Hello...

[dmpi]

I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks. There is a lot of good information and advice here. Let me introduce myself. I’m in my upper 40s. My wife is a few years younger. We are both software engineers. We have no kids. We are looking at retiring when my wife turns 55, which should be in about 10 years.
We managed to save up a good sized next egg from having two incomes, living simple and investing what we save.
We are both avid runners and we participate in local 5K, 10K and Marathon races throughout the year. We try to eat right too. Healthy living is one of our life long goals.

Retirement is still 7-10 years away. I’m pretty sure I’ll have enough money to retire, however I still have a few concerns and apprehensions. First, I fear not having enough activities to keep me mentally stimulated. Work served to motivate and engage my mind. Earlier in my career I thrived on stress. Now I try to avoid it. I’m not quite as sharp as I once was. Subjects that I use to get excited about now seem dull and boring. Second, I’m scared that my social network which largely comes from the people at work will dry up and go stale. I’ve always needed more social interaction than my wife. She’s happy to just sit around and read a good book. Also I find it harder to make and keep new friendship as one gets older.

So there you have it. If work was the Marathon, I’m running the last 5 miles. Wish me luck. Hope to join you guys soon.

[Dawg54]

Welcome! I'm retiring in 9 months and sometimes wonder how I will adjust too. But if golf and other interest does not keep me occupied, I might w*rk part time. Doubt that will be the case though.

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, dmpi!

Originally Posted by dmpi

First, I fear not having enough activities to keep me mentally stimulated. Work served to motivate and engage my mind.

Everybody worries about this before ER, and after ER everyone wonders why they worried about it. You sound like you'll make a seamless transition.

You'll barely have enough time to plan your ultimate training cycle for the next big race. And if you're planning to take up bi or tri, you'll have more training requirements than the time to do them...

[mb]

dmpi,

Look into joining the local running club.* They usually have group workouts, social activities, etc.* Meeting for breakfast after a weekend run is pretty typical.* I have been a member of running clubs on both coasts.* I think that you would find that it provides a network of people with interests similar to yours.

MB

[Coach]

Welcome dmpi!

I've shared some of your concerns about activities and a social network. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities for people with the kinds of skills and experience we have that I think will help fill some of the gaps in things we've gotten from work over the years.

Coach

[dmpi]

Thanks for all the tips eveyone. I'm feeling better about it already. I'm not going to wait till I retire to get some activities going. There is a local running club at work. I'll check it out. My wife and I decided that when we can no longer run the races we will volunteer and hand out water and stuff.