Another Strava mess. But a good run

I did not do this

..

I did this

I wanted to get into mileage. But I also had a somewhat busy weekend. I short race on Saturday and rain on Sunday so I figured I'd get in a Monday long run. My team was celebrating a belated  Earthday by plogging in Coney Island. First I figured I'd just run to Coney Island. But I wasn't so attracted to the idea of running across Brooklyn on a Monday afternoon. So I started playing with maps and looking at other ways to get to Coney Island. I realized I hadn't crossed the Flatbush Avenue Bridge as a runner since I was in high school.

I have a friend that lives in Rockaway so I texted him and asked him his address so I can give it to the  Access-A-Ride cabby so I knew where to start.  He told me he lived in a gated community and they would not welcome me there. So I pick the address of the Comfort station that was the entrance to Gateway National Park. He told me the concession stand probably wasn't open until after Memorial Day. I told him that Comfort to me didn't mean putting food in me it meant removing some liquids before I started running. It turned out we are both wrong and a comfort station didn't actually exist. It was the entrance to a beach club that was deserted.

I peed behind the sign. I could have peed in front of the sign and no one else would have noticed.

On my run I noticed some things have changed since I was in high school in the 70s. They expanded the Gil Hodges Bridge. The Pedestrian Lane was on the outside of the bridge as opposed to being separated from the traffic by a little fence. They also built a bike lane on Flatbush Avenue and there's a new bridge that goes over  Gerritsen Creek. Sheepshead Bay hasn't changed much but most of the wood has been removed from the boardwalk in Brighton Beach and Coney Island... replaced with

Pedestrian path on the
Gil Hodges Bridge.
Manhattan skyline in the background

concrete. 

Another things changed since the last time I ran to the end of the fishing pier in Coney Island. It was the 90s and I remembered when you turn back to run towards the land you got a beautiful view of the World Trade Center Towers.  I was back there about 15  years ago and sadly observed the nothingness where the towers were.  Today I saw the new building. I didn't bother trying to take pictures with my puny camera phone.

I really thought I would be able to find a picture on the internet of the view of the World Trade Center from Coney Island with the parachute jump in the same frame. But Google is not being so helpful.  (wow I'm using voice to text and when I said Google is not being so helpful a Google box opened up on my computer screen and told me "I'm sorry you're feeling that way how can I help")  I'm going to post this blog as is but one day I'm going to go back with a friend that has a good camera and take a picture from the end of the pier in Coney Island that includes both the parachute jump and the World Trade Center