RE: Lesson learned the hard way.
I wouldn't kick youself to hard, that looks like more than a few seconds worth of engine wear to me. Maybe holding it off the ground for a few seconds was the finial nail in it's coffin, but I dont think it was the only cause. It looks to me that cod rod was loose for some time before it finially broke.
How much time did you have on that engine? For that Con Rod to be melted and have all those shavings like that it would have to have been streaching for quit a while, not just a few seconds.
I've broken con rods before from over reving. The have allways just "snapped" not melted down. One more funny thing, all the rods I've ever boken were broke down at the crank, not the piston side. That piston was getting HOT! baby.