martedì 28 gennaio 2014

Programmers, ultra-marathons, and voluntary simplicity

I discovered the simple living network thanks to a blog by Fred Ecks(*). As far as I have been able to understand he decided to quit his job as a programmer at age 35 and adopt a simple lifestyle. He now spends time renovating a sail boat and doing ultra-marathons.

Sounds eerily familiar. Here’s another programmer that decided to take a break and run ultra-marathons. A large part of my job iswas in programming and whaddya know I have been drawn to long distance myself. Nothing like these guys, my records are a half-marathon and a half-century on my bicycle which weren’t so hard to do. I imagine I could easily get into longer distances if I had 2-3 hours to dedicate to it every day.

In retrospect. No, not that easy.

(*) Much thanks goes to Beany for suggesting this blog.

The interesting question is always “why?” Why are programmers drawn to endurance events? I think a good part of the reason is that programming (which is often done in marathon sessions with a few hours of daily “training” or maintenance) tends to create a sense of technological and mental isolation. It is something that is happening within the artificial world of the computer. The body is wholly disconnected from the process. Eventually once the program is finished one does not even get the satisfaction of creating the output. Just press enter and the computer does it all.

I read a very interesting example over at AllFinancialMatters about how people have been come disconnected from the products they create. I think programmers become disconnected in an extreme and particular way. One way to bring balance is to go equally extremely in the opposite direction.

Running (and training for) ultra-marathons is similar to programming efforts in their duration but this is where the similarity ends. Marathon running is executed not by the computer but by the person. Also it is felt deeply in the body while the mind is left free to wander e.g. no headaches from overworking the parietal lobes (area of the brain located over the ears behind the temples responsible for reading and mathematics) but rather a dull ache from the low level pounding followed by the endorphins of a runner’s high. Also compared to road marathons, ultras are friendly and not cut-throat competitive like road-marathons or career building.

So what has this to do with voluntary simplicity?

I occasionally get the impression that people think we live in squalor because we spend so little (because of a general belief that that’s how people who earn little live). I think the point I would like to make is that we spend “differently”. It just happens that “differently” translates into “little”. Here’s a quote from the main page of the simple living network:

Simple living is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. Rather, it is about living an examined life — one in which you have determined what is important, or “enough,” for you, discarding the rest.

… and I think this is exactly the point. What is important to many people is

A house with several bedrooms and bathrooms.

One of more fully loaded full-size cars.

A college degree with some pedigree.

Demonstrating success (dressing well, going out, buying things).

These things can be very expensive. Here’s what is important to me

Financial independence (roughly the same cost as a (pre-bubble) middle class house in whatever area you live in).

Being sufficiently strong to routinely walk 8 miles, cycle for hours, scale an 8 feet wall, and basically being physically capable.

Being widely read, and basically intellectually competent. I hold the renaissance ideal that one “should try to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as fully as possible” in high regard.

So maybe we live in material squalor(*), but on the other hand I can not really imagine only knowing what I’ve been trained (educated) to do and having to show up for work every day to afford all my possessions. That would be squalor in my value system that favors independence and competence.

(*) Our living like students would be a fair assessment. However, we have lived like students for quite a while now. And instead of buying cheap stuff and replacing it when it breaks every couple of years like students do when they can’t afford quality, we have eventually gathered a collection of nice stuff.

Other links of interest:

Musings on UltraRunning and Finances

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mercoledì 8 gennaio 2014

Marathon running and personal finance

via Early Retirement Extreme:

Recently Lazy man illustrated the keys to financial success by comparing it to the Patriot’s success on the football field. I don’t know much about playing football, but if it is anything like hockey, it is less easy than it looks and requires tremendous skill. Not only do these athletes need to have a high level of fitness and be fairly powerful (strong), they also need athletic skills such as agility and dexterity as well as technical skills and game awareness. It can take years to acquire sufficient competence to even play the game. Therefore I personally prefer the marathon analogy.

Running a marathon is comparatively simple in that it only requires a high level of fitness, some legwork, and following some simple rules about hydration and nutrition. For those who are already competitively fit, a marathon is not a big deal and there a certainly more grueling challenges for those who want to test their limits (ask me sometime). However, or sedentary people it is a big deal just like getting out of debt and building up a large stash of money is a big deal. So what does marathon running and personal finance have in common.

In both cases, it is not the completion of the event that matters. Rather, it is the preparation needed to get to the event. Like a disciplined savings program, preparing for a marathon requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline. Would-be marathoners need to stick to their training plan for several months and learn to deal with sustained discomfort for extended periods of time while building up a sufficient level of cardiovascular fitness.

The preparation requires an ongoing effort. Training for a week and a half and then taking a week off and then starting again or putting the training off will not obtain the expected results in time for the event. Whether we like it or not, delaying the training or the savings plan does not extend the time until the competition or the day of retirement and one risks showing up unprepared.

Sometimes a small effort is not enough. Nobody can complete a marathon by never pushing oneself beyond jogging. At some point the actual transition to running has to be done. Similarly, saving 5% for retirement is better than nothing, but it is not enough to actually retire in time. The larger the effort, the better the results.

It’s a primarily mental game. The learning curve of running is relatively shallow just like saving money does not require any special talents. All it requires is to follow a few simple rules and then go out and do it. Daily. Week after week. In short, what is needed is legwork to build up the tolerance of the legs and joints to be pounded on for hours at a time despite the mild discomfort. Similarly financial security is built by going without present comforts and saving money over an extended period of time. There is no fast way to get there. Going too fast risks injury just like get rich quick schemes rarely work and often have high risks of setting progress back by several month.

Marathon running can change your life. I must say that running half a marathon did not change my life and I doubt doubling the distance would have made much of a difference, but that was because I did not need to prepare for more than a couple of weeks. However, preparing to a competitive level in clubbell sports, which took 18 months, did change me. It made me physically confident in the sense that I am ready to accept any physical challenge that life may throw at me. Similarly getting in financial shape will thoroughly change a person’s self-confidence and attitude towards money.

It is perhaps not surprising that personal finance and personal fitness have many things in common and why some personal finance bloggers also have an interest in fitness. Finance and fitness are both about self-discipline, self-control and hard work. People with those life skills will tend to do well in any endeavor and running a marathon (or saving a lot of money) can help uncover or build them.

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