Lance is doing not to bad. Will he break 3:00?

It is nice to see Lance respecting marathoning, I think he has been humbled by the distance now that he knows what it takes to train for one seriously.

Lance looks a good 15+lbs lighter than last year.

Anyone know?

I'll bet he put in more 1/2M+ length training runs....?

Braavo Furgi wrote:

Lance looks a good 15+lbs lighter than last year.

Anyone know?

I'll bet he put in more 1/2M+ length training runs....?

watch the interview for your answers.

(ok, I'll tell you:

He said he weighed 7lbs lighter than last year: 180 last year, 173 this. Still pretty heavy. Another 10-15lbs off and he could cut some serious minutes off that time.

Yes, he said he did several fairly fast 18-19 milers in preparation)

werwr345 wrote:

I want to see what he runs in a race by himself, without twenty pacers and "handlers" with him.

Give me a break. You don't serious think that gave him a significant advantage? If you think it does, I'd love to hear how it helped.

Add to the list:

3:35 - Summer Sanders, Olympic swimmer, New York 1999

And change

2:59:35 - William Jurena, Pittsburgh Marathon 2003

to

2:59:35 - William Jurena, cheater, Pittsburgh Marathon 2003

Might as well add tim pawlenty, Minnesota governor, 3:43:23 at twin cities 2005.

The funny thing is that Lance can now be called a better runner than 90% of the people on this message board. Where are all the people who used to say, "Well, he's a great cyclist, but I could take him in running."

I ran 2:30.47 back in the 80's and that time, in those days was considered mediocre, because there were so many good runners at that time. I was not satisfied with that time. A former runner at my school - Welles Lobb, ran 2:23 in the Harrisburg Marathon, and Welles, by his own admission, was not talented or built for the marathon. He ran with a permanent limp. We both ran for coach Winrow, at Mansfield State, PA.

If I compare my best marathon time (2:30.47) with my best 3 mile indoor time (14:41) - the marathon was easier. Track running was harder. 2:30 felt like cruising speed.

I have always thought good runners in the marathon were 2:25 and under.

2:46 by Lance is good for him, but in the overall scheme of things is not that impressive, coming from one of the world's foremost endurance athletes. There are many world class cross country skiers from Norway/Sweden and Finland who are taller and heavier than Lance who would run faster in the marathon. That is not to diss Lance's performance, but just to put things into perspective.

Ghost in Korea

Yes, but do those skiers stay out until 2am at bars with Olsen twins the week of the marathon? I thought what Lance did was pretty impressive, given his lifestyle and given that he knocked 14 minutes off last year's time.

Ghost, Lance could have run a 1:59:00 and you would not think it was impressive. How many sub 3 hour marathoners chop almost 15 minutes off their time in a year, while drinking heavily and tipping the scales at 175?

sam w wrote:

Marathon Times to Beat

2:04:26 - World Record Haile Gebrselassie, Berlin 2007

2:05:38 - American Record Khalid Khannouchi, London 2002

2:15:25 - Women’s World Record Paula Radcliff, London 2003

2:19:36 - American Women’s Record Deena Kastor, London 2006

2:20:00 - 2008 Olympic Trails Qualifier Men’s “A” Standard

2:21:40 - Tread Mill Record, Eric Blake 2006

2:22:00 - 2008 Olympic Trails Qualifier Men’s “B” Standard

2:29:59 - Top 0.2% of Marathoners 2006

2:31:56 - Rosie Ruiz, (Cheater) Boston Marathon 1980

2:38:25 - Scott Jurek, (Ultra Runner) Austin Marathon 2006

etc

Can I ask why a handful of ultra runners appear on this list? They aren't celebs, they are runners. And judging by the list, not particularly good ones.

Don't believe everything people say about Lance staying out late etc....he still put the training in and did plenty of long runs this year, of up to 20 miles.

The point is - I just think a world champion cyclist would be able to transfer some of that endurance at a faster speed than Lance did in his marathon. My opinion.

If I were Lances' coach, I would be disappointed unless he could run at least 6 minute miles for the race (2:37) - anything over that....would be slow, and no offence to all the joggers on this message board.

Ghost in Korea

Ghost

I'm sorry but 2:37 + is not slow.

It is compared to elite athletes, but not to the overwhelming majority of runners.

So if someone ran 2:45 they are a jogger? Ridiculous statement given the amount of training and dedication it would take most people to achieve that time.

This board astounds me sometimes. Its not like it is the exclusive preserve of elite athletes.

dude piss off -i work hard, i will never come close to 2:37 but I don't consider myself a jogger eitheryou can continue to live in your glorious past and say, ahh it ain't much... some of us didn't pick up the sport till much lateranEconomist in Switzerland

ghost wrote:

Don't believe everything people say about Lance staying out late etc....he still put the training in and did plenty of long runs this year, of up to 20 miles.

The point is - I just think a world champion cyclist would be able to transfer some of that endurance at a faster speed than Lance did in his marathon. My opinion.

If I were Lances' coach, I would be disappointed unless he could run at least 6 minute miles for the race (2:37) - anything over that....would be slow, and no offence to all the joggers on this message board.

Ghost in Korea

Ghost

Oh come on. The guy has an incredibly hectic schedule and put in the training necessary to run a sub 2:50...his goal. I have little doubt that if he put the time in and trained for the marathon the way he used to traing for the tour, he could reach an A or B standard.

As we discussed last week, I agree with your overall assessment (that I think Lance should do even faster, and for him it is no great accomplishment, etc), but.....again Ghost, you are ignoring a few points-

* you keep bringing up skiiing. X-C skiiing is certainly more similar to running than cycling is to running. You shouldn't ignore the difference. I would expect top skiiers to jump in running more effectively than top cyclists could.

* Lance still weighs almost 175. That's QUITE heavy for a marathoner. The people you consider good marathoners (sub 2:30) mostly average probably around 140 or less. A big difference. IF Lance got down to 160, he would cut a ton of time of his 2:46.

* You say that Lance trained fairly hard for this one. Sure, he put in some miles. But I also think you are underestimating his cycling preparation: he committed every ounce of his being towards preparing for the TdF; his mindset, and focus were unprecedented. THAT, more than anything, is what made him so great, and why he became one of the best endurance athletes ever. Compared to that, his prepation for these marathons were a joke. He has no interest in preparing anything like that.

Where is runningart? He said lance could never run this fast.

[quote]Sir Lance-alot wrote:

* you keep bringing up skiiing. X-C skiiing is certainly more similar to running than cycling is to running. You shouldn't ignore the difference. I would expect top skiiers to jump in running more effectively than top cyclists could.

Nordic ski legend Bjorn Dahle ran 8:06 for a 3k time trial on the track. This came at a summer training camp with no specific running training. So yeah, someone good at skiing transfers over to running very well in comparison to cyclists.

I don't remember what I said A YEAR AGO. A YEAR AGO I thinkk I said he wouldn't break 2:50 or something like that. That was last year's race. I did say he would never break 2:30. I never said anything about what he would run this year. By his own admission he was gunning for another sub 3:00. I figured he would run around 2:50 or so this year. He ran one hell of a race. 2:46 is a good time for a marathon. He's been at this for what? Less than two years? That's awesome.

I will admit that I got beat by Lance yesterday. He apparently passed me at some point but I wasn't paying attention. After 15, 16 miles my race was over anyway. Did anyone else get stuck in the traffic jam between the bag check and the exit leading to the corrals? Real fun standing nut to butt for an hour with no one moving. Nice job NYRR.

Alan

Had dinner at an LAF function last night, and he said that the year before with the pacers, the pain, the only thing that kept him going was the cameras. He vowed he wouldn't run a marathon ever again...But as he started to feel better, he decided that last years experience was "lame". He didn't do it on his own. This year, he didn't have a single pace and experienced the marathon on his "Own". He got his own water, he carried his own gels. He even gave his iPod to the reporter that was interviewing him during the first mile over the bridge.

And surprisingly, he was bouncing around like he could run run a few more miles.