Kristin Armstrong @ NYC Marathon

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html


Her own tour de force

Running is helping Kristin Armstrong forge a new life away from
ex-husband Lance

By Juliet Macur
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2004

The world knew her as Mrs. Lance Armstrong, the petite blonde hovering
just behind the transcendent cyclist who survived cancer and went on
to win the Tour de France every summer.


Today Kristin Armstrong is someone else. Running from the heartache of
a broken marriage and toward a self-validation that she had not
imagined necessary or possible, she has become an athlete.

This morning Armstrong, 33, will run in the New York City Marathon,
her second marathon in less than a year. She has two goals. First, she
wants to raise awareness and money for Fertile Hope, a charity that
helps cancer patients with infertility issues.

Second, she wants to show that everyone, not just elite athletes, has
inner strength beyond what they know.

"I learned that you can get past pain and you can go farther than you
thought, deeper than you thought, both physically and emotionally,"
said Armstrong, who lives in Austin, Texas, with the couple's three
young children. "As a human being, that's such a beautiful discovery."

About 36,000 runners will line up for today's race, all with a story
to explain why they push their bodies 26.2 miles.

Kristin Armstrong's story began when her marriage came apart.

She and Lance first separated early in 2003. They reunited briefly, in
time for the kids – Luke, now 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle, who
turn 3 this month – to see their daddy cycle to his fifth victory
in the Tour de France. But when Kristin brought the children home that
September, the couple separated for good.

Her melancholy was reflected in her body; already thin, Armstrong
began to lose weight.

Soon enough, friends stepped in. Women with whom she had run for the
fun of it asked her to start training for the Dallas White Rock
Marathon.

"It's not like we had this idea about the marathon because it would
help her with the divorce," said Paige Gressett Alam, one of Kristin's
closest friends. "We just thought it would be good for her, period,
because she'd have to start taking better care of herself."

Armstrong began running recreationally in 2001 (after the twins were
born), but had never run more than 7 miles in a single outing. Her
friends, Alam and Kristen Turner, with whom she would run the Dallas
marathon, were more seasoned.

Alam had run 14 marathons; Turner is a former college swimmer, a
personal trainer and an Ironman triathlete.

So with the help of her running group that doubled as her support
system – which included Alam, Turner and multiple other
30-something women – Armstrong slipped on her running shoes and
began an escape from grief, a pursuit of nothing less than herself.

Her friends handled the technical stuff. "The sherpas," as she calls
them, were in charge of the hydration, the gooey energy gels, the
pace, the split times.

Armstrong didn't even wear a watch because, for her, it was more about
the experience than the results. She enjoyed the physical challenge of
workouts in the hills of Austin, but also their emotional side. She
joined in when the women would talk about life and love and hardships,
a catharsis for all. Then, when someone shouted, "Let's kick it up,"
she simply followed.

"For the first time, she was pushing herself and finding this other
part of herself, this hidden talent," said Cassandra Henkiel, an elite
distance runner and the group's coach. "I think she just kind of got a
taste of what it's like to be Lance and she really liked that."

As Turner put it: "There's a confidence in her now. She's always said
to us, 'I'm not an athlete.' But we were like, 'Whatever. Well, you're
a runner now.' "

Armstrong established that in Dallas. She finished the marathon in 3
hours, 48 minutes, an average of about 8:42 per mile.

If history repeats, the first three hours today will be smooth.

But at Mile 24, problems occurred. Armstrong's calves started to cramp
and she began to cry, then hyperventilate.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. No way will I be able to deal with
this divorce and be away from my kids or sit through mediation one
more time.' "

But Alam looked Armstrong in the eye. "Don't you dare," she said. "You
can do this. You can do this, and everything else. Just do it."

That's all it took to get Armstrong going again, in life and in that
race. She stretched out the cramps and continued their run, for the
moment even moved by memories of her former husband's battles with
pain.

"Had she not had those cramps, had the marathon been easy, it wouldn't
have meant as much," Turner said.

"It was very metaphorical, considering the timing. I think she was
supposed to go through that."

The three women finished in a huddle of hugs and tears, a celebration
of Armstrong's determination, strength, and success. Four days later,
Armstrong's divorce was made final.

"In my first marathon, I tried to be like Lance, who, as long as he's
pushing himself as an athlete and going fast doesn't have to deal with
his emotions," Armstrong said. "But I realized that I didn't need to
run away from my despair or misery, that I could handle things. I
realized that we were not alike in that way.

"Now I've embraced my pain and realize it's OK to be sad," she
said. "Now I can say, Lance has the life he wants, and that's his
now. Even though my life isn't the family life I had planned, I'm
happy with it. For the kids, I have to be."

Armstrong, now a contributing writer for Runner's World magazine, has
tried to keep life consistent for her children.

Still, there has been some unavoidable tumult.

Every Thursday afternoon and every other weekend, the children are
with Lance, who now dates singer Sheryl Crow and lives about 2 miles
away.

"My priorities as a woman are my family and my kids, and if he was
dating someone just like me, now that would be much tougher,"
Armstrong said. "But his new life has nothing to do with me. Being
famous or hanging around with famous people, I don't think that ever
did it for me."

This summer, Armstrong said, she and her kids didn't have time to
watch Lance's unprecedented sixth straight victory in the Tour de
France.

When she heard he had won, she said, "Oh really? That's great." The
two don't talk much anymore.

Armstrong said her days are busy, packed with kids and runs and
juggling her limited personal time with family time. When she goes to
train, her brother watches the children. Other than that, it's all
mommy, all the time. She makes waffles with them, goes on picnics,
builds a new life.

"I have to set an example now," she said. "I have daughters and
they're watching how I react to things. I want them to learn how to
respect themselves and respect me as a woman."

New York City Marathon

When: Today (pro women begin at 6:35 a.m. PST; open men's division
begins at 7:10 a.m. PST).

TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 39 (one-hour highlight show)

Internet: Live coverage at www.ingnycmarathon.org

Gerard,

Thanks for posting that. It's very inspiring and encouraging.

Bob C.

Gerard,

Thanks for posting that. It's very inspiring and encouraging.

Bob C.

Any violins to go with this piece?

"Gerard Lanois" wrote in message
...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html


Her own tour de force

Running is helping Kristin Armstrong forge a new life away from
ex-husband Lance

By Juliet Macur
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2004

The world knew her as Mrs. Lance Armstrong, the petite blonde hovering
just behind the transcendent cyclist who survived cancer and went on
to win the Tour de France every summer.


Today Kristin Armstrong is someone else. Running from the heartache of
a broken marriage and toward a self-validation that she had not
imagined necessary or possible, she has become an athlete.

This morning Armstrong, 33, will run in the New York City Marathon,
her second marathon in less than a year. She has two goals. First, she
wants to raise awareness and money for Fertile Hope, a charity that
helps cancer patients with infertility issues.

Second, she wants to show that everyone, not just elite athletes, has
inner strength beyond what they know.

"I learned that you can get past pain and you can go farther than you
thought, deeper than you thought, both physically and emotionally,"
said Armstrong, who lives in Austin, Texas, with the couple's three
young children. "As a human being, that's such a beautiful discovery."

About 36,000 runners will line up for today's race, all with a story
to explain why they push their bodies 26.2 miles.

Kristin Armstrong's story began when her marriage came apart.

She and Lance first separated early in 2003. They reunited briefly, in
time for the kids - Luke, now 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle, who
turn 3 this month - to see their daddy cycle to his fifth victory
in the Tour de France. But when Kristin brought the children home that
September, the couple separated for good.

Her melancholy was reflected in her body; already thin, Armstrong
began to lose weight.

Soon enough, friends stepped in. Women with whom she had run for the
fun of it asked her to start training for the Dallas White Rock
Marathon.

"It's not like we had this idea about the marathon because it would
help her with the divorce," said Paige Gressett Alam, one of Kristin's
closest friends. "We just thought it would be good for her, period,
because she'd have to start taking better care of herself."

Armstrong began running recreationally in 2001 (after the twins were
born), but had never run more than 7 miles in a single outing. Her
friends, Alam and Kristen Turner, with whom she would run the Dallas
marathon, were more seasoned.

Alam had run 14 marathons; Turner is a former college swimmer, a
personal trainer and an Ironman triathlete.

So with the help of her running group that doubled as her support
system - which included Alam, Turner and multiple other
30-something women - Armstrong slipped on her running shoes and
began an escape from grief, a pursuit of nothing less than herself.

Her friends handled the technical stuff. "The sherpas," as she calls
them, were in charge of the hydration, the gooey energy gels, the
pace, the split times.

Armstrong didn't even wear a watch because, for her, it was more about
the experience than the results. She enjoyed the physical challenge of
workouts in the hills of Austin, but also their emotional side. She
joined in when the women would talk about life and love and hardships,
a catharsis for all. Then, when someone shouted, "Let's kick it up,"
she simply followed.

"For the first time, she was pushing herself and finding this other
part of herself, this hidden talent," said Cassandra Henkiel, an elite
distance runner and the group's coach. "I think she just kind of got a
taste of what it's like to be Lance and she really liked that."

As Turner put it: "There's a confidence in her now. She's always said
to us, 'I'm not an athlete.' But we were like, 'Whatever. Well, you're
a runner now.' "

Armstrong established that in Dallas. She finished the marathon in 3
hours, 48 minutes, an average of about 8:42 per mile.

If history repeats, the first three hours today will be smooth.

But at Mile 24, problems occurred. Armstrong's calves started to cramp
and she began to cry, then hyperventilate.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. No way will I be able to deal with
this divorce and be away from my kids or sit through mediation one
more time.' "

But Alam looked Armstrong in the eye. "Don't you dare," she said. "You
can do this. You can do this, and everything else. Just do it."

That's all it took to get Armstrong going again, in life and in that
race. She stretched out the cramps and continued their run, for the
moment even moved by memories of her former husband's battles with
pain.

"Had she not had those cramps, had the marathon been easy, it wouldn't
have meant as much," Turner said.

"It was very metaphorical, considering the timing. I think she was
supposed to go through that."

The three women finished in a huddle of hugs and tears, a celebration
of Armstrong's determination, strength, and success. Four days later,
Armstrong's divorce was made final.

"In my first marathon, I tried to be like Lance, who, as long as he's
pushing himself as an athlete and going fast doesn't have to deal with
his emotions," Armstrong said. "But I realized that I didn't need to
run away from my despair or misery, that I could handle things. I
realized that we were not alike in that way.

"Now I've embraced my pain and realize it's OK to be sad," she
said. "Now I can say, Lance has the life he wants, and that's his
now. Even though my life isn't the family life I had planned, I'm
happy with it. For the kids, I have to be."

Armstrong, now a contributing writer for Runner's World magazine, has
tried to keep life consistent for her children.

Still, there has been some unavoidable tumult.

Every Thursday afternoon and every other weekend, the children are
with Lance, who now dates singer Sheryl Crow and lives about 2 miles
away.

"My priorities as a woman are my family and my kids, and if he was
dating someone just like me, now that would be much tougher,"
Armstrong said. "But his new life has nothing to do with me. Being
famous or hanging around with famous people, I don't think that ever
did it for me."

This summer, Armstrong said, she and her kids didn't have time to
watch Lance's unprecedented sixth straight victory in the Tour de
France.

When she heard he had won, she said, "Oh really? That's great." The
two don't talk much anymore.

Armstrong said her days are busy, packed with kids and runs and
juggling her limited personal time with family time. When she goes to
train, her brother watches the children. Other than that, it's all
mommy, all the time. She makes waffles with them, goes on picnics,
builds a new life.

"I have to set an example now," she said. "I have daughters and
they're watching how I react to things. I want them to learn how to
respect themselves and respect me as a woman."

New York City Marathon

When: Today (pro women begin at 6:35 a.m. PST; open men's division
begins at 7:10 a.m. PST).

TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 39 (one-hour highlight show)

Internet: Live coverage at www.ingnycmarathon.org

Any violins to go with this piece?

"Gerard Lanois" wrote in message
...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html


Her own tour de force

Running is helping Kristin Armstrong forge a new life away from
ex-husband Lance

By Juliet Macur
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2004

The world knew her as Mrs. Lance Armstrong, the petite blonde hovering
just behind the transcendent cyclist who survived cancer and went on
to win the Tour de France every summer.


Today Kristin Armstrong is someone else. Running from the heartache of
a broken marriage and toward a self-validation that she had not
imagined necessary or possible, she has become an athlete.

This morning Armstrong, 33, will run in the New York City Marathon,
her second marathon in less than a year. She has two goals. First, she
wants to raise awareness and money for Fertile Hope, a charity that
helps cancer patients with infertility issues.

Second, she wants to show that everyone, not just elite athletes, has
inner strength beyond what they know.

"I learned that you can get past pain and you can go farther than you
thought, deeper than you thought, both physically and emotionally,"
said Armstrong, who lives in Austin, Texas, with the couple's three
young children. "As a human being, that's such a beautiful discovery."

About 36,000 runners will line up for today's race, all with a story
to explain why they push their bodies 26.2 miles.

Kristin Armstrong's story began when her marriage came apart.

She and Lance first separated early in 2003. They reunited briefly, in
time for the kids - Luke, now 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle, who
turn 3 this month - to see their daddy cycle to his fifth victory
in the Tour de France. But when Kristin brought the children home that
September, the couple separated for good.

Her melancholy was reflected in her body; already thin, Armstrong
began to lose weight.

Soon enough, friends stepped in. Women with whom she had run for the
fun of it asked her to start training for the Dallas White Rock
Marathon.

"It's not like we had this idea about the marathon because it would
help her with the divorce," said Paige Gressett Alam, one of Kristin's
closest friends. "We just thought it would be good for her, period,
because she'd have to start taking better care of herself."

Armstrong began running recreationally in 2001 (after the twins were
born), but had never run more than 7 miles in a single outing. Her
friends, Alam and Kristen Turner, with whom she would run the Dallas
marathon, were more seasoned.

Alam had run 14 marathons; Turner is a former college swimmer, a
personal trainer and an Ironman triathlete.

So with the help of her running group that doubled as her support
system - which included Alam, Turner and multiple other
30-something women - Armstrong slipped on her running shoes and
began an escape from grief, a pursuit of nothing less than herself.

Her friends handled the technical stuff. "The sherpas," as she calls
them, were in charge of the hydration, the gooey energy gels, the
pace, the split times.

Armstrong didn't even wear a watch because, for her, it was more about
the experience than the results. She enjoyed the physical challenge of
workouts in the hills of Austin, but also their emotional side. She
joined in when the women would talk about life and love and hardships,
a catharsis for all. Then, when someone shouted, "Let's kick it up,"
she simply followed.

"For the first time, she was pushing herself and finding this other
part of herself, this hidden talent," said Cassandra Henkiel, an elite
distance runner and the group's coach. "I think she just kind of got a
taste of what it's like to be Lance and she really liked that."

As Turner put it: "There's a confidence in her now. She's always said
to us, 'I'm not an athlete.' But we were like, 'Whatever. Well, you're
a runner now.' "

Armstrong established that in Dallas. She finished the marathon in 3
hours, 48 minutes, an average of about 8:42 per mile.

If history repeats, the first three hours today will be smooth.

But at Mile 24, problems occurred. Armstrong's calves started to cramp
and she began to cry, then hyperventilate.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. No way will I be able to deal with
this divorce and be away from my kids or sit through mediation one
more time.' "

But Alam looked Armstrong in the eye. "Don't you dare," she said. "You
can do this. You can do this, and everything else. Just do it."

That's all it took to get Armstrong going again, in life and in that
race. She stretched out the cramps and continued their run, for the
moment even moved by memories of her former husband's battles with
pain.

"Had she not had those cramps, had the marathon been easy, it wouldn't
have meant as much," Turner said.

"It was very metaphorical, considering the timing. I think she was
supposed to go through that."

The three women finished in a huddle of hugs and tears, a celebration
of Armstrong's determination, strength, and success. Four days later,
Armstrong's divorce was made final.

"In my first marathon, I tried to be like Lance, who, as long as he's
pushing himself as an athlete and going fast doesn't have to deal with
his emotions," Armstrong said. "But I realized that I didn't need to
run away from my despair or misery, that I could handle things. I
realized that we were not alike in that way.

"Now I've embraced my pain and realize it's OK to be sad," she
said. "Now I can say, Lance has the life he wants, and that's his
now. Even though my life isn't the family life I had planned, I'm
happy with it. For the kids, I have to be."

Armstrong, now a contributing writer for Runner's World magazine, has
tried to keep life consistent for her children.

Still, there has been some unavoidable tumult.

Every Thursday afternoon and every other weekend, the children are
with Lance, who now dates singer Sheryl Crow and lives about 2 miles
away.

"My priorities as a woman are my family and my kids, and if he was
dating someone just like me, now that would be much tougher,"
Armstrong said. "But his new life has nothing to do with me. Being
famous or hanging around with famous people, I don't think that ever
did it for me."

This summer, Armstrong said, she and her kids didn't have time to
watch Lance's unprecedented sixth straight victory in the Tour de
France.

When she heard he had won, she said, "Oh really? That's great." The
two don't talk much anymore.

Armstrong said her days are busy, packed with kids and runs and
juggling her limited personal time with family time. When she goes to
train, her brother watches the children. Other than that, it's all
mommy, all the time. She makes waffles with them, goes on picnics,
builds a new life.

"I have to set an example now," she said. "I have daughters and
they're watching how I react to things. I want them to learn how to
respect themselves and respect me as a woman."

New York City Marathon

When: Today (pro women begin at 6:35 a.m. PST; open men's division
begins at 7:10 a.m. PST).

TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 39 (one-hour highlight show)

Internet: Live coverage at www.ingnycmarathon.org

The kind of money I have doesn't buy happiness, but $60,000,000.00 Kristen
got from Lance would make me abso****inglutely ecstatic!!!


"Sierraman" wrote in message
...
Any violins to go with this piece?

"Gerard Lanois" wrote in message
...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html


Her own tour de force

Running is helping Kristin Armstrong forge a new life away from
ex-husband Lance

By Juliet Macur
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2004

The world knew her as Mrs. Lance Armstrong, the petite blonde hovering
just behind the transcendent cyclist who survived cancer and went on
to win the Tour de France every summer.


Today Kristin Armstrong is someone else. Running from the heartache of
a broken marriage and toward a self-validation that she had not
imagined necessary or possible, she has become an athlete.

This morning Armstrong, 33, will run in the New York City Marathon,
her second marathon in less than a year. She has two goals. First, she
wants to raise awareness and money for Fertile Hope, a charity that
helps cancer patients with infertility issues.

Second, she wants to show that everyone, not just elite athletes, has
inner strength beyond what they know.

"I learned that you can get past pain and you can go farther than you
thought, deeper than you thought, both physically and emotionally,"
said Armstrong, who lives in Austin, Texas, with the couple's three
young children. "As a human being, that's such a beautiful discovery."

About 36,000 runners will line up for today's race, all with a story
to explain why they push their bodies 26.2 miles.

Kristin Armstrong's story began when her marriage came apart.

She and Lance first separated early in 2003. They reunited briefly, in
time for the kids - Luke, now 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle, who
turn 3 this month - to see their daddy cycle to his fifth victory
in the Tour de France. But when Kristin brought the children home that
September, the couple separated for good.

Her melancholy was reflected in her body; already thin, Armstrong
began to lose weight.

Soon enough, friends stepped in. Women with whom she had run for the
fun of it asked her to start training for the Dallas White Rock
Marathon.

"It's not like we had this idea about the marathon because it would
help her with the divorce," said Paige Gressett Alam, one of Kristin's
closest friends. "We just thought it would be good for her, period,
because she'd have to start taking better care of herself."

Armstrong began running recreationally in 2001 (after the twins were
born), but had never run more than 7 miles in a single outing. Her
friends, Alam and Kristen Turner, with whom she would run the Dallas
marathon, were more seasoned.

Alam had run 14 marathons; Turner is a former college swimmer, a
personal trainer and an Ironman triathlete.

So with the help of her running group that doubled as her support
system - which included Alam, Turner and multiple other
30-something women - Armstrong slipped on her running shoes and
began an escape from grief, a pursuit of nothing less than herself.

Her friends handled the technical stuff. "The sherpas," as she calls
them, were in charge of the hydration, the gooey energy gels, the
pace, the split times.

Armstrong didn't even wear a watch because, for her, it was more about
the experience than the results. She enjoyed the physical challenge of
workouts in the hills of Austin, but also their emotional side. She
joined in when the women would talk about life and love and hardships,
a catharsis for all. Then, when someone shouted, "Let's kick it up,"
she simply followed.

"For the first time, she was pushing herself and finding this other
part of herself, this hidden talent," said Cassandra Henkiel, an elite
distance runner and the group's coach. "I think she just kind of got a
taste of what it's like to be Lance and she really liked that."

As Turner put it: "There's a confidence in her now. She's always said
to us, 'I'm not an athlete.' But we were like, 'Whatever. Well, you're
a runner now.' "

Armstrong established that in Dallas. She finished the marathon in 3
hours, 48 minutes, an average of about 8:42 per mile.

If history repeats, the first three hours today will be smooth.

But at Mile 24, problems occurred. Armstrong's calves started to cramp
and she began to cry, then hyperventilate.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. No way will I be able to deal with
this divorce and be away from my kids or sit through mediation one
more time.' "

But Alam looked Armstrong in the eye. "Don't you dare," she said. "You
can do this. You can do this, and everything else. Just do it."

That's all it took to get Armstrong going again, in life and in that
race. She stretched out the cramps and continued their run, for the
moment even moved by memories of her former husband's battles with
pain.

"Had she not had those cramps, had the marathon been easy, it wouldn't
have meant as much," Turner said.

"It was very metaphorical, considering the timing. I think she was
supposed to go through that."

The three women finished in a huddle of hugs and tears, a celebration
of Armstrong's determination, strength, and success. Four days later,
Armstrong's divorce was made final.

"In my first marathon, I tried to be like Lance, who, as long as he's
pushing himself as an athlete and going fast doesn't have to deal with
his emotions," Armstrong said. "But I realized that I didn't need to
run away from my despair or misery, that I could handle things. I
realized that we were not alike in that way.

"Now I've embraced my pain and realize it's OK to be sad," she
said. "Now I can say, Lance has the life he wants, and that's his
now. Even though my life isn't the family life I had planned, I'm
happy with it. For the kids, I have to be."

Armstrong, now a contributing writer for Runner's World magazine, has
tried to keep life consistent for her children.

Still, there has been some unavoidable tumult.

Every Thursday afternoon and every other weekend, the children are
with Lance, who now dates singer Sheryl Crow and lives about 2 miles
away.

"My priorities as a woman are my family and my kids, and if he was
dating someone just like me, now that would be much tougher,"
Armstrong said. "But his new life has nothing to do with me. Being
famous or hanging around with famous people, I don't think that ever
did it for me."

This summer, Armstrong said, she and her kids didn't have time to
watch Lance's unprecedented sixth straight victory in the Tour de
France.

When she heard he had won, she said, "Oh really? That's great." The
two don't talk much anymore.

Armstrong said her days are busy, packed with kids and runs and
juggling her limited personal time with family time. When she goes to
train, her brother watches the children. Other than that, it's all
mommy, all the time. She makes waffles with them, goes on picnics,
builds a new life.

"I have to set an example now," she said. "I have daughters and
they're watching how I react to things. I want them to learn how to
respect themselves and respect me as a woman."

New York City Marathon

When: Today (pro women begin at 6:35 a.m. PST; open men's division
begins at 7:10 a.m. PST).

TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 39 (one-hour highlight show)

Internet: Live coverage at www.ingnycmarathon.org

The kind of money I have doesn't buy happiness, but $60,000,000.00 Kristen
got from Lance would make me abso****inglutely ecstatic!!!


"Sierraman" wrote in message
...
Any violins to go with this piece?

"Gerard Lanois" wrote in message
...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html


Her own tour de force

Running is helping Kristin Armstrong forge a new life away from
ex-husband Lance

By Juliet Macur
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

November 7, 2004

The world knew her as Mrs. Lance Armstrong, the petite blonde hovering
just behind the transcendent cyclist who survived cancer and went on
to win the Tour de France every summer.


Today Kristin Armstrong is someone else. Running from the heartache of
a broken marriage and toward a self-validation that she had not
imagined necessary or possible, she has become an athlete.

This morning Armstrong, 33, will run in the New York City Marathon,
her second marathon in less than a year. She has two goals. First, she
wants to raise awareness and money for Fertile Hope, a charity that
helps cancer patients with infertility issues.

Second, she wants to show that everyone, not just elite athletes, has
inner strength beyond what they know.

"I learned that you can get past pain and you can go farther than you
thought, deeper than you thought, both physically and emotionally,"
said Armstrong, who lives in Austin, Texas, with the couple's three
young children. "As a human being, that's such a beautiful discovery."

About 36,000 runners will line up for today's race, all with a story
to explain why they push their bodies 26.2 miles.

Kristin Armstrong's story began when her marriage came apart.

She and Lance first separated early in 2003. They reunited briefly, in
time for the kids - Luke, now 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle, who
turn 3 this month - to see their daddy cycle to his fifth victory
in the Tour de France. But when Kristin brought the children home that
September, the couple separated for good.

Her melancholy was reflected in her body; already thin, Armstrong
began to lose weight.

Soon enough, friends stepped in. Women with whom she had run for the
fun of it asked her to start training for the Dallas White Rock
Marathon.

"It's not like we had this idea about the marathon because it would
help her with the divorce," said Paige Gressett Alam, one of Kristin's
closest friends. "We just thought it would be good for her, period,
because she'd have to start taking better care of herself."

Armstrong began running recreationally in 2001 (after the twins were
born), but had never run more than 7 miles in a single outing. Her
friends, Alam and Kristen Turner, with whom she would run the Dallas
marathon, were more seasoned.

Alam had run 14 marathons; Turner is a former college swimmer, a
personal trainer and an Ironman triathlete.

So with the help of her running group that doubled as her support
system - which included Alam, Turner and multiple other
30-something women - Armstrong slipped on her running shoes and
began an escape from grief, a pursuit of nothing less than herself.

Her friends handled the technical stuff. "The sherpas," as she calls
them, were in charge of the hydration, the gooey energy gels, the
pace, the split times.

Armstrong didn't even wear a watch because, for her, it was more about
the experience than the results. She enjoyed the physical challenge of
workouts in the hills of Austin, but also their emotional side. She
joined in when the women would talk about life and love and hardships,
a catharsis for all. Then, when someone shouted, "Let's kick it up,"
she simply followed.

"For the first time, she was pushing herself and finding this other
part of herself, this hidden talent," said Cassandra Henkiel, an elite
distance runner and the group's coach. "I think she just kind of got a
taste of what it's like to be Lance and she really liked that."

As Turner put it: "There's a confidence in her now. She's always said
to us, 'I'm not an athlete.' But we were like, 'Whatever. Well, you're
a runner now.' "

Armstrong established that in Dallas. She finished the marathon in 3
hours, 48 minutes, an average of about 8:42 per mile.

If history repeats, the first three hours today will be smooth.

But at Mile 24, problems occurred. Armstrong's calves started to cramp
and she began to cry, then hyperventilate.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. No way will I be able to deal with
this divorce and be away from my kids or sit through mediation one
more time.' "

But Alam looked Armstrong in the eye. "Don't you dare," she said. "You
can do this. You can do this, and everything else. Just do it."

That's all it took to get Armstrong going again, in life and in that
race. She stretched out the cramps and continued their run, for the
moment even moved by memories of her former husband's battles with
pain.

"Had she not had those cramps, had the marathon been easy, it wouldn't
have meant as much," Turner said.

"It was very metaphorical, considering the timing. I think she was
supposed to go through that."

The three women finished in a huddle of hugs and tears, a celebration
of Armstrong's determination, strength, and success. Four days later,
Armstrong's divorce was made final.

"In my first marathon, I tried to be like Lance, who, as long as he's
pushing himself as an athlete and going fast doesn't have to deal with
his emotions," Armstrong said. "But I realized that I didn't need to
run away from my despair or misery, that I could handle things. I
realized that we were not alike in that way.

"Now I've embraced my pain and realize it's OK to be sad," she
said. "Now I can say, Lance has the life he wants, and that's his
now. Even though my life isn't the family life I had planned, I'm
happy with it. For the kids, I have to be."

Armstrong, now a contributing writer for Runner's World magazine, has
tried to keep life consistent for her children.

Still, there has been some unavoidable tumult.

Every Thursday afternoon and every other weekend, the children are
with Lance, who now dates singer Sheryl Crow and lives about 2 miles
away.

"My priorities as a woman are my family and my kids, and if he was
dating someone just like me, now that would be much tougher,"
Armstrong said. "But his new life has nothing to do with me. Being
famous or hanging around with famous people, I don't think that ever
did it for me."

This summer, Armstrong said, she and her kids didn't have time to
watch Lance's unprecedented sixth straight victory in the Tour de
France.

When she heard he had won, she said, "Oh really? That's great." The
two don't talk much anymore.

Armstrong said her days are busy, packed with kids and runs and
juggling her limited personal time with family time. When she goes to
train, her brother watches the children. Other than that, it's all
mommy, all the time. She makes waffles with them, goes on picnics,
builds a new life.

"I have to set an example now," she said. "I have daughters and
they're watching how I react to things. I want them to learn how to
respect themselves and respect me as a woman."

New York City Marathon

When: Today (pro women begin at 6:35 a.m. PST; open men's division
begins at 7:10 a.m. PST).

TV: 11 a.m., Ch. 39 (one-hour highlight show)

Internet: Live coverage at www.ingnycmarathon.org

Gerard Lanois wrote:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html

that was cool, thanks for posting.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. "

even the person with the most perfect home life will probably be saying
just this at mile 24 of their first marathon. i'm supposed to run a
marathon in a few weeks, and it's about 50% due to the fact that kristen
ran a sub 4 hour on her first try. (i wondered if i could do that too....nope...)

heather

Gerard Lanois wrote:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...s7sunspcl.html

that was cool, thanks for posting.

"My heart wasn't capable of doing more," she said. "It was saying, 'No
way will I be able to finish this. "

even the person with the most perfect home life will probably be saying
just this at mile 24 of their first marathon. i'm supposed to run a
marathon in a few weeks, and it's about 50% due to the fact that kristen
ran a sub 4 hour on her first try. (i wondered if i could do that too....nope...)

heather

h squared wrote:


even the person with the most perfect home life will probably be saying
just this at mile 24 of their first marathon. i'm supposed to run a
marathon in a few weeks, and it's about 50% due to the fact that kristen
ran a sub 4 hour on her first try. (i wondered if i could do that too....nope...)

Miles 18-20 are the worst. Miles 24-26 are easy if the crowd is any
good. Good luck.