At PDS Planning, we believe some of the best financial lessons come from real life experiences. Alyssa Troyer, Director of Operations and Paraplanner at PDS, recently reflected on completing her 14th half marathon while balancing life as a working mom of two young children. Her experience serves as a thoughtful reminder that both running and financial planning require flexibility, perspective, and the ability to adapt through different seasons of life.
The 23rd annual City Half Marathon took place the last weekend of April and it was the 10th time I had completed the half marathon distance for this event. It is truly one of my favorite Saturdays in Columbus each year. During the course of the race, one of the thoughts that came to mind was a PDS blog post I had previously written and it seemed time to revisit it!
When I originally wrote this in 2018, I couldn’t have predicted what the next eight years would bring. Since then, I’ve gotten married and welcomed two children, now a 15-month-old and an almost three-year-old. Life looks very different than it did back then, and so does my running.
I recently completed my 14th half marathon, and this one felt especially meaningful. For the first time, I didn’t line up with a goal pace or a time in mind. The goal was simply to finish and enjoy my ability to run. It was about returning to something I love while navigating life as a working mom, balancing early mornings, unpredictable schedules, and a lot less sleep.
My pace reflected that. It wasn’t a personal best. It wasn’t even close. But it wasn’t a setback either. It was a shift.
What struck me afterward was how similar that experience felt to long-term financial planning. Life changes, priorities shift, and sometimes success looks very different than it once did. This experience reinforced something we talk about often in financial planning: not everything can be timed or predicted. Even the most well-thought-out plan can’t account for every life change, every new priority, or every season that asks something different of you.
My growing family is one of the greatest joys in my life. But it also changed my capacity, my time, my energy, and yes, even my pace. That’s not failure. That’s real life.
Financial plans work the same way. There will be seasons where progress looks different than expected. Where the “pace” slows down. Where goals need to be adjusted. Not because something went wrong, but because something meaningful changed.
The key isn’t sticking rigidly to the original plan. It’s adapting without losing sight of what matters most.
Sometimes success isn’t about how fast you’re moving. It’s about continuing to move forward in a season that looks nothing like you planned.
If your priorities, goals, or circumstances have changed, the PDS team is here to help you revisit your financial plan with clarity, flexibility, and long-term peace of mind. Happy running!
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