All Abuzz in Midwood

Sunday 11/26, Run #89: Midwood

Distance: 8.63 miles
Time: 1:05
Pace: 7:32
Temp: 47
Dewpoint: 38
Weather: mostly sunny

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 7.93
Total Unique Miles: 695.33
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 39.91

For the complete route, click here

Notes: When I was a young boy back in the 1970s, long before I ever dreamed of running as something of a recreational activity, there were a lot of people worried about killer bees. Allegedly, some honeybees that had interbred with wild African bees had somehow gotten loose in Brazil, and were making their way through Central America and Mexico and on into the United States. Widespread fear was stoked by books like Arthur Herzog's novel The Swarm (and its subsequent Irwin Allen film adaptation), and -- if I remember correctly -- at least a few kitschy and sensationalistic made-for-TV movies.

What does this have to do with running Brooklyn? Not much, except that like the killer bees, I continue my inexorable march north. Today found me back in Midwood, a pleasant, mostly residential, mostly Jewish neighborhood that is -- as its name might imply -- kind of in the middle of Brooklyn's southern half. I did not, however, see any woods, but there were plenty of streets, and since I'm a little tired today and simply didn't want to deal with a lot of planning, I plotted a fairly simple route that took me back and forth in area mostly between Avenues K and O. And keeping in mind that the street grid in Brooklyn continues well south of Avenue Z, that represents real, measurable progress. Furthermore, I have every intention of actually continuing to press northward -- unlike the aforementioned lazy bees, whose killer instincts proved quite underwhelming and which mostly ended up sticking around Texas. This, of course, is fine with me.

Whatever. Though the streets I ran today were mostly residential, there was an interesting mix of housing. Larger apartment buildings were more common on the western edges of the route, while single-family homes -- some of them remarkably large and newish-looking -- dominated to the east of Ocean Avenue (I've included a picture of one of the more striking examples below). It was another pleasant morning in the 40s, and though the forecast calls for more nice weather tomorrow, I'm taking the day off. In fact, today's run made three in a row, the first time I'd done that since early September. Anyway, I'll probably be back on the road Tuesday. In the meantime, here are a few photos, and I'll keep you posted regarding any further developments on the bee front.


Avenue M


Residence on E. 23rd Street


Avenue M


Coney Island Avenue


PS 197 on E. 23rd