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Seven-Time Tour de France Winner Reunites With Longtime Cycling Coach Chris Carmichael to Hone Marathon Training and Race Day Nutritional Strategy
BERKELEY, CA-- After seven Tour de France victories, Lance Armstrong has traded in his bike for running shoes to compete in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon. The November 5th event marks a lifelong goal for the legendary cyclist, and will take place just a few weeks following another important life milestone -- the 10th anniversary of his cancer diagnosis.
For Armstrong, the scene will certainly be different -- from the world's most grueling sporting event to the world's most famous marathon; from 2,241 cycling miles up strenuous French mountain climbs, to a 26.2 mile footrace throughout the streets of New York; from the yellow jersey wearer amongst a team of world class cyclists, to one runner in a pack of 40,000 marathoners.
Armstrong looked to his longtime cycling coach Chris Carmichael to support the final stages of marathon training and his race day nutrition strategies. According to Carmichael, the physical and mental demands for each event are different, and although experience helps an athlete like Lance adjust, he's found the overall transition from riding to running to be challenging.
Training Regimen: Armstrong's hectic travel schedule has resulted in logging training mileage on the treadmill to supplement weekly road and trail runs, and plenty of in-gym core strength exercises. Cross-training workouts including swimming, mountain biking and kayaking have helped ease the hip and joint pain associated with the impact of running.
Marathon Goals: Asked countless times about his anticipated finish time since he first announced he'd compete in New York, Armstrong says a sub-3-hour run, or finishing somewhere around an hour behind the winner "in the middle of the pack of 40,000 runners" would make him happy.
Race Day Fuel: Armstrong will burn an estimated 10 to 13 calories per minute during the marathon. According to Carmichael, his race day nutritional approach will be similar to what he followed during The Tour -- the right carbohydrate intake at the right time. "Throughout the estimated three hours he'll run, Lance will consume 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, or the equivalent of two PowerBar Gels, each hour of the race."
PowerBar® Gel
PowerBar Gel features a new carbohydrate blend backed by cutting-edge sports nutrition research to provide faster energy delivery to working muscles, and four times the amount of sodium, the key electrolyte lost in sweat, of leading energy gels.
At the 2006 ING New York City Marathon, PowerBar Gel will be distributed to runners at an on-course fuel zone staffed by members of the Lance Armstrong Foundation cancer survivor community and PowerBar employees.
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