David White, an accomplished ultrarunner who has also directed dozens of races, uses the more catchy phrase: "Beware, the chair."
Every ultra aid station has a chair. Usually several. They come in handy if you have to change batteries in a headlamp or re-tie your shoes. I've also used them while tending to more serious problems like heat stroke and hypoglycemic shock. However, the chair can be the beginning of the end. Stopping and quitting are not that far apart. Every minute spent in the chair is not only time lost, but motivation lost. The siren call of simply stopping and waiting for help to come (the aid station workers will always drive you back if you wait long enough) is difficult to resist once the discomfort of the effort is abated.
The Long IT version of the chair is the re-baseline. This insidious ploy is the destroyer of many otherwise salvageable projects. Once it's clear that the original plan can't be met (see rule #1), it's tempting to slip things just a bit with the hope of making up the time somewhere else. This, of course, is pure fantasy. If the original plan was too tough, why would you believe that you can beat it when you're already tired and behind? Small slips become big slips and soon the project is adrift waiting for the mercy of the Steering Committee to stop the bleeding and shut it down.
It doesn't have to be like that. While I'm the last one to encourage optimistic status reports, the message to the folks on the ground has to be consistent: find a way to make forward progress, even if it is painfully slow.
Steering committee meetings are the aid stations of Long IT. Come in knowing what you need. Ask for it directly and without apology. The steering committee is there for your project, not the other way around. If you wanted salted peanuts and all they have is pretzels, so be it. Grab some and go. Don't sit around wishing the world was different. Get back on the trail. Walk if you can't run. Keep moving.
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