No Joke! Wednesday Links

The pre-dawn reading of an occasional insomniac:

* Lance Armstrong proves he can break off a 4:51 mile at the Austin High track. And he says he'll never shave his legs again. (Austin American-Statesman)

* Four athletes, one dream: The "What It Takes" documentary profiling four Ironman triathletes — Peter Reid, Lori Bowden, Heather Fuhr, and Luke Bell — in their quests to win the 2005 world championship in Kona, Hawaii, is available on DVD and in select movie theaters. Here's a Quicktime video teaser. Looks cool.

* Turns out you shouldn't substitute energy bars for food. (Denver Post)

* As the city's highest-grossing single-day sporting event, The New York Marathon pumps $188 million into the city economy each year. (New York Post)

* Chasing Kimbia is documenting the lifestyle and training of an elite group of African marathoners as they prepare for fall marathons in Chicago and New York. A good glimpse behind the curtain at how elite distance runners train.

* Competitors recently died of heart attacks in both the Toronto and Twin Cities marathons.

* Every day (literally) is an adventure for Dean Karnazes, who is almost halfway through his 50-50-50 quest. He ran marathon #21 in Utah in 3:20!

* Coach Josh says it's the right time of year to just lie on the couch and recover. "The bigger the valley the higher the peak.” (PEZ)