Coney Island (finally!)

Friday 7/14: Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park

Distance: 8.86 miles
Time: 1:10
Pace: 7:54
Temp: 74
Dewpoint: 66
Weather: sunny and breezy



Unique Miles Today: 8.77
Total Unique Miles: 111.75
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 6.41

Route: I started just south of the Neptune Avenue stop on the F train, then headed east on Neptune to Brighton 3rd Street, south to Brighton Beach Ave, west to 5th St, south to Surf Avenue, west to W. 20th, then back up to Neptune, north on Cropsey over the creek (with a little loop by the Pathmark on Canal and the dead end section of Bay 52nd St) and up to Bay Parkway. Then up Bay Parkway to 86th, west to 19th Ave, north to Bay Ridge Parkway, then down to 10th Avenue. I followed 10th Ave up to where it ends at the subway tracks, then went west on 62nd to 8th Ave, up to 59th, over to 4th, then around the block (58th to 3rd Ave to 59th and back to 4th Ave).

Notes: I was still half-asleep early this morning, watching the cat lick herself and waiting for the water to boil for my customary pre-run cup of tea, when I realized that I hadn't yet run in Brighton Beach or Coney Island. After checking the weather (and verifying that it was indeed a bit clearer and drier today), I decided to correct this oversight, and quickly plotted a route that would zigzag from Coney Island up to the 59th St stop of the R train in Sunset Park. And a great route it turned out to be. Although I decided to save the boardwalk for another day, it was still cool to run through Coney Island early in the morning when it was still mostly devoid of people (though there was plenty of trash blowing around).

In other news, the folks over at Curbed included a very nice writeup of this blog yesterday afternoon (which resulted in twice as many hits as the Daily News article did a week ago, BTW). And across the East River, a self-described "fat lazy idiot" has just embarked on a quest to walk every street of Manhattan, taking photos along the way. Could it be that he and I are on the vanguard of some new trend set to sweep the city? Will other enterprising citizens step up and decide to take on Queens or the Bronx? Is it only a matter of time before we're featured in the New Yorker's "Talk of the Town?" Stay tuned. In the meantime, however, check out his new blog, which he's calling "Walking New York," appropriately enough.

In still other, completely unrelated news, I saw Elliot Goldenthal's new opera "Grendel" at the State Theater last night and enjoyed it very much, despite the decidedly mixed review in yesterday's Times.

Okay, enough. Today's photos:


Brighton Beach Avenue


10th Avenue


Surf Avenue


Statue of Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson outside Keyspan Park