| The seven-time Tour de France champion made an impressive marathon debut Sunday, accomplishing his goal of finishing [the New York marathon]in less than 3 hours on a crisp autumn afternoon. Armstrong's time was 2 hours, 59 minutes and 36 seconds. His shirt soaked in sweat, he virtually walked the last couple of steps to the finish line. He shuffled into a post-race news conference, his right shin heavily taped. "I think I bit off more than I could chew, I thought the marathon would be easier," he said. "(My shins) started to hurt in the second half, especially the right one. I could barely walk up here, because the calves are completely knotted up." He called the race "the hardest physical thing I have ever done" - even more grueling than his worst days on the Tour. "I never felt a point where I hit the wall, it was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness." |
