Last weekend, I had the chance to join the OSIM Sundown Marathon 5km Fun Run Category.  We were so lucky to have been blessed with a cooling weather and not the usual humid air.

It was a night of a lot of firsts for me.  Definitely, one more item ticked off from my bucket list with additional bonus items.

First time to join a marathon even though I only joined the 5km Fun Run Category.   Challenging myself to go out of my comfort zone.  For a non-runner like me this is actually akin to doing a marathon.  I now only do walking and brisk walking.  Though almost 10 years ago when I was still based in the Philippines and marathon was not yet an in thing, I did a lot of jogging.  Just to run, I would even wake up early (which is very rare occurrence for me) and my car always had my running gear including toiletries and a change of clothes.

First time to join a marathon with my parents.  It was also their first time to join a marathon.  My dad run most of the way while my mom was trailing behind me as Linda and I walked.  Every so often, I would glance back to see and check how she is doing.

First time to do brisk walking with one of my good friends, former colleague, eating and Zumba buddy Linda Lim.  Thanks Linda for being the official photographer for the night.

First time to walk the route of the 5km category.  At some point, I wondered why I was doing this when I can be sitting down in the restaurant or pub we walked pass by and enjoy some wine or beer.  The route was not ideal as we were “colliding” with people who were enjoying the view of Marina Bay Sands.

First time to do walking without a bottle of water.  No matter how short or long the distance I would always be carrying a water bottle as I liked the freedom, or call it luxury if you want, of taking a sip of water anytime.

First time to wear a singlet in public after a long, long time.  Although, I must say the color worked for me as it gives an illusion of a slimming effect.  🙂

First time to try the SG Flyer Food Court but the only sad thing is most of the food stalls were already closing down.

The brisk walking of 5km took around an hour.  It gave me a chance to enjoy the place, chit chat with Linda, and reflect about the race.  It was not my normal pace for brisk walking as I was also conscious of checking up on my Mom to make sure she crosses the finish line with us.

This made me realize how a marathon, even though as short as 5km, is similar to investing.  At the start of our financial journey, we define our goals and our strategy and we do the same when we invest.

	Marathon	Investing
Goal	No. of Kilometers, Finish Line	No. of Years before Retirement, Amount
Strategy	Run, Walk, Brisk Walk, At What Point Run, Walk or Brisk Walk	What Investment Vehicle to Use, When to Buy and Sell

Marathon is a race against yourself by beating your personal record or achieving your target time.  Though you will look at the other runners but you don’t feel pressured to increase your pace to keep up with the pack.  You dictate your own speed and adjust speed accordingly depending on your body, by assessing your stamina, heartbeat, etc.  The best feeling is reaching the finish line.  The second best feeling is you finished with your friends and family.  The third best feeling is beating your target time or previous best personal record.

Investing is one of the best way to prepare for retirement.  My definition of happy retirement may be different from yours but still the ultimate goal is have a happy retirement.  Though you will check what other investors are doing you don’t blindly follow.  You’d rather follow your own instinct of taking it slowly by doing cost averaging and doing your own research versus jumping into the bandwagon of high returns with no concrete products aka scams.  You assess what investment vehicle based on your risk tolerance and risk capacity.

I imagine that the greatest feeling will be on the day of your retirement, you achieved the target amount maybe even exceeding it and target date.  Sharing your blessings to your family, friends and less fortunate brothers and sisters.  Sharing financial literacy to other people and showcasing yourself as a real case study with the intent of inspiring them.

I hope to see you at the finish line and together we will shout: “YES!  We did it.” 🙂