11 December 2012

SCENES FROM A RUN: BOARDWALK EAST

When I set out to run this morning, it resumed drizzling but I soldiered on and in the end the sun came out.  Made me think of my favorite Vietnamese proverb, "Sau cơn mưa trời lại sáng", that is, "After the rain the sky is bright again".  I was going to do just 8 km but upon reflecting on my personal fiscal cliff I thought it may help to go for 10 km.  I already decided to run to the Riegelman Boardwalk via MacDonald Avenue under the F train.  Eight km, that is 4 km out and 4 km back, normally would take me to the intersection of Ocean Parkway and the Boardwalk.  With 10 km, I was at the eastern end of the boardwalk, which was a place I haven't been to since Hurricane Sandy's visit.  Recall that I went as far as Tatiana's, as reported in SCENES FROM A RUN: POST-SANDY RIEGELMANN BOARDWALK.  It's been over a month, so much clean-up was done, I assume, so there was not that much sand in the eastern section of the boardwalk.  There was one place where some piece of the wooden boardwalk came off and had to be cordoned off, but otherwise the boardwalk looked healthy.  At the eastern end though, the bottom section of the ramp was taken over by the sand, as shown in the photos below.  I suppose the area is not of high importance and is still accessible, so there is no immediate need to remove the sand.

Speaking of 10 km, I will be running in the NYC Runs Hot Chocolate 5k/10K race this coming Sunday, in Roosevelt Island.  I prefer longer distances so I will do the 10 km race, set to start at 10 am.  It will be my first "free" run with NYC Runs.  I used the volunteer credit I got from helping out at the Verrazano Half in late September.  With race fees going up seemingly endlessly, earning a free race via volunteering is a good deal.  If you are on a tight budget but still want to run officially, i.e. not bandit run and have a guilt-free conscience, check out their volunteer program at https://nycruns.com/races/?race=volunteer .  It was recently expanded to include big races like the Brooklyn Marathon.

Some debris were collected on the beach at the eastern end of the boardwalk.
I am sure pre-Sandy the sand did not go that high up on the ramp's handrail.
Another view of the bottom section of the ramp, which is now covered with sand.

Questions of the day, which of the following phrases rhyme visually?  Audibly?

I love to gripe
About the Boardwalk and its ipe

Own a piece of history
Visit my store on eBay
Get yourself some ipe

2 comments:

  1. Nice new look Qap - I like it. Your blog looks fresh and pleasant to read (thanks for making the fonts large enough for geezers like me.)
    Completely agree about volunteer work as trade-off - as they say, every penny helps ;>)
    I never had a Dell but then again I never used a Mac either.
    Talked about the end of the world - I have not checked my Facebook account for months! Everyone probably "unfriended" me anyway.
    Have a good week and Happy 121212 tomorrow.
    TOTA in STL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No Facebook for months? Isn't it more like years? I wouldn't know, as I dropped you long ago, ha ha ha.

      Delete