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Lance is er klaar voor

21 januari 2014 (0 reacties)

Lance the runner


Lance Armstrong in training voor de NYCM op de baan in Austin

Door Pamela LeBlanc

Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets. When Lance Armstrong announced in April that he planned to run the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 5, the buzz began. Off his bike and training for the New York City marathon, Armstrong clocks a very quick mile in Austin.

Op de cover van Runners World
How would the biking legs of a seven-time Tour de France champion hold up against the pounding of a 26.2-mile footrace? How would he train? How fast could he finish? As the frenzy built, Armstrong ignored it. He didnt do the standard 16-week marathon training regimen because of his busy travel schedule for promotional appearances and events for his cancer foundation. He made it clear that he wasnt racing to win, that he plans to savor running alongside everyday athletes in the worlds biggest marathon. He simply started to run. Every day. To hear Armstrong tell it on a run along Town Lake on Thursday — and before an impressive mile sprint at the Austin High School track — its everyone else whos obsessed with how hell finish the race. Hes on the cover of the November issue of Runners World, alongside the headline “How Fast Will He Run?” In local cycling chat rooms, people are wagering on his finish time.

Jalabert ging Lance voor
“Im so laid-back about it I feel a little awkward answering questions,” he said as he ran the hike-and-bike trail. “But I just read in The New York Times that one of the favorites pulled out, so I guess I moved up one spot.” Armstrong, who accepted the marathons invitation to enter the race, knows that the winner will cross the finish line in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. The course record is 2:08. “Id be elated with something close to 2:45,” he says. (Maybe that has something to do with the fact that former cycling pro Laurent Jalabert ran the marathon in 2:55 last year?) Armstrong says he can maintain a six-minute mile pace on shorter runs, and he figures that at about seven-minute miles he can finish the marathon in just more than three hours. “Thats in the top 200 or 300 guys,” he says.

Afzien
But he doesnt know how hell fare over a 26.2-mile haul. His longest run ever was 16 or 17 miles. That was more than 20 years ago. His longest run of late? “Fourteen miles the other day. I need to do something longer. Maybe this weekend.”
The good news is he hasnt had any back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon problems, the bane of many runners. He has had some pain in his left hip flexor because of running, but he says it feels better now. He has plenty going for him in the fitness department. His VO2 max, considered the best measure of aerobic fitness, is mind-boggling: A typical score for an average guy in his 20s is between 38 and 43. Armstrongs VO2 max is 85, and hes 35 years old. So, he should have no problems with a marathon, right? “I have no expectations,” he says. “Im not trying to disrespect the event, but Im going into it green. I fully expect to suffer like a dog.” Clearly, though, his competitive drive still burns. When a reporter asks him how fast he can run a mile, he shrugs. “I dont know.” The last time he ran a timed mile, he says, was a couple of years ago, when he and former fiancee Sheryl Crow were visiting her hometown in Missouri. They went to the high school track, and while Crow ran stairs, he ran a mile in a cold rain. He clocked it at 5:13. “But I was a professional athlete then,” he says. “I didnt drink margaritas every night, either.”

Persoonlijk record op de mijl
On Thursday, it didnt take much to persuade him to try a timed mile again, this time on the quarter-mile Austin High oval track. “Lets take bets — how fast can I do a mile?” he asks, shucking off a sweaty black T-shirt. When five minutes is suggested, he takes the challenge. At first, it doesnt look like hes going that fast. His gait is a little stiff, his chest forward. To hit five minutes, he cant take more than 75 seconds per lap. He glances at his watch as he makes the first of four laps. “Seventy-three seconds!” he shouts as he rounds the bend. He notches 72 seconds on the second lap, and 73 on the last two, according to his watch. His total time: 4:51. “You owe me one!” he hollers as he finishes and then bends over, huffing and puffing. “Oh, my God. Im dead. That thing killed me.” He pauses. “It was fun, though.” He calls that mile his fastest ever, adding that he never broke a 5-minute mile when he was in high school. Apparently, his fitness hasnt suffered since he quit winning the Tour de France.

Anders dan fietsen
Running is totally different from biking, he says. Biking is more efficient; the body powers a machine. Running is raw exertion. “Running I can suffer just going from here over there.” Armstrong still rides his bike regularly. He showed up this week for the Tuesday Nighter, a weekly group ride for Austins top cyclists. (“Its fun. Its hard; you forget what race pace feels like,” he said.) He squeezes in an occasional swim at spring-fed Deep Eddy Pool, which he likes because its not chlorinated. Most of his running miles are put in on the hike-and-bike trail. He pounds away while listening to Linkin Park, Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters on his iPod. People tell him hello as he runs past, but hes not mobbed. “Its just part of a workout regiment that has riding, mountain biking, kayaking and swimming. Its all about just breaking a sweat,” he says.
Hes gained about 10 pounds since his last Tour. His upper body is more muscular than when he was racing bikes, because of the workouts hes doing. As for retirement, its good, but sometimes he misses those long bike rides. It does mean more free time to have fun, and Armstrongs exploits (some with actor pal Matthew McConaughey) have been well documented. He gets to focus on the really important things in his life — spending time with his children, Luke, Grace and Isabel, and expanding the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Monday, he marked the 10-year anniversary of his cancer diagnosis, and he remains cancer free. Hes happy about another thing he gave up with cycling, too. “Ill never shave my legs again.”

© Statesman.com

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Lance is er klaar voor

7 oktober 2006 (0 reacties)

Lance the runner


Lance Armstrong in training voor de NYCM op de baan in Austin

Door Pamela LeBlanc

Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets. When Lance Armstrong announced in April that he planned to run the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 5, the buzz began. Off his bike and training for the New York City marathon, Armstrong clocks a very quick mile in Austin.

Op de cover van Runners World
How would the biking legs of a seven-time Tour de France champion hold up against the pounding of a 26.2-mile footrace? How would he train? How fast could he finish? As the frenzy built, Armstrong ignored it. He didnt do the standard 16-week marathon training regimen because of his busy travel schedule for promotional appearances and events for his cancer foundation. He made it clear that he wasnt racing to win, that he plans to savor running alongside everyday athletes in the worlds biggest marathon. He simply started to run. Every day. To hear Armstrong tell it on a run along Town Lake on Thursday — and before an impressive mile sprint at the Austin High School track — its everyone else whos obsessed with how hell finish the race. Hes on the cover of the November issue of Runners World, alongside the headline “How Fast Will He Run?” In local cycling chat rooms, people are wagering on his finish time.

Jalabert ging Lance voor
“Im so laid-back about it I feel a little awkward answering questions,” he said as he ran the hike-and-bike trail. “But I just read in The New York Times that one of the favorites pulled out, so I guess I moved up one spot.” Armstrong, who accepted the marathons invitation to enter the race, knows that the winner will cross the finish line in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. The course record is 2:08. “Id be elated with something close to 2:45,” he says. (Maybe that has something to do with the fact that former cycling pro Laurent Jalabert ran the marathon in 2:55 last year?) Armstrong says he can maintain a six-minute mile pace on shorter runs, and he figures that at about seven-minute miles he can finish the marathon in just more than three hours. “Thats in the top 200 or 300 guys,” he says.

Afzien
But he doesnt know how hell fare over a 26.2-mile haul. His longest run ever was 16 or 17 miles. That was more than 20 years ago. His longest run of late? “Fourteen miles the other day. I need to do something longer. Maybe this weekend.”
The good news is he hasnt had any back, knee, shin or Achilles tendon problems, the bane of many runners. He has had some pain in his left hip flexor because of running, but he says it feels better now. He has plenty going for him in the fitness department. His VO2 max, considered the best measure of aerobic fitness, is mind-boggling: A typical score for an average guy in his 20s is between 38 and 43. Armstrongs VO2 max is 85, and hes 35 years old. So, he should have no problems with a marathon, right? “I have no expectations,” he says. “Im not trying to disrespect the event, but Im going into it green. I fully expect to suffer like a dog.” Clearly, though, his competitive drive still burns. When a reporter asks him how fast he can run a mile, he shrugs. “I dont know.” The last time he ran a timed mile, he says, was a couple of years ago, when he and former fiancee Sheryl Crow were visiting her hometown in Missouri. They went to the high school track, and while Crow ran stairs, he ran a mile in a cold rain. He clocked it at 5:13. “But I was a professional athlete then,” he says. “I didnt drink margaritas every night, either.”

Persoonlijk record op de mijl
On Thursday, it didnt take much to persuade him to try a timed mile again, this time on the quarter-mile Austin High oval track. “Lets take bets — how fast can I do a mile?” he asks, shucking off a sweaty black T-shirt. When five minutes is suggested, he takes the challenge. At first, it doesnt look like hes going that fast. His gait is a little stiff, his chest forward. To hit five minutes, he cant take more than 75 seconds per lap. He glances at his watch as he makes the first of four laps. “Seventy-three seconds!” he shouts as he rounds the bend. He notches 72 seconds on the second lap, and 73 on the last two, according to his watch. His total time: 4:51. “You owe me one!” he hollers as he finishes and then bends over, huffing and puffing. “Oh, my God. Im dead. That thing killed me.” He pauses. “It was fun, though.” He calls that mile his fastest ever, adding that he never broke a 5-minute mile when he was in high school. Apparently, his fitness hasnt suffered since he quit winning the Tour de France.

Anders dan fietsen
Running is totally different from biking, he says. Biking is more efficient; the body powers a machine. Running is raw exertion. “Running I can suffer just going from here over there.” Armstrong still rides his bike regularly. He showed up this week for the Tuesday Nighter, a weekly group ride for Austins top cyclists. (“Its fun. Its hard; you forget what race pace feels like,” he said.) He squeezes in an occasional swim at spring-fed Deep Eddy Pool, which he likes because its not chlorinated. Most of his running miles are put in on the hike-and-bike trail. He pounds away while listening to Linkin Park, Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters on his iPod. People tell him hello as he runs past, but hes not mobbed. “Its just part of a workout regiment that has riding, mountain biking, kayaking and swimming. Its all about just breaking a sweat,” he says.
Hes gained about 10 pounds since his last Tour. His upper body is more muscular than when he was racing bikes, because of the workouts hes doing. As for retirement, its good, but sometimes he misses those long bike rides. It does mean more free time to have fun, and Armstrongs exploits (some with actor pal Matthew McConaughey) have been well documented. He gets to focus on the really important things in his life — spending time with his children, Luke, Grace and Isabel, and expanding the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Monday, he marked the 10-year anniversary of his cancer diagnosis, and he remains cancer free. Hes happy about another thing he gave up with cycling, too. “Ill never shave my legs again.”

© Statesman.com

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