runs brooklyn/brooklyn runs: Same Borough, New Shoes

Tuesday 10/24, Run #71: East Flatbush, Flatlands, Bergen Beach

Distance: 10.03 miles
Time: 1:15
Pace: 7.29
Temp: 45
Dewpoint: 31
Weather: mostly cloudy & windy

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 6.43
Total Unique Miles: 560.93
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 32.19

For the complete route, click here

Notes: Today's run followed another of those routes designed to fill in an area that I've ignored for a while, but which required me to re-run over three miles of road. Part of this was because I hadn't really thought out some of my early routes all that well, but part of it is simply due to the fact that Bergen Beach -- the neighborhood which was my ultimate objective today -- is a long way from the nearest subway stop, and half my run today consisted of getting down there and back. The result was my least efficient run yet, barely edging out Saturday's convuluted jaunt through Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay. Not to complain too much, of course, since it was a beautiful, cool autumn morning, but it's still kind of a drag to spend time treading where I've already trod when there are so many miles of streets still left to explore.

As for specific thoughts on today's outing, I don't have a whole lot to add. Bergen Beach is a small neighborhood laid out on a simple grid, with modest single family homes interspersed with some larger and more recent constructions. It must also have one of the highest Hummer ownership rates -- I think I saw at least four or five of them. Otherwise, not a lot to write home about. Except, of course, that I very unceremoniously retired my last pair of running shoes yesterday, and did today's run in a spiffy new pair, into which I inserted a new pair of those spongy heel inserts. It's always a pleasure to run in fresh, springy, clean shoes -- it may be more psychological than physical, but it's a pleasure nonetheless, and one that us runners only get to experience a few times a year.

Anyway, some pictures: