Retirement: how did it change your running?

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

I work at a giant company that has been in the news recently. As part of the recent news, I've been offered a voluntary separation package. It's a little weird in that you apply, but that doesn't mean you're accepted, and you don't really know what the package is until you're accepted. I am going to apply. DW and I have been talking about it, and I was probably only going to work through the end of the year anyway, so the offer, whatever it is, is just icing on the cake.

My question to those of you who have retired: how did it affect your running? Did you run more or less? Did you race more or less? Did you change your running schedule?

Really, my question is not limited to running. Maybe the questions is: how did retirement change your life?

I feel like I'm at mile 26 of a marathon: I really wasn't sure I was going to make it to the finish line until now.

 

[JulieODC]

No advice - but congratulations on your impending retirement. Such a great thing to enter this phase of life with health on your side!

 

[ZellyB]

I've got no real-life experience to share here, but I'm really jealous of your impending retirement. I'm not at mile 26 yet of my work marathon, but maybe around mile 20 or so, so it's close enough to start feeling real now. My hope is that it will give me more time to enjoy running and not always feel like I'm trying to fit it into an already full life.

 

[TCB in FLA]

DH is at a similar crossroads with his job (although no separation package!). His worry is what to do if he isn’t in his current position. Not about the money issue, just what to do with his time and energy. There’s only so much time you can workout and check things off the to-do list.

 

[Disney at Heart]

Congratulations! Some people I know have had a hard time with retirement, even taking part time jobs at the local grocery store. Running helped me get through the change in my life.
My story: I retired after 30 years of teaching high school English (ever read/scored 100 student essays?) DH has been running since we met in 1977, but I never had time or energy to start it, especially after kids were born. Then it was time to retire at the end of May 2013, so I knew I’d need a hobby to fill some time, and in February, at age 58, I decided to try running, bought shoes, downloaded C25k and got started. DH was a pretty good coach. At first I wasn’t running far or long, so the time commitment was minimal while I finished up my last school year. Nevertheless, I was able to complete a 10K by May and then train harder to do the 2013 ToT 10 miler. I have run more and more and have now done 3 Disney marathons, the last two being the Grumpy and Dopey. I run about one race or challenge per month.
Advantages of retirement: 1) I can run any time I want. Hot? Get up early and run. Thunderstorm? Wait until it passes. Cold in Georgia? Run in the middle of the day when it’s warmest! Saturday long run rained out? Do 15-20 miles on Monday! Tired after a long run? Sleep late the next morning. 2) I can run any race without taking time off work. Disney race? Leave a day or two before and stay a day or two after without having to take any of my 3-per-year personal leave days. 3) Never again take essays to WDW to grade at night after a day in the parks so that I can give them back to students after the break.
i.e. Time to do things you want/need to do when you want to do it! Can’t wait until DH retires!

 

[opusone]

Jealous! Based on what I've seen, I think the key to retirement is hobbies; if you have a few or more hobbies, you will likely be fine and easily fill your time with these hobbies. Since running is a big hobby for most on this board, I would assume you will run and race more as long as your body allows it. When I've seen problems in retirement, it's typically because people don't know what to do with their time (i.e. work was their life and defined them). Time to make a list of all those fun things in life that you didn't have time for.

 

[afan]

I'm nowhere near retirement age, though I'd like to retire so I could enjoy traveling and stuff more But have watched my parents and their friends retire the past several years. I agree with others that having hobbies and more than just the to do list are important. You're already ahead of the curve because you run and enjoy it so you aren't likely to become a couch potato and do nothing once you aren't working. Sure not having to do anything is part of what you've worked all those years for but it shouldn't be the only thing you do. Also continue doing things to keep your mind working, whether it's reading books, the boards etc, puzzles etc. It can also be a good time to start new habits or make new friends. A neighbor meets people for coffee/breakfast every morning m-f and does yard work most days when it's nice out. His wife is still working because she got bored being retired, understandable when your main hobby is shopping.

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

Congratulations! I have been retired for two years and have never been happier. I was a teacher, so I keep busy doing substitute teaching. I still get to enjoy working with students with none of the long term stress or responsibilities. I use these extra funds as my Disney travel money. I also am no longer limited to having a certain number of “personal days” for the whole school year, so I can travel as often as my budget allows! The amount of running I do each week hasn’t changed, but I now do many more Disney races. For 2018, I decided I wanted to do all four Disney World race weekends. My daughter and I did the 5K and 10K during Marathon Week, the Fairytale Challenge during Princess, the 5K and 10K during Star Wars:the Dark Side week, and in November will run during Wine and Dine week. I’ve had a blast! I live in Kansas, but have an annual pass and use my Southwest Rewards points to fly. Trying to decide now if I want to go for the Castle to Chateau Challenge in 2019. It’s so awesome to have the flexibility to make those choices!

 

[Disney at Heart]

Congratulations! I have been retired for two years and have never been happier. I was a teacher, so I keep busy doing substitute teaching. I still get to enjoy working with students with none of the long term stress or responsibilities.

Amen! I spent the first few years teaching part time, tutoring groups who had not passed state mandated tests, filling in for one teacher who retired on disability and one who quit at Christmas. This past year I turned down all requests and have enjoyed being fully retired. Never been happier.

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

Thank you everyone for the input. I have lots of hobbies, probably too many: gardening, model railroading, wooden ship building, building dollhouses, etc.

I also plan to volunteer at the animal shelter where we got our two darling cats. I plan to workout more frequently, swim more often. (Is there a tri in my future?) And I can't believe I'm going to say this after swearing NEVER to run another marathon, I might take a shot at a BQ. Paging @DopeyBadger !

I pulled the trigger yesterday and submitted the form. I had a moment of hesitation: I was researching benefits/salary/insurance/etc, and I looked up my salary. (I know that's weird NOT to know how much you make.) I saw the number and then in kind of an animated future sequence I saw it going to zero and panicked.

It's weird. The deadline for application is July 5th. No one will find out if they've been accepted until after that date. Then if you are accepted, July 30th is your last employment date.

 

[BikeFan]

I'm not retired, but about a year ago I transitioned to full-time remote work from home, which I jokingly call my "semi-retirement". Since I was spending two hours each day commuting, it's like getting two "free" hours back each workday, and it's been awesome. I've consistently used at least one of those hours to up my mileage, which obviously has had a huge positive effect. It's great you've got hobbies to keep yourself active and mentally-focused. All the studies I've read suggest that maintaining a healthy level of activity (both mental and physical) slow the effects of aging and cognitive decline. Staying active is definitely the way to go.

Thank you everyone for the input. I have lots of hobbies, probably too many: gardening, model railroading, wooden ship building, building dollhouses, etc.

I also plan to volunteer at the animal shelter where we got our two darling cats. I plan to workout more frequently, swim more often. (Is there a tri in my future?) And I can't believe I'm going to say this after swearing NEVER to run another marathon, I might take a shot at a BQ. Paging @DopeyBadger !

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! Running Boston is an amazing experience! If you get that shot, go for it! You won't regret it.

 

[DopeyBadger]

And I can't believe I'm going to say this after swearing NEVER to run another marathon, I might take a shot at a BQ. Paging @DopeyBadger !

 

[Disney at Heart]

Thank you everyone for the input. I have lots of hobbies, probably too many: gardening, model railroading, wooden ship building, building dollhouses, etc.

I also plan to volunteer at the animal shelter where we got our two darling cats. I plan to workout more frequently, swim more often. (Is there a tri in my future?) And I can't believe I'm going to say this after swearing NEVER to run another marathon, I might take a shot at a BQ. Paging @DopeyBadger !

I pulled the trigger yesterday and submitted the form. I had a moment of hesitation: I was researching benefits/salary/insurance/etc, and I looked up my salary. (I know that's weird NOT to know how much you make.) I saw the number and then in kind of an animated future sequence I saw it going to zero and panicked.

It's weird. The deadline for application is July 5th. No one will find out if they've been accepted until after that date. Then if you are accepted, July 30th is your last employment date.

Any major life change makes a person take a moment to pause and think, but I think you've got this! Good luck on your first Boston!

 

[LSUlakes]

If you really want to change things up and go crazy with it, you could go work for the mouse....

I'm a long ways from retirement, but I joke with my wife that if we ever won the lotto or something we would buy a house near the parks and I would go to work to have something to do. lol

 

[sourire]

Congrats on submitting the form @OldSlowGoofyGuy!

My parents retired from teaching and did quite a lot of traveling! So glad they had that time together, as my dad is no longer with us. My mom continues to be VERY active- lots of friends, various hobbies, visits the grandkids quite often, travels all over the world, etc. She’s done a bunch of races too. Though she will say “oh I don’t run,” don’t let her fool you, as her brisk walk pace is faster than my easy run pace on most days...
Anywho, she seems to be enjoying retirement very much, though I know we all wish Dad was still here to enjoy it with her.

 

[PCFriar80]

I work at a giant company that has been in the news recently. As part of the recent news, I've been offered a voluntary separation package. It's a little weird in that you apply, but that doesn't mean you're accepted, and you don't really know what the package is until you're accepted. I am going to apply. DW and I have been talking about it, and I was probably only going to work through the end of the year anyway, so the offer, whatever it is, is just icing on the cake.

My question to those of you who have retired: how did it affect your running? Did you run more or less? Did you race more or less? Did you change your running schedule?

Really, my question is not limited to running. Maybe the questions is: how did retirement change your life?

I feel like I'm at mile 26 of a marathon: I really wasn't sure I was going to make it to the finish line until now.

I would have responded sooner, but recently retired myself and have been adjusting to the new way. Pre-retirement I had one of those corporate jobs, which meant many hours, traveling, hiring, firing, budget this and budget that. In the last 5 years of my "working" I also assumed additional family roles; guardianship for my elderly Aunt in Queens, NY, aging mother and aging in-laws. This in addition to regularly running and maintaining some sort of life balance. My Aunt has since passed away, but the guardianship process is still "active" meaning that the final accounting is pending.
Mom and in-laws are stable and safe in their current environs. I seem to thrive on high stress situations and a go, go, go....not to be confused with a go-go lifestyle. Sorry, I haven't answered your question yet but wanted to level-set my experience.

I still get up at 5:00 AM and plan my day. I'm beginning to exercise smarter with the introduction of cross-training and actually taking rest days.
My "job" is taking care of Mom and the in-laws. It's not full time but it works. I'm fortunate enough to be able to go to the local PGA tournament this week, every day. You'll make adjustments as the process evolves and you'll see things differently than you have in the past. For me it was so hard to slow down, but I'm getting there. Hobbies including golf and landscaping [rock building] have been temporarily sidelined due to a broken elbow, but that restart is coming.

To summarize:
How did affect my running? It made me run smarter and not rush a run to get it in.
Did I race less or more? Just about the same, but more is more likely down the road.
Did I change my running schedule? It actually helped me run when I want to, around 9:00 AM the mornings I run.
How did retirement change my life? I'd like to answer that in another 30 years. I should have a better answer by then!

 

[Simba's Mom]

DH definitely ran more! He'd always wanted to do the Dopey Challenge, but didn't have the time to train properly (in his opinion) when he worked. When he retired, his first "job" was too fulfill a life long dream-complete the Dopey Challenge. And he did.



And having his celebratory No Way Jose Sundae, which got him through many a mile



The following year he returned to WDW for the half marathon, which ended up being cancelled the night beforehand, and since then he's back to running only about 5 miles a day, but building up again, because next year he's headed to Phantom Ranch at Grand Canyon, accompanied by a brisk 11 mile walk down and back.