I Beat Lance Armstrong...So What??

[Author's note: I ran 2:56:00 at the NYC Marathon on November 5th]

I wasn't going to create an entry about my NYC Marathon result from last Sunday, but after hearing "You beat Lance!" from EVERY single person I talked to about it, I feel the need to post. Basically, I don't care ONE BIT that I beat Lance. I may be the only one that feels this way, but that's the way it is.

Here's my thought process: my race, and for most of us, the marathon in general, is about personal performance and achieving a personal goal. Sure, many people race the marathon, and after all, it is a race (14 years ago as a competitive runner, I did RACE the Yonkers Marathon), but for most people, it's a race against themselves and the desire to finish in a particular time. My goal was a time goal: ideally, I'd run a 2:50. Realistically, I figured I could do 2:55. I figured I'd finish somewhere in between that and be quite happy, especially since I'd only focused my training on the marathon since October 1 (the end of my triathlon season). Regardless, I didn't care about anyone else in the race, including Mr. Armstrong. My focus was on hitting my times and achieving the 2:50-2:55 time goal.

I ran the race. I was on 2:50 pace for roughly 22 miles, but the wheels had already started to come off by 19 miles. The last 4-5 miles were a struggle to keep my legs moving at the same (or any) cadence and to not stop. But because of the pace I was on, I never saw Lance Armstrong. Turns out that between my fade and the fairly strong finish he was able to maintain, I was only 3:30 or so ahead of him by the end. But I couldn't have been farther from caring before, during or after the race. For me, by 24, I was thrilled simply to know I'd finish and finish close to what I'd expected to hit.

I would also say that I'm VERY impressed with Lance's performance, though I'm not sure what one would expect from such a driven athlete. The guy never ran more than 16 miles, apparently, had shin splints (common among those building distance/running effort too quickly) and yet broke 3 hours in his first try at the distance. Aerobically, the guy is obviously a freak; but pounding the pavement for 3 hours is very different from what he's been doing with his body for many years. He also has to have quite a pain threshold to finish the race as he did.

The big question would have been what I would do if it turned out that Lance was near me at the finish. As a competitor, the answer to me (and perhaps to him) is obvious - I'd sprint for everything I was worth. Maybe I don't care about beating Lance, but after about 3 hours of work, I'll be damned if I'm going to be beaten by Lance.