to walk, run, bike or take the train to it! It’s one of the things I love about working in NYC and living near it the absolute most!
My suberb of Houston got a 65. There are lots of bike and walking trails which i love. But I don’t find it convenient to walk to go places like the grocery store. I love being able to walk but I’m not a city girl. I like being somewhere with more trees. But with that comes more car usage.
ooo i think chicago is more walkable than san francisco…have u walked those hills? man they’re tough!
i live in philadelphia however i think that Philly really depends on the area like any other city. it is horrible because i work out of the city so i am ALWAYS driving which i cannot stand.
I wish i could just walk everywhere so i could feel like it is truly more walkable.
I love how you seem to find the bright side in every situation. It’s okay to say that ocala is boring and you have more teeth in your mouth than most of it’s population! Just Kidding….maybe?
But you are absolute right, it is green and beautiful! I am sure once you meet some friends you will enjoy yourself more. How come you aren’t taking any classes at your gym, maybe you can meet other fit junkies that way?
I live in Phoenix and it’s most definitely car dependent. 🙁
I love mixing sweet and savory together, so your wafflewich totally makes sense to me and I’m wishing I had some for breakfast right now too! haha
I live in Indianapolis and it got a 72, saying it is very walkable. I disagree 100% with this–I would rate it a 0! haha….it is definitely the most spread out city I have ever been to and I live in my car. Not only that, it takes at least 30 minutes to get anywhere in the city (I was told this is because the city is in a circle??)
a 58, but I would’ve scored it higher. I walk to work, the grocery store and just about everywhere else. The only things that aren’t w/in walking distance are major shopping centers (Target, the mall, etc).
I live right near Charlotte which scored a 92 for Walker’s Paradise.
Of course the area that I happen to live in only scored a 9! 🙁
oh scratch that…it’s an 89. I looked at the wrong thing. score!
I’m in Orlando but about 10 min driving distance from most places. We do have a Wal-Mart neighborhood market about a mile from my house but that’s about it. I would love to live in one of those downtown condos (I think 55West has a floor JUST for a dog park lol!) My hubby likes acreage…as long as he is willing to maintain it I’m ok with that haha! I’ll stick to planting some flowers and growing my herbs 🙂
I live in Jersey City, NJ which is pretty walkable…not as much as NYC unfortunately! I love being able to simply walk out my door to wherever we need to go..however, I do still enjoy a good car ride from time to time!
Walkability is huge in my book! I want to be able to go quite a few miles around town, feel safe in addition, and know that I am always going to find new fun places to check out! Chicago is great, however, in a second you can end up somewhere super shady…so I don’t like that component. I think the perfect “walkable” area would be somewhere like Colorado in the summer. I haven’t been but it sounds great 🙂 Especially for when I get my Vizsla baby!!
I love how walkable Orlando is, but they should also take weather into consideration. At least we don’t have to deal with snow, but in the summer, a walk results in you being drenched with sweat when you get home!
Hi Julie! I love, love, love your blog!! 🙂 I am from Portland, which ranked 12th I believe. It is an awesome city where there are plenty of trails to hike, paths to bike on and incredible scenery. It is truly incredible to live there…Minus the occasional rain 🙂
My city would be ZERO walkable. There is not one single actual destination that is walkable from here. And apparently this part of NC is anti-sidewalk.
I would love to live somewhere walkable. Maybe next time.
I have always heard wonderful things about Portland as most outdoor friendly, most parks, most dog friendly, etc.
The Kidless Kronicles
Wag More, Bark….
We were 58 out of 100, which is good. Oddly enough, I’ve never walked to a destination, I always just walk in a circle, for exercise.
I learned Texas is not walkable.. yep, far too much land. A 15minute drive to something is completely normal lol that would take forever to walk! Darn.
Number 4! Woot! That breakfast looks amazing, by the way. Wish I had that this morning!
Plus, we always have our pup with us, and we can’t bring him into the grocery store!
Oh boy, Deltona got a score of zero! haha! Good thing we aren’t too far from the ocean 🙂
Wahooo! Go #6 and #9!
Whoa! Santa Barbara got a score of 100!! I guess since it’s a smaller town, it didn’t make the big city list. But since moving here a few weeks ago, I have been able to walk or ride my bike everywhere and we are planning on going down from two cars to just one. I am in love with this town!!
I used to live in Miami and that is the number one thing that I miss. I lived in Brickell and could walk to everything I needed! Shopping, restaurants, hair, groceries, the AA arena, even the club if I wanted too, haha. Now that I’m back in Virginia I have to use my car for everything. It drives me bananas. I even have to drive to go run somewhere!
What’s even more interesting is that Virginia Beach got a score of 83…but there are very few areas of the city that are truly walkable.
I cant wait to move somewhere where I wont have to use my car for everything!
I live in Richmond VA and it IS really walkable! We have a huge running community so there are lots of great paths and trails for walking or running!
Hi Julie!
I love your blog, but never comment. I just wanted to let you know I was inspired to do your leg workout yesterday (since I too have gotten into a workout rut doing full body strength routines). YEAH that workout is some serious stuff! I can barely sit down this morning, my glutes are SO SORE!! I love it! (and yeah, I’m walking like a duck too!)
Thanks!!
PS: my neighborhood in San Diego got a 72 out of 100! That’s definitely important to us, and one reason why we chose to move to this neighborhood.
I live in Los Angeles– probably one of the LEAST walkable cities in the USA!! (plus if you walk outside, you inhale tons of pollution… double bummer)
Luckily, my husband and I have moved around enough to finally find a somewhat ‘walkable’ place– I can walk to the grocery store if I’m really ambitious– and on the weekends, we’ve found beautiful hiking trails!
It’s funny you say that about the stars. The other night I was looking at the sky thinking “I can’t see any stars!” Because of our close proximity to Disney and downtown Orlando (two things that light up the sky all the time) there is rarely a time that our sky gets dark enough to see stars. Kinda sad. The last time I saw stars was on vacation in Sanibel and I was just amazed!
Atlanta got an 85, which I don’t agree with at all! Everything is so spread out here, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a car.
it’s number 10! go oakland!
Houston got a 34 out of 100 🙁
Yea totally can’t walk places at all here. Unless if you live in downtown but then you probably need a car. Everything seems so far away from each other!
The town I grew up in in suburban New Jersey scores a 12 (car-dependent), but my current address in Washington, DC, has a walk score of 100! I LOVE being able to walk everywhere. I still own a car, but hardly ever drive it.
Yay for Boston! I ditched my car about a year ago and love being able to walk everywhere. It also forces me to just get the essentials whenever I go shopping…since I can only buy what I can carry. Although I frequently overestimate the amount I can comfortably carry whenever I go to Trader Joe’s!
It’s actually not that important to me—I love walking outside in the fresh air, but I like to do that with my dog, and she’s not welcome everywhere i go. 🙂 So I enjoy hopping in the car and cranking up my music to run errands!
I just came from HRG site and saw her dinner from last night. Then, your page with that yummy breakfast. I am dying here. My trainer challenged all his clients to do a 100 squats an hour a couple of months ago. I lasted 7 hours with 700 squats. I could not walk for days. I had to run a race that Saturday. NEVER again. Enjoy your day!
Walkability just as others have said above, is really how you look at it. I’ve lived in the heart of the city of Chicago – where you could walk to anything, and actually getting in your car took LONGER than walking to wherever you were going, and there is something to say about that. It’s fun – bustling. But honestly, I prefer the “walkability” of somewhere like Ocala – or the suburbs where we are now – or the foothills in Colorado where I was born – it’s just so much more open, green, and you can really take the outdoors and enjoy nature. Especially with you having a dog, you can look at it from Sadie’s view too. In my opinion, if you plan your trips in your car well so that you’re not running here or there for one tube of toothpaste, then the “walkability” of a place like Ocala is much more viable and really can lead to an increased appreciation for nature!
LOVE your blog Julie – keep up the great work! 🙂
I grew up in Denver (score of 89), then moved to Boston, and now am in NYC… I guess I’m pretty spoiled in the walkability department. I’ve never found Denver to be very walkable and I drive everywhere when I visit. I love not needing a car in new york, and love that everything is so accessible. But, there are times when having a car would be nice, so there’s a downside to living in a city where it’s so expensive to drive.
lol mine got a 0 car dependent also
My hometown, Fort Lauderdale scored a 59.2…not too bad! I miss living in Chicago though because I literally walked everywhere there. Having a car was almost an inconvenience in that city!
NYC is def. really walkable, mostly because you don’t even notice how much you are walking because there is so much too see! On top of that, the pavements are really big and if you want to cross the street, you only need to look one way! That breakfast looks sooooo delicious by the way!
I just read an article on walkable cities too! I do live in a city.. and some places are walkable.. some are not!
I happen to have a walking score of 71!! Which SHOCKED me. But the more I think about it.. I find it making sense. There are so many places.. so close. I walk to the store sometimes.. but because it isn’t a “city, city” … most people do not walk .. and use their cars. I never pass anyone else walking to stores!
I am frankly shocked at Orlando having such a high score! I lived there for 4 years and always thought the opposite…maybe they’re talking about Orlando proper though…that would make more sense…
The walk score data can get skewed pretty easily. For example, where were live now, the walk score is really good/high but when you actually look at the map, the ‘walkable’ routes that it suggests to nearby stores/ammenities are down routes with NO sidewalks or crosswalks.
I’m def glad I live in nyc. I often walk places rather than going to the gym and usually end up walking around 4-10 miles on each weekend day. I don’t know what I’ll do when I move to the suburbs. Sure, you can def walk no matter where you live, but it’s nice to walk to do your errands and get to window shop at the same time 🙂
Interesting article. I agree with the listing of the top 10, but I will say you better be in shape to walk San Fran. It’s so hilly.
I think it is really important to live some place that is “walkable.” Not only is it great exercise to walk places but it also saves you a TON in gas money!