runs brooklyn/brooklyn runs

Of Autumn, Opera, Football, and at Least One Elephant

Saturday 9/30, Run #57: Sheepshead Bay & Gravesend

Distance: 8.32 miles
Time: 1:05
Pace: 7:49
Temp: 54
Dewpoint: 44
Weather: sunny

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 6.77
Total Unique Miles: 459.55
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 26.38

Route: I began at Avenue W and E. 17th, continued north on E. 17th to Avenue S, went east to E. 18th, north to Avenue P, west to E. 16th, south to Avenue R (including an out-and-back on the block of Quentin between E. 16th and E. 17th), west to E. 15th, north back to Avenue P, west a blocl to E. 14th, south back to Avenue R, west another block to E. 13th, south all the way to Sheepshead Bay Road then northwest to the intersection of Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue W, at which point I headed north on Homecrest to Avenue S, east to E. 13th, north to Kings Highway, southwest to E. 10th, south back to Avenue R, east to Coney Island Avenue, south to 1st Court, west to E. 9th, south to Avenue S, east back to Coney Island Avenue, then south to the two short dead end streets Hutchinson and Homecrest Courts but then back to Avenue S and west again to E. 9th, then south to Avenue V, west to E. 8th, north to Avenue R, east to E. 9th, south to 1st Court but then doubling back and heading north to Avenue P, then west to E. 8th south to Avenue R again, west to E 7th, north up to Avenue P, west to Ocean Parkway, south to Quentin, and west to E. 4th.

Notes: At last, a fall morning that actually felt somewhat autumnal! When I woke up today (at around 6:30) it was only about 52 degrees, with a dewpoint of only 42(!). And once again, I headed south to fill in some spaces on the map down Sheepshead Bay way. It's kind of encouraging, actually -- the bottom third or so of the "big map" has a lot of orange on it these days, and based on a very rough estimate (basically just eyeballing the unrun streets on the map) I figure I can have everything south of that arbitrary 65th Street/Avenue P/Flatlands Avenue line wrapped up in maybe 30 runs (or 7-8 weeks, if I run that area exclusively). Given how much time I've spent looking out the windows of the F and the Q on the long excursions down there, this is good news, indeed.

Alas, no sightings of wildlife, domestic fowl on today's run, as I found myself on mostly pleasant enough if nondescript residential streets. I did, however -- and without planning it -- run right by the gold fiberglass Sheepshead Bay elephant at the intersection of Sheepshead Bay and Neck Roads. Weird. No problems, though -- it was still a fine run on a gorgeous morning. In fact, maybe my run-down feeling and sluggish runs this week were related to the weather, since this cool, dry, air left me feeling pretty energized today (though my heels, especially, are still killing me). A lot of people out early (mostly dog-walkers and families heading off to temple) but not a lot of vehicular traffic. I think I could get used to running on Saturday mornings.

In non-running news, I spent a fun-filled three hours yesterday at the DMV office, finally getting my NY driver's license (well, an interim license, at least -- the real once will come in the mail in a week or two) and registering to vote, hopefully enough in advance that it'll be processed by the October 13 deadline and I can vote in November. And at 1:30 this afternoon I'll be back at the NY City Opera (I was just there for Korngold's Die Tote Stadt on Wednesday night) to check out the new production of Handel's Semele. I'm not a super huge fan of Handel (or most baroque opera, to be honest), but why not? And then tonight, the football game of the year takes place back in Iowa City, as the Hawkeyes host top-ranked Ohio State. Last time I checked, oddsmakers had Iowa as 6 1/2 point underdogs (and their running game's been kind of feeble this year), but like all true fans, I'll keep believing until the game's over. Of course, I don't have cable, so I'll have to watch that low-tech gamecast thing on espn.com. At least that way I can get some reading done...

Without further ado, today's photos. And go Hawks!