Burnout

I’m in the midst of an agility burnout. It happens, it just hasn’t happened to me for a while–  which is a good thing, but a feeling I wasn’t expecting to have just now. I’ve been strung out on agility for the last 6 months, almost non-stop. Training, trialing, watching videos, studying courses– teaching. It’s all sort of crashed in on me. It’s not a bad thing, just a thing and the current thing that I’m feeling. After tryouts Bolt and I found a hot streak (figures) and his qualifying rate shot straight up, Qing in nearly every run and winning close to all of them. Then, in one weekend, that disappeared– we sort of fell out of our groove and small things started becoming the reason for a dropped bar, or a missed pole entry. Silly things really. And silly to be upset about them.

I wasn’t upset though. Which is also a good thing. A few bad runs do not take away from all of the awesome things my young dog has done and all of the good things he will do in the future. But a burnout is still in process and so I should acknowledge it before it becomes something else. A weekend off has been nice. We rolled in grass (by we I mean Bolt), chased things, went for walks, took car rides & yes, did some agility.

Another stretch of trials awaits us in the coming month. I’m doing my best to shake this feeling and get back in touch with that good energy. Maybe more rolls in the grass are needed? I think I know the answer to that one.

In other exciting news, Joe and I have started looking at wedding venues. My heart has entirely fallen in love with one place but I’m doing my best to keep it in check until we’ve explored a few other places. It was a pretty nice distraction seeing as my ring is at the jeweler currently being sized & there is an incredibly empty space on my finger (minus the noticeable tan line). Wedding planning burnout will be something entirely different, I think. But maybe a good balance will be found for both? All in time, though.

I know things will get better. Agility will continue to be fun. A hot streak will come back– the little things will no longer be problem things. Adventures will continue. I’ll do my best to be patient for it. Onward and upward.