I have decided on a marathon for the spring, and it isn't Grandma's. I chose the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan, on May 26, 2007. Traverse City is closer, and the date works much better with the 500 Festival Mini. Now the mini will be a well-timed tune-up before the big race. The race got glowing reviews on marathonguide.com. Also, Mark's parents have a time-share in Traverse City and may be able to arrange to stay there over that weekend, which would make marathon preparation and recovery extremely pleasant.
Speaking of marathons, Lance Armstrong finished his first in New York on Sunday. He had this to say: "That was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done... In 20 years of pro sports and endurance sports, even the worst days on the Tour, nothing felt like that or left me the way I feel now."
That makes me, as a mid-packer, feel pretty good about myself. Lance said he isn't built to be a runner (although he did very well, especially considering his relatively light training). Guess what, folks...you can do what Lance Armstrong thinks is hard. A whole lot of you can, albeit a bit slower in many cases. A lot of Lance's mystique is built up on the fact that he's unbeatable, a machine. In cycling, yes. In running, the most basic of sports, no. There are two ways to look at it, I think: either the marathon has made Lance less cool, or Lance has made the marathon cooler; I consider Lance one of my heroes, so I will go with the latter on this one. To hear those words from someone who has been through the things he has been through makes me feel all the stronger for having finished a whopping four marathons!
I will be interested to see if Lance opts to try another one in the future.
"He called the marathon "humbling." If it humbles Lance Armstrong, what it would do to most of us is not in the dictionary."
--Mike Lopresti
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