Far be it from me to judge, but I have to admit that my excitement at the achievements of Lance Armstrong has been tempered once and for all.  I know, he’s the greatest, a “one in a million” who “got lucky” and beat cancer.  I know, he’s raised millions of dollars for cancer research and is a cool role model.  I know, he’s hanging out with the hip rock star Sheryl Crow.  But that’s just it; I wonder how his children and their mother feel about it all.  It’s been less than a year since their divorce, you know.

            Last week, I read a short but powerful article in Runner’s World written by Lance’s former wife, Kristen.  You remember her, the mother of his three children who supported him, lived for him, and gave her life up completely all those years to make the things that he’s accomplished possible.  Nursing the great one through chemotherapy treatments, having and raising his children, living in Europe mostly alone half the time… Anyway, Kristen wrote gracefully about running her first marathon, about how all the things that we can relate to as amateur runners affected her.   She wrote about the familiar early morning, long training runs and the sense of accomplishment that she felt in her progress.  She mentioned Mile 20 and what she was thinking at that time in the marathon, never once taking any of the cheap shots at her former husband that were so obviously available to her.  She likened the marathon experience to persevering through what must have been the toughest year of her life, the last one since her divorce.  It occurred to me while reading the article just how classy this lady must be.  Her only reference to the great Lance was a passing thought that she’d bet that he would be proud of her if he knew of her accomplishment. 

            Of course Lance probably hasn’t read the article.  Between filming the Lance Chronicles, a reality show detailing his and his new woman’s shacking up in Spain, filming commercials, and jetting around the globe, he’s probably been too busy.  In retrospect, it’s always been about Lance anyway.  Sorry, but not giving Providence credit for giving you a second chance at life is one thing.  (I figure that’s between Lance and God).  But moving your new girlfriend in with you just in time to break the Tour record for wins and letting a film crew in on it is quite another.  I think it’s kind of tacky.

            And so I’ll watch OLN every day with excitement, but less of it than I would have before.  (It occurs to me that you never saw Kristen hogging the television screen and giving interviews.  Real women don’t need that kind of attention.)  I really hope that Lance wins again and that winning makes him happy.  The truth is, he does a lot of good for a lot of people.  But I also hope that one day he’ll start giving credit where credit is due, if you know what I mean.

            If you read the Runner’s World article closely, Kristen did in fact make one veiled, clever reference to the “man” after all.  In the end, she says, God’s grace is enough, contrasting where her faith is as opposed to his.

I have to agree, even if Lance doesn’t.  © El Jefe