You Heard It Here First

After some careful consideration,I Kevin Francis Patrick Forde of questionable mind and even more questionable body hereby declare my intention to train for and {fingers crossed} hopefully complete the Philly marathon on Nov 17th.....I'll pause as the magnitude of that announcement sinks in.........

So how did I come to make this decision?the answer/answers are not so straightforward but hopefully by blogs end I'll have made it as clear as I can.
First and foremost allow me to state for the record this is  NOT me turning my back on track after 7 wonderful seasons on the oval I found myself bereft of the fire,passion and determination that allowed me the success I've enjoyed between 06 and 12.
The fact over the last 8 months I've blown off as many training runs as I've managed should underline my lack of desire to compete this season,why that was I don't know but the fact is not only did I take 6 weeks off between the end of September to mid November but I also failed to blog for three months....that's just not me.

Having scrapped the indoor season due to the lack of effort on my part to make that happen I did harbour ambitions of an outdoor season but again the fire that has driven me throughout my 37 years and counting career just wasn't there,I am someone who needs to do things from the heart,running,blogging,music,relationships etc if my heart isn't in it I have a hard time giving it my all,and I'm not really a "going through the motions" kind of person.
Then came the issue of returning home for the first time in 10 years, unless you count my brief layover in Heathrow airport flying home from Athens Greece after the Athens marathon in 05....which I don't then it's been 10 years since I went home and I needed to put that right,frankly a trip to Kansas for outdoor nationals didn't seem fiscally doable this summer and frankly if I'm not doing Nationals then why train for a track season?

The option "not to run" was never an option,running is in my blood,it's a big part of my dna and it's what I'm known for, so the thought of not running this year having short changed myself  since August of last year just didn't sit well w/ me and in early April the seeds of returning to the marathon began to bubble just below the surface.
When I ran the Athens marathon in 05 it rounded off a 20 year arc from first marathon to then last,to my credit I never said it was my final marathon but at that point in time having ran 14 of them in 20 years and 9 of them in 6 years I felt the need for a new challenge and so I returned to my track roots.
There's always been a sense of unfinished business w/ the marathon for me,having ran them in my 20's 30's and 40's I've always felt the door was open to run one in my 50's and it just so happens this years Philly marathon has been bumped up from it's traditional 4th Sunday of November to the 3rd,November 17th...3 days after my 50th b'day......writing,wall etc etc!!

Once I got serious about track in 07 onwards I often wondered how well I could've ran a marathon applying the type of training I used for track in my marathon training,while I managed an 8 and 6 record {8 sub three hours marathons,6 plus three hour} back in the day I always said my methods were unorthodox now I get to see how well I can tackle the rigours of  26.2 miles w/ a more balanced training regime.
I don't doubt over the next 30 weeks I'll second guess my decision and publically and privately bitch to the high heavens about long training runs and upping my mpw from 30/50 to 60 and 70 mpw but if my old bones can hold up I relish the challenge ahead of me,already in a week of training I feel more focused and more driven than I have the entire past 8 months and w/ that I look ahead to what the coming weeks and months bring.

Beyond Nov 17th I really don't know what to expect,getting to the starting line at 49/50 will be one thing,I know runners older than me manage it so why should I be any different? 8 year gap between marathons or not when I ran Philly in 01 I hadn't ran a marathon in over 10 and a half years since Boston 91 and I managed then so let's roll the dice and see what happens.