Ding ding ding!At long last, the correct interpretation of Lance's remark. A prize for redmeansdead! As he wrote, even if Armstrong actually believed a 5:00 mile could pose a challenge to him, he is surely aware how laughably poor a five minute mile is, compared to what he's doing in cycling. With his comment, Armstrong was underscoring how much work he puts into cycling. Armstrong was also making a display of humility. Alistair Campbell had asked him what he would do next, as if Armstrong were Bo Jackson. By naming the mile and picking five minutes for a goal time, Armstrong was using hyperbole to convey how incapable he is of meeting his fans' expectations in another sport. More generally, Armstrong was humbly putting his athletic prowess in perspective. He did this throughout the article, such as when he singled out champions in other sports for praise, and especially when he remarked about cancer patients who endure greater pain than cyclists yet never receive autograph requests.Lance could easily run under 5:00, and his ego is not as small as he makes it appear. If he could read the credulous posts in this thead, he would surely dial back his modesty!
redmeansdead wrote:
I agree that Lance was joking when he said the thing about running four laps in under 5:00...but I think he was simply joking about the fact that a 5:00 min mile isn't that impressive compared to what he does on the bike. In other words, he would like to run under 5 in the mile, but he knows that's really nothing special. I think he could run under 5 with very little training. But sub 4?? Nah.