NEW YORK - Lance Armstrong trained harder for his second marathon, and it showed. He improved his time by 13 minutes at the New York City Marathon, and didn't have to battle shin splints.

"I enjoyed it much more this year," said Armstrong, who finished 698th in 2 hours, 46 minutes, 43 seconds Sunday. "Last year, I had no idea what to expect with 26.2 miles, and I paid for it."

The seven-time Tour de France winner trained harder, was injury-free and drew upon the experience of running in the showcase event. Last year, he called the five-borough race "the hardest physical thing I have ever done."

About 130 runners competed in the marathon for Team LIVESTRONG, which raises funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The group expected to bring in more than $500,000 dollars for cancer research and programs.

Armstrong looked fresh in his yellow jersey at the finish after hobbling in last year.

"I came in better prepared, but perhaps I started faster than I wanted," Armstrong said. "I sort of got out there and realized I was either going to finish OK or be crawling home."

Armstrong said he needed about four months to recover from the shin splints last year, when he finished 856th. This time, he trained more consistently and included faster 18- and 19-mile runs.

The already-fit Armstrong dropped seven pounds, weighing 173, to help reach his goal of finishing under 2:50.

"Just like in cycling, your body weight is a huge factor," Armstrong said. "It's no accident that the best in the world weigh 120 pounds."

Armstrong said work with his foundation has taken him to Europe, Canada and Mexico in the last three months. He's not interested in training for much faster times.

"My lifestyle doesn't lead to that right now because I travel all the time and I hang out with my kids," he said. "(I) still like to go out and have fun and eat what I want and have a beer every now and again. I don't want to cut that out in order to run faster.

"I've done a lot of things in my life fast, so it's now time to do them just for fun and recreation."

He's not sure if he'll run the marathon next year.

"Next year could be another challenge, another sports challenge, so give me a few months," Armstrong said.