A collection of Lance quotes. Don’t get me wrong - going sub-three on your first marathon rocks, even if you’re a major athlete. But I have to admit a certain amount of vindication in his attitude after hobbling across the finish line, as compared to his predictions beforehand.

After the finish he said that the marathon was, “the hardest physical thing I have ever done.” At the press release he continued, “Even the worst days in the tours, nothing was as hard as that and nothing left me feeling the way I feel now in terms of sheer fatigue and soreness.” Yeah, baby. Of course, the fact that he only ran about 6-7 miles most days with a longest run of only 16 miles might have something to do with that, too.

“I think I bit off more than I could chew, I thought the marathon would be easier,” he said, struggling more obviously during the last six miles, and adding that his 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 had more incentive than the rest of us, though, as he admitted about his cramping near the end of the race: “The thought that I was going to have to stop in front of LanceCam and do some stretch was real embarrassing.”

I think we’ve all been there… just like this final gem:

“Before the race that was my goal, I wanted to break 3 hours. But if you told me with 3 miles to go, `You’re going to do 3:05,’ I wouldn’t have cared. … Honestly, at the end I was so tired, I couldn’t care. Now I’m glad I did.”

Welcome to the club, Lance. Welcome to the club.

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