Lance's 2nd Try

I'm not a Lance-fanatic. Yes, I've read both his books, "It's Not About The Bike" and "Every Second Counts", both of which detail what an incredibly unique man of focus he is, but also how very egocentric he can be. Though I have to admire the athlete and cancer survivor for being an inspiration to literally millions of people, I am just not into all that Lance hype. However, I will admit I was a bit more impressed with the guy after seeing him run in the NYC Marathon ... for the second year in a row.

Of course, the cycling legend wasn't so legendary in his first marathon in New York last year, but on his second attempt last month he bettered his PR by almost 15 minutes. Being that his time was 2:46:43, it is quite a feat even for him. "I came in better prepared, but perhaps I started faster than I wanted," Armstrong said. "I sort of got out there and realized I was either going to finish OK or be crawling home." In fact, Armstrong looked fresh in his yellow jersey at the finish after hobbling in last year. This time, apparently he trained more consistently and included faster 18- and 19-mile runs. Yeah, he has my PR beat, but then again I don't claim to have the VO2 threshholds this man inherently has. Incredible that a man of such cycling talent can switch it up and successfully tackle one of running's greatest marathons. For all you cyclists out there, take heed: there is running promise for you yet.

If you have an extra moment to spare, view Lance's video interview afterwards of how he describes why he ran such a better race this time around. And Lance, if you REALLY want to impress me, let's see what a third attempt can do next year. Run hard and run long.

PHOTO BY Runner's World

LABELS New York Marathon, Lance Armstrong