Distance running and software development
I recently saw in Eric Sink's weblog that he did another mini-marathon. His story and my own experiences with running got me thinking about the similarities between distance events and software development.
You start both with great enthusiasm. In both, foolishly optimistic decisions on pace are often made. Finishing development projects and marathons is the hardest part - anyone can start, but it takes focus and effort to finish. Lastly, you learn a lot about yourself in the process. Even though I've been involved in shipping software for a long time and every project has similarities, every project has it's distinct challenges and rewards - same thing with marathons.