I'm a corporate attorney by day; obstacle racer and endurance athlete by night (or, super early mornings). Most people would consider running through the mud and corporate life to be polar opposites. And perhaps I've compartmentalized my life into diametrically-opposed segments, but I find lessons I've learned in one to translate well into success in the other.
When you are facing a 24-hour race, or a 100-mile ultramarathon, the first hour or few miles can be daunting. You check your watch — "I still have 23.5 hours to go?" In racing long distances, people often defeat themselves by looking at the entirety of the race and getting overwhelmed in the moment, causing racers to quit prematurely.