If only my TT times could be as enhanced as Paul Ryan's marathon claim

Me. Lapping the TT course in 2002 at nearly 130 mph average speed, adjusted to PREF*
(*PRF=Paul Ryan Exaggeration Factor)

Paul Ryan's actual marathon time, something over four hours, is nothing to be ashamed of. But why claim, as he did, that it was under three hours?

After being caught in this blatant lie exaggeration, Ryan excused it as something he's misremembered. Frankly, I doubt it, and so does almost anyone who's run a marathon. If you've run one, it's almost always an important (26.2) milestone in your life, and you remember your time. If you've run more than one, you remember your PB. Maybe Ryan would argue that he's the rare first-marathon finisher for whom the achievement was not significant, but if that's so, why did he bring it up on the campaign trail in the first place?

I only wish I could get away with such a claim. My fastest TT lap came in a race in which I finished second-last, but if I inflated my average speed, in percentage terms, as much as Paul Ryan, I would have set the outright Mountain Course record.

Paul "I'm great with numbers, that's why the Republicans look to me for budget leadership" Ryan