Overall excellent point about pacing. But I have to point out an issue: "Missing a goal is not necessarily signal that your pace is too slow. In fact, it often

Overall excellent point about pacing. But I have to point out an issue: "Missing a goal is not necessarily signal that your pace is too slow. In fact, it often means that you simply didn’t plan well for a more difficult portion of the race." He did try to stretch the metaphor by mentioning inclement weather, but overall, software engineering is not similar to running a race. For some features, you literally do not know what could be around the corner. It could be a huge crevasse. There is no known accurate map of the area. Your plans are more like wishes you make in front of a well before you throw a coin in. If you had a good map then you wouldn't necessarily be doing software development. It would be more like just configuration and deployment. That is why I would like to add that if you run into what seems like a roadblock, don't blame the staff. They didn't put it there. Give them time to figure out how to dismantle it or go around.