Run your race…
In marathon training, they tell you: “this is mostly mental, run YOUR race!” And I remember thinking: what am I doing here? Why did I sign up for this? Are you kidding me, mental? I’m pretty sure its my legs doing the running. Months and months later, through grueling training runs in the height of swampy VA summer, on my longest training run, where I ran out of water (story for another time), I was sure I had made a mistake, as my running partner and I limped up to the car waiting to pick us up and drive us back to our starting point. As we rode along, gratefully sipping the water our running club friend had thoughtfully brought along in a cooler, my running partner turned to me and said: “now, we know we can do it!” I looked at her in disbelief: “how do we know? I couldn’t even see the finish.” You see, normally, training runs stop at 20 miles, but we went for 23, our reasoning being we could tell ourselves, only a little ol’ 5k to go, and you’re done, instead of saying 10k. This was my first inkling of the mental side of this whole business. Three weeks later, when I hit mile 25 in my first (and ONLY) marathon, it finally occurred to me I WAS doing it! I was running a marathon! Something I never, ever thought I could or would do. And I KNEW I was going to finish. As I rounded down onto the final mile, I still could not see the finish. But what I could see: hundreds of people cheering. For me!! For all of us!! All along the way, even in the barren canyon areas, there was somebody, yelling and waving a flag or ringing a bell, shouting: “you CAN do it!” It was the most awesome, humbling, uplifting experience!
In the beginning of my marathon year, I wanted to be fast, and keep up with the runners in our training group that I admired. By race day, my goal was crystal clear: Finish. I said to myself: “upright, at the end, that is my goal.” And I could see it, in my mind. Running through through that finish line to the other side, a finisher, proudly wearing that hard earned medal! Remember when I thought it was all about my legs, this running thing? Not even close. My legs, without my arms to drive, my lungs to bring in the oxygen, my eyes to watch out for pitfalls and my mental game to keep telling me: keep going! keep moving! even if you have to walk, just don’t stop! True story, I walked all of the last 3 nutrition stations so I wouldn’t choke. But I never stopped. My pace changed for hills, flats, bridges, other runners, my own abilities in the moment. But I never stopped moving. And at the end, I could not even feel my legs & arms moving. Not because they were numb, but because all that preparation had taken over, the legs were doing what they needed to do, automatically. Yes! It was all up in my head, now: keep going!
So, why am I telling you about my one-time marathon moment, ten years later? Because it is a lot like retirement. A lot. Retirement is so similar to marathon training, where you start with small distances, going slowly, and you cannot see the finish. Not clearly, anyway. It is the gauzy thing way out in the future that mostly means no more drudgery in the 9-5 club. We also start out feeling lost, how on earth do I do this? Where do I start? And at more than one point, along the way, we may feel pretty alone, or like we just cannot keep going. But just like marathon training, there are known routes to help us start: high-yield savings account, 401k, IRA, to name a few. There are training buddies like automatic contributions and employer matches. And there are people like me, fiduciary financial educators and coaches, to help cheer us along on our journey, when the hills are steep, the valleys lonely or the financial stumbles make us feel like we cannot get up and get moving, again, or worse, we may never get there.
Just like marathon training, there is a significant mental contribution for retirement planning. There is much wisdom to painting as accurate a picture of your goals, as you can, to help you get and stay motivated. This is called visualization, and it is incredibly powerful. But here is the real key, as I see it: YOUR picture. YOUR goals. Run YOUR race. It is not about how fast you run your race. It is that you don’t stop. Your goals and picture will evolve as you go, and that is a good thing, because that is what keeps you going through the hills, stumbles, and monotony. Perhaps, instead of a beach, you want to retire on a lake. Or maybe you decide you want to VRBO it to lots of beach fronts and lake fronts, without having to pick just one, or be responsible for its upkeep. Either way, you know you want to be by water. Good. We can work with that. You do not have to run it, alone. Work with an advisor who understands your goals, and is there to help you achieve them. Don’t have one? Ask! We are happy to point you toward numerous resources, practicing in that arena.
What is is this all leading to? The particular run I have been describing to you finishes uphill. Talk about needing a strong mental game. Oof. I knew this, and spent months finishing all my training runs uphill. I also had: a map of the race course, markers to show my progress, training partners, friends to cheer me along as I ran, running buddies who ran at my pace and picked me up if I stumbled, and a song in my playlist that painted a crystal clear picture of my goal, just for finishing. At the end of that long day, buoyed by all of the above, I made the last turn, my song vibrating through me, my legs and arms driving me up that hill and my heart racing. I still could not see the finish, but there was no doubt it was there. And it didn’t matter, because I already knew I was doing everything I needed to do to finish my race, and it felt AMAZING.
Its time to run YOUR race. Let’s go….
