SUMMARY: Persistence and attitude.
Years ago, when setting up this version of the blog, I subtitled it:
Surviving and even thriving in dog agility. Ex Pertinacia Victoria.
Through persistence comes victory.
Thriving in dog agility.
Seems like in the last couple of years that has all been stripped away and I've merely been surviving in dog agility. Where did that enthusiasm and determination go? Where oh where has my little attitude gone, oh where, or where can it be?
Just trying to remember the feelings that inspired me way back then.
I've had to take periodic sabbaticals from agility to refind my enthusiasm. I don't like that burnout feeling that I've gotten a couple times. Thankfully I feel like the fun is back now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Molly. For you, how long did your sabbaticals need to be to be effective?
DeleteI think I stopped trialing for nearly a year once! (Still weekly classes though) That was after going 3-4 weekends a month for a solid year or two...we probably all needed the break. Right now I'm working my way back into it slowly after a couple years of trialing very sporadically due to triathlon training...rather than do a huge weekend of trialing, we will do one day. It leaves me wanting more but not overwhelmed with the long drives back and forth or the total inability to catch up on everything else that needs doing at home.
DeleteI am not doing any agility anymore and may not do it again. I plan to train my puppy in agility but don't know if I will ever get to trial with her. Since I can't run anymore and doubt I ever will be able to again, it's unlikely I could ever begin to be competitive and that's always been the thing that got me out of bed on cold, dark mornings to drive for hours so I could spend a few minutes in the ring with my dog. Well, I also did it so I could hang out with my friends and get out of the house but that ignitive spark was the possibility of being good enough to win. Now that that's gone, I find I prefer to do something I could excel in despite my physical limitations: something like Nosework and possibly even Obedience which much to my surprise I find is a lot more fun now that I have a teacher who shapes everything.
ReplyDeleteAt first it was really hard not to be part of the agility world after having been so involved for so long (I did almost nothing else for about 22 years)and it hurt when people I thought were my friends didn't have time for me once I wasn't trialing or going to classes but I adjusted and even found that I finally had time to do things that I had missed doing for a long time. After 6 or 8 months I realized that I no longer felt like I was missing out if I wasn't at this trial or that trial and I started to enjoy weekends rather than rushing through them in a blur. Once I got involved in Nosework and found out how much I liked it, I really never looked back after that.
Part of the problem with agility today is that it's so competitive now that you really have to be able to run and not just hobble along like I was doing toward the end. I've never understood those people who could just go and watch without taking part, it's not something I would ever want to do. Originally I was a rider but I had to give that up for lack of funds and when I found dog agility it was the perfect match for me. Now I feel like the same thing has happened with Nosework and I'm very grateful there's still something I can do competitively even if I can't sprint or wear spandex :-)
We've commented about this before on each others' blogs, haven't we! I agree about wanting a chance to win. Now I'm not even Qing. Does make me wonder whether, if I had a dog with whom I could Q and place with regularly, I'd be back to enjoying it more. I have loved having weekends off when I've not done agility. And I know that I'd probably lose some friendships if I stopped...not because we didn't like each other, but because we'd never see each other or, if we did, we wouldn't have that big agility thing in common any more. So, yeah, it's kind of hard to take a step in either direction. If someone were doing nosework classes within half an hour of me, I'd probably do more of that. Thanks for all your input on your own experience. It helps.
DeleteInteresting reading the post and the comments. I seem to recall a theme in your blog several years ago when you were drifting away from the passion of it all... And I think I commented that I'd miss hearing about all of your agility adventures if you stopped doing agility... Being several years ago, this would have been when Qs and placements were still a-plenty, I think. Could be wrong, of course, but this is what my fuzzy memory recollects.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been drifting away from the passion of it for years. Can't quite convince myself to take a really long break. Three months over the winter was good, didn't do anything from november until february, and felt a little better about going, but it wasn't lasting. Inertia is what I've got now. Put up or shut up. Fish or cut bait.
Deletep.s. "celebrant" was one of my code words for the above comment... hmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could lend you some of my enthusiasm for the summer months- I have way too much and can't trial all summer due to finances and such:( Very sad. It looks like there's some Nosework classes down in the South Bay now (San Jose, Fremont, etc.)- http://www.nacsw.net/instructors there's a few new nosework groups on Facebook too (a UKC group and an Open Nosework Forum) where you might be able to find more classes or practice groups.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nosework tip, Maura.
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