Would-Be Fan.

Logan has had an affinity for Lance Armstrong for many years and the beginning of his affinity for Lance coincided with the time when my husband lost 30 pounds and dabbled with what may have been an eating disorder but was definitely an asshole disorder.

I've sort of tied Lance together with that unpleasant time between Logan and I and because of that I'm not a big Lance fan.

If, after running the marathon Lance Armstrong hadn't just said he "...thought the marathon would be easier."  But had instead come out of the marathon saying, "What kind of asshole runs like this for fun?"

Then I could have been a Lance fan.

Comments

[Wayward Goddess]

I'm not a big Lance fan either. I find him doing the marathon kinda funny. Did you ever see him when he hosted SNL? Does anyone even watch SNL anymore? He did a bit where he was going to train for a marathon (I believe this was after TdF 6?). He was running rediculously with his arms flailing everywhere. He'd done an "interview" about how he was going to run teh marathon and he kept saying "jump on the bike" and they had to keep telling him he couldn't do that.

Anyway...I agree with you "What kind of asshole runs like this for fun?" I had pretentious bastards who do something that is SUPPOSED to be a challenge then act like it was nothing.

[Pants]

For the record, I am impressed with the man's physical abilities and I admire his determination. He had cancer and beat it and is using that notoriety to help a lot of people and I admire that too.

However, there was an article in Runner's World that discussed his training and his training coaches and what outfit he'd be wearing in NYC and how he and Matthew McConaughey have been puttin' in miles together, and how his busy jet-set lifestyle made finding the time to run difficult. And that kind of "everything I do is news-worthy" attitude really turns me off. I didn't see that attitude 3 or 4 years ago when I was a bigger Lance fan and had that "asshole disorder."

[Pants]

Lance didn't act like running the marathon was nothing, if that's what you're saying. He said that "running the 26.2-mile distance, particularly the final eight miles, was the "hardest physical thing” he had ever done."

[Melissa Summers]

Hey Pants, read it again. With your eyes open.

He said it was harder than he thought...I wish he'd gone on to point out how he can't believe people do this for fun.

Because...it was...so hard...it seems like something you'd only do because you were making a million dollars...like professional athletes do.

Oh forget it. I still don't like Lance.

[jonbeckett]

My other half is a mad Lance fan (I don't dare suggest several of his tour wins were aided by drugs when she is in earshot) :)

Good on him, though. I wonder which drugs he used to train for NY ?

[Suebob Davis]

The Tour de France is 2100 miles over mountains and shit, so I am pretty happy to have Lance say that the NYC marathon was harder than that. Because now I have even more of an excuse to never do it. I mean, FUCK - if Lance won 7 Tours and finished many more and hated the marathon, how could someone like me EVER do it? Perfect. Now I can continue sitting here eating cookies and watching my ass grow.

[marguerite]

Lance probably didn't say that because the NYC Marathon is fun. Lots of fun. That's why people do it. Yes, it's hard. I've run it a few times, as well as Boston as Jersey Shore. All marathons are hard. They hurt a lot. But, in NY, the crowds, the music, the excitement, testing yourself, reaching your goals, meeting people from all over the world who have the same goal: it's fun. Really. Don't blame Lance.

[Melissa Summers]

Sure watching sounds like fun. Running 26.2 miles sounds about as fun as punching yourself in the face with a brick.

And I'll never believe otherwise.

[Angie]

I don't even like to DRIVE 26.2 miles! Forget about it.

[Meghan]

While getting my hair cut I saw a pictorial of Lance and Matthew McConeghey with a big title of "are they Gay?" and it showed them cavorting all over town and jogging half-naked and so forth. It was priceless. They are shameless pimps those two, and whats with the face pubes matthew? YUCK!

I have run 6 marathons and they all sucked but I run for the medal, the t-shirt, The cheering supporters and the guilt - free couch lounging whilst stuffing myself with my favorite after marathon snack of a supersize quarter pounder with cheese, fries, and coke. THAT is the pinnacle of guilt-free indulgence.

Anyone who runs a marathon and expresses surprise that it's hard and that it hurts is a moron and should be forced to give birth to a 12 pound baby. With foreceps and no epidural.

[JenniferH]

I didn't think that Matthew McConaughey could run any sort of distance with those hips of his.

Running is one activity that I will never enjoy. My husband speaks of a "runners high" that happens sometimes during the process, but I'd probably pass out before reaching it.

I like your version of what Lance should have said much better than what he actually said :)

[pixie sticks]

forget running - what kind of asshole breaks up with Sheryl Crow?? She seems like the perfect woman. I suspect that Lance is not issue-free.

[Lisa]

my husband was thrilled to see Lance's comment especially since he just ran his first marathon (chicago) and loved every minute of it ~ and was/is proud of the fact that he finished much faster than Oprah did.

i've always said i will never run, ever...i can get there much faster if i use my car.

then yesterday i went out and bought my first pair of running shoes. you should have seen my husband beaming with pride ~ i've vowed though not to become annoyingly obsessed about this whole running thin :)

[maddy]

Lance Armstrong is very impressive. BUT I saw his ex-wife (before Sheryl Crow) on Oprah and it sure sounded like his needs always came first. She said it in a nice way (she has a book, I guess) but it was pretty clear wife and kids were a distant second to his goals. That's probably typical of any star athlete, though. But it gave me kind of a bad feeling about him. Don't know if that's fair or not. She basically gave up everything for him and ended up being miserable.

[Jack's Raging Mommy]

Yeah, I have to say that I'd like him a lot more if he hadn't cheated on and abandoned the woman who stuck by him through his cancer.
(And stepping off my soapbox, you are so totally right!)

[rascoagogo]

I'm not a fan either. Try living in Austin where those two are freaking everywhere with the asshattery and womanizing. Not to mention the cadre of Little Lances with their bikes and yellow jersies all over the road every weekend.

Oh, you know how Matthew looks all greasy and nasty in pictures lately? It's worse up close and in person.

[inasense]

I definitely had a bit of schadenfreude when I heard of his struggles. but damn the man is a machine! he came in under 3 hours which is pretty cool.

I am bitter though because instead ohis number he got his name on his racing bib.

fucker.

[CatLady?]

I guess no one's ever accused Lance of being too smart ... I know a lot of people admire him for his performance in the TdF, but keep in mind he had a team with him helping him. I'm not a fan, no matter how many miles he goes.

[CatLady?]

No one ever said Lance was too smart ... or gracious.

[Melissa Summers]

I really only wish he'd said he hated running a marathon. I sort of don't like him but I don't know him so I can't really say anything on that.

If I did know him though I'd say, 'Didn't you think it was stupid to run that far just for 'fun'?'

Seriously.

[Hetty]

We are big Lance fans in this household ... but only as it relates to the Tour de France. The man is awesome on a bike, no two ways about it, and I enjoyed seeing him rub it in the face of all the Euros after all the snide remarks they made about him.

However. I was very disappointed in him when he broke up with his wife, and all this jet-setting crap just seems like ... well, crap. I think he is seriously suffering for lack of a real goal. (Not that *he* probably thinks he is suffering. But he seems so directionless now.)

[marymuses]

I'm not a Lance fan either. I went out to see some of the marathoners at the half-mile-to-go mark, and I have to say that I am WAY more impressed with the people in the wheeler category than some guy who can't run the race without an entourage. The amount of people he had around him was RIDICULOUS, especially considering that pretty much everybody else ran the race on their own.

The other thing that was ridiculous, though, was how many people behind me asked, "Has Lance passed yet?" and then after that, "Did you see him?" If only I'd had an M&M for every time someone asked me that question; I wouldn't have needed to stop for lunch later.

[KB]

Ha ha... a marathon - who said that stuff about childbirth?

I had a 10lb 12 oz baby... he came out posterior... none of that pain relief stuff for me. Did it the old-fashioned way.

So what if I can't run a marathon and my ass is too wide?

I can leap tall buildings in a single bound after having that baby.

[KidKate]

"Asshole disorder"--I love it (and I relate)!

[lorrainemd]

I used to run 6-8 miles every freaking day. I was addicted. Now you will not catch me running for the bus. Knees, ankles cry out, "Love us! Do not torture us anymore! You need us. You will be sorry without us! Take heed...or else" And I finally have. Good riddance to running. I always hated it too....even when I did it every freaking day. Hated it. I don't love my body anymore, but I love myself again. yay.