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Wednesday 9/6: Sheepshead Bay & Gravesend

Distance: 9.49 miles
Time: 1:10
Pace: 7:23
Temp: 64
Dewpoint: 60
Weather: mostly cloudy

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 8.45
Total Unique Miles: 376.31
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 21.60

Route: I started on Sheepshead Bay Road under the subway tracks, headed south to Jerome, east to E. 17th Street, north to Avenue W, west a bloc to E. 16th, north to Avenue S, west a block to E. 15th then doubling back to E. 18th, south to Avenue U, east to E. 19th, north to Avenue P, west two blocks to E. 17th, doubling back to Ocean Avenue, south to Avenue U again, east a block to E. 21st, north back to Avenue P, east two blocks to E. 23rd, south to Avenue X, west to E. 16th, north to Gravesend Neck Road, west a block to E. 15th, south back to Sheepshead Bay Road, west to E. 14th, south to Voorhies, west to E. 13th, north to Avenue Z, west to Homecrest, south to Shore Road (with an out-and-back on William), west to E. 11th, north back to Avenue Z, west to Coney Island Avenue, north to Gerald, west to E. 7th, north back to Gravesend Neck Road, west to Village East, north on Village North, west to Van Sicklen, south to Village East, and then back a block to McDonald.

Notes: Yes, it was yet another long train ride down to Sheepshead Bay for today's run. If it seems like I've been doing a lot of running in that area you're not imagining things, either -- Sheepshead Bay and Gravesend are both very large neighborhoods, geographically, with the former alone comprising well over 300 blocks and the latter not far behind. So if the "bad news" is that they're enormous and I'm making dozens of trips down that way, the good news is that I like these areas just fine, and moreover, I'm making tangible and very encouraging progress filling in these regions on the "big map."

As for the run itself, it was another speedy one (though not quite as quick as yesterday's). I've described the neighborhood before in these posts so I won't bore anyone with more of the same, but there was one noticeable difference -- a lot of kids on the sidewalks, and a lot more vehicles (including quite a few schoolbuses). I guess I forgot that school started here yesterday. Of all the things I miss about living in a college town, it's the excitement and energy that accompany the beginning of the school year that I miss the most. Not that Brooklyn (and the city as a whole) doesn't have its share of excitement and energy, of course -- but after a decade in Iowa City, it's definitely something I've been surprisingly nostalgic for.

A few pictures from this morning:


Church on Avenue P


Clown love on E. 23rd Street


Bungalows on E. 21st Street


Jewish War Veterans post on Avenue X