Another race, another challenge

Lance Armstrong is set to run the New York City Marathon on Sunday, but the seven-time Tour de France winner is finding competition off the bike to be a big pain in the shins. "I'm icing my shins right now," Armstrong said Tuesday in a phone interview. "I've been riding the bike lately because of these nagging little injuries."

Although he hasn't turned in a practice run longer than 16 miles, he's confident he'll overcome those painful shin splints and complete the 26.2-mile course in about three hours, a pace just under seven minutes a mile. "I've been able to average six-minute miles for 10 miles," he says. "But they say the 20-mile mark is just halfway."

Armstrong, 35, wanted to run the Oct. 22 Chicago Marathon, but scheduling conflicts forced him to switch to New York. Sponsor Nike has made his appearance there into a major media event, complete with a 10-story-high billboard in Times Square promoting its "Run With Lance" program that benefits the anti-cancer Lance Armstrong Foundation. His race number, 1002, represents Oct. 2, 1996, the day he was diagnosed with cancer. Before he became a cycling legend, Armstrong was a world-class triathlete. He has also competed in and won several off-road run-bike events, but he's never tackled the marathon distance."I've been getting pretty good advice from the experts," he says. "These injuries have been pretty frustrating, though." One of those experts is ex-wife Kristin Richard, who took up marathons after their divorce in 2003.

She's now a columnist for Runner's World magazine and posted an impressive time of 3 hours, 35 minutes in the 2005 Chicago Marathon. That time qualified her for the prestigious 2006 Boston Marathon, which she finished in 3:44.36. She won't be running in New York City. "It is kind of funny that she's giving me tips about an athletic event," he says. "She asks me a lot of questions about my training. But I listen to Kristin. I listen to her a lot more than people may think. We have a very good relationship."

This October was the tenth anniversary of Armstrong's cancer diagnosis. He said the day itself was pretty uneventful, but it meant a lot to him. "That morning was a simple morning in my life – in the sense that when I woke up, I had my kids that day, I took them to school, fed them breakfast. It was not exactly a wild morning," he said. "I just took the day to reflect on what it means to be a cancer survivor, how quickly, yet how long ten years has taken, and then that night we had a get-together with friends."

"It's interesting, I guess ten years ago I didn't think I would be in this place. I didn't think I would be sitting here. I didn't think the burden of cancer would be what it still is in this country or all over the world. I look forward to ten more years fighting the disease and trying to make a difference."

Is Lance Armstrong missing professional cycling?
The former Tour de France champion said he didn't watch a minute of this year's race. "I am 35 years old," he said. "I know that my time has come and gone in cycling. It's time to do other things and time to focus on the issue of cancer and other little goals and objectives, like running a marathon, being a father – the things that the sport of cycling and the tour would take me away from. No. No. Never again."

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