Mailbag: How Close Is Your Mental Run to Reality?
In Episode 382: What Dog Agility Can Learn from Olympic Swimming, I talked about something I learned as a young age group swimmer. Before a race, you visualize it and put a time on it.
Jim listened to that episode and decided to give it a try.
He mentioned that he’s been visualizing his runs for a long time, but had never thought to actually compare his predicted time to the real run. So he started doing it, and the results were pretty eye-opening.
On one run, he visualized a 29.22 and ran a 29.14. On another, he visualized a 30.02, ran a 32.4, but lost about 3 seconds to a mistake, which again puts the “true” run right in line with what he had in his head.
That’s the exercise. Before you run, visualize the entire course and put a time on it. Then go out and run and see how close you were.
If you’re dialed in, you might surprise yourself. And if you’re not, that gap tells you exactly where you can improve your understanding of the course, your dog, and your execution.
New Podcast: 4-Foot vs 5-Foot Bars
Sarah here! Just kidding. It’s Esteban, but this story probably belongs to both of us.
In this week’s podcast, we dove into the difference between 4-foot and 5-foot bars in agility. It sounds like a straightforward topic. It was not.
At one point, Sarah mentioned that we used 4-foot bars at home, and I immediately interrupted her (yes, she edited that part out) to confidently explain that we used 5-foot bars almost exclusively. She calmly replied that we didn’t even have enough 5-foot bars to set up small space sequences, which I disagreed with.
After we finished recording, we headed out to the backyard to settle it.
And it turns out Sarah was mostly right.
I’d say it was about 70-30 in her favor, though I’m pretty sure she’d prefer I say I was 70 percent wrong. We did have the exact 5-foot bars I was picturing in my head, but she was absolutely correct that for the small space sequences we film for Bad Dog Agility VIP members, she uses 4-foot bars almost exclusively.
So, my most humble apologies to my wife.
Give the episode a listen for the full discussion on bar widths, course design, and a classic example of what happens when two people who have been together a long time remember the same thing very differently. I wonder what Jennifer thought?
You can listen to the full episode here: Episode 384: 4 Feet or 5 – Does Bar Width Actually Matter?
The Before & After: 2026 AKC National Agility Championship
Nationals is here, and registration for the Before & After closes Friday, March 20th at 11:59 am CST. If you’ve been on the fence, this is your gentle reminder.
One of the things I love most about this event is the mix of people who join us. There’s usually a pretty even split between competitors who are actually at Nationals and those following along from home. That tells you something right there. This is one of the very best ways for beginners to learn the sport, and at the same time it’s valuable for experienced competitors who want to sharpen their thinking.
The format is one of my favorites we do all year. Jennifer analyzes each course map before she runs it, then immediately breaks down her actual runs using slow motion, zoom, and honest commentary about what happened and why. You’re not watching a highlight reel. You’re getting inside the decision-making of one of the best handlers on one of the biggest stages in the sport, in real time.
What I personally love about it is the chance to test your own analysis and planning against Jennifer’s. No matter what field I’m in, whether it was medicine, parenting, or helping my kids with water polo and swimming, I’ve always looked for insight from leaders and high performers so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. That’s exactly what this gives you.
This year Jennifer is running Rio (8″P), Bug (12″), and Bee, the reigning 16″ National Agility Champion looking to defend her title. She’ll analyze course maps for all five rounds, including Challengers and Finals, and break down her runs from the three preliminary rounds plus Challengers and Finals if she advances.
You don’t need equipment, a yard, or even good weather. This is the rare agility education you can do from your couch. If you can’t follow along live, you get lifetime access to all the videos. All of that for $59.
Sign up here before Friday.
March Madness
March Madness is here, and it tips off tomorrow! It’s one of the few events where the entire country seems to be watching the same thing at the same time, filling out brackets, arguing over upsets, and suddenly becoming experts on teams they’ve barely seen all year.
If you’re new to it or just need a quick refresher, the tournament starts with 68 teams. Selection is handled by the NCAA committee, which awards automatic bids to conference champions and fills the remaining spots with at-large teams based on performance, strength of schedule, and rankings. After the “First Four” play-in games, the field is set at 64 teams in a single-elimination bracket. From there, you survive and advance through each round until one champion remains. One bad game and you’re out, which is what makes it so compelling.
This year, I’ll definitely be following the University of Hawai’i. Although I’m a proud graduate of Rice University, I have many ties to UH. I grew up in Hawai’i and spent a lot of time on campus, whether it was swimming at meets where many state championships were held, attending a summer high school program, or even taking organic chemistry there during a college summer long ago.
I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the University of Houston. I’ve also taken summer classes there and have spent plenty of time on campus for events, including our son’s championship water polo tournaments. Their program has climbed back into national prominence, and there’s a real sense of continuity with the glory days of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
From a scale standpoint, March Madness is massive. The men’s tournament consistently draws over 10 million viewers for early rounds, and the Final Four and championship game often land in the 15 to 20 million range. Financially, the NCAA’s media deal for the tournament is worth about $1 billion per year, and the event generates billions more in advertising, sponsorships, and related economic activity.
To me, the women’s tournament has been the real story. In just the last few years, viewership has exploded, with the 2024 and 2025 championship games drawing nearly 19 million viewers each, rivaling or even surpassing the men’s final. It’s a huge shift and something we’ve talked about before as one of the most exciting trends in sports right now.
To put this in perspective, even a major event like the Westminster Dog Show typically draws around 1 to 2 million viewers for its final broadcast. That’s a strong number in the dog world, but it shows just how enormous March Madness is by comparison, operating at nearly an order of magnitude larger.
For the next few weeks, it’s all about buzzer-beaters, bracket-busting upsets, and that unique mix of chaos and structure that only a single-elimination tournament can deliver. Die-hard college basketball fans, let me know who you’re rooting for this year, if you’ve got a presumptive national champion, and whether you’re filling out a bracket. As for me, I’ve got Hawai’i pulling off a first round upset, and Houston winning the whole thing!
Send me your very best apology that I can shamelessly steal and use with Sarah for my podcast misstep at team@baddogagility.com. Bonus points if it actually works.
Happy Training,
