Inaugural Training Run: Shore Parkway, Brooklyn, NY

I left my house at about 7:30am. I drove 19 miles on got off the Belt Parkway at exit 5 (Shore Parkway) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. From there I drove to the end and parked.

I had always wanted to run along the trail along Shore Parkway to face The Narrows, and see the Statue of Liberty.


First thing I noticed was a Toys R Us & Kohl's Shopping Center to my left. I had often seen this store when I used to go fishing with Gerard Murphy from the waters of NY Harbor.
Almost immediately, a fishy and saltwater flavored air hit my nostrils. The were a lot of "Old Joe's" that were casting off the the edge. I kept an eye for them, so as not to lose one. There was plenty of spirituality too. Several Asian-Americans were practicing some form of Yoga. The best was this old Irish lady who kept looking at a group of Yoga practicing Koreans. She kept imitaiting them herself.

The run went well because I tapered very slowly. It was supposed to be reach 90, and

it was already 75 degrees. It didn't even seem cooler being next to the water either
the sun was very direct and unforgiving.

One of the interesting signs along the way was a warning sign that read,
"No docking of any kind. Transcontinental Gas Pipe"

I passed under the Verrazano-Narrows bridge some 2.4 miles into my run, and turned back to see a familiar sign that reminded me of the NYC Marathon, the 4th Av. sign. As I neared
Bay Ridge Avenue, I saw a nice pier to my left, displaying an American flag, plus a POW-MIA flag. Pretty cool.

I ran back onto the trail and headed into Owl Head. Finished up there and came back to Bay Ridge, where I went back to the Pier and stretched using the benches I pictured above. It was so hot, that for the last mile, I had actually taken my yellow techincal shirt off, and placed it under my cap to make me look like someone in the Sahara Desert.

Everything with my run went well this morning, except that the weather was real hot and
the bus driver did not accept two 1-dollar bills. I had to have exact change. I went to the
a deli next to the "Smile" deli, got what I needed an hopped on board. Geez. The bus ride
back took almost as long as the run itself!

Anyway, today was the last day of my base training.
Tomorrow it begins for real. ....Hah...... Tomorrow is a Day off! I'm liking this schedule already!