The precious run problem

Let’s start with the obvious truth: some runs really do matter more.

A Q that finishes a title.
A big week at a national event.
A run that gets you into finals.
A chance you won’t have again for months — or maybe ever, with this dog.

Of course you want it badly. That part is human.

The problem isn’t desire.
The problem is what happens when a run becomes precious.

When something becomes precious, we put it on a pedestal. We elevate it — emotionally, mentally, symbolically. And when a run goes “up,” something else quietly goes “down.”

Usually, that something is us.

Precious runs feel fragile. Irreplaceable. High-risk.
They start carrying more than just the job of being a run — they carry the weight of the story we’re telling about what this means.

This is where mindset starts to wobble.

Desire plus scarcity creates compression. When opportunities are limited — fewer trials, fewer weekends, an aging dog, a closing window — everything gets loaded onto this one run. It stops being part of a process and starts feeling like the moment.

And once that happens, the pressure skyrockets.

Here’s the irony: the more meaning we load onto a run, the harder it becomes to perform freely inside it.

When a run becomes precious:

• pressure increases

• risk tolerance drops

• mistakes feel catastrophic instead of informative

• focus narrows instead of expanding

• confidence becomes brittle

You’re no longer just running a course — you’re protecting something.

That’s not a mindset flaw. It’s a predictable response to wanting something deeply and feeling like you don’t have many chances.

But there’s a faulty assumption hiding underneath preciousness:
If this matters more, I need it to go well.

Or worse:
If I want it badly enough, I’ll rise to the occasion.

In reality, high-stakes moments don’t require more pressure.
They require cleaner thinking.

Wanting something deeply does not mean asking one run to carry your worth, your dog’s career, or the entire season. When we do that, we don’t motivate ourselves — we overload the moment.

This is where the distinction matters.

You can care deeply without clinging.
You can want something badly without turning it into a verdict.
You can honor the importance of a run without making it precious.

Precious runs tend to shut learning down. Growth mindset only works when your identity feels safe — and when one run isn’t responsible for proving everything.

I say this as someone who absolutely has goals I really want. Qs that matter. Moments I care about. I’m not immune to this. But I’ve learned that when I make a run precious, I don’t show up as the handler I’m capable of being.

So the work isn’t to care less.
It’s to spread the weight.

Let runs be reps, not verdicts.
Let desire exist without urgency hijacking your mindset.
Let important moments be important — without asking them to define you.

A question to sit with this week:

Where have you made a run precious — and what weight did you put on it?

Wanting something deeply doesn’t make you fragile.
But making one run carry everything just might.