It’s usually at this time of the training block that things start to go a little a rye.

Unnecessary items get purchased, hair gets cut and spread sheets get altered.

It’s the taper, that annoying necessity that tricks your body into recovery before you ultimate smash the crap out of it.

It’s officially less than a week until I take on my forth attempt at the Surf Coast Century 100k.

I’ve been at this race in one way or another for about the last 8 years, either running solo or in a relay or crewing.

I have a big goal this year, I want to finish in under 13 hours and 30 minutes, to collect the big 1L finishers stein*.

(*If you’re new here, the race awards a 1L stein for male finishers under 12 hours and female finishers under 13:30, and a 500 ml stein for male finishers under 16 hours and female finishers under 18 hours).

It’s really hard to not compare one build up from another.

“Comparison is the thieve of joy”, they say.

Don’t look at everyone else’s Strava, they are not you, with your life, your obligations, priorities. Insert pretty calligraphic font and floral highlights here, hell just stitch it on a pillow.

That’s great and all, I don’t actually give two hoots about everyone else, where is the safety warning about comparing you to you?

If I was to compare July and August of 2023 and 2024 to 2025, I’d get a rude millage shock.

Over the past 18 months, we’ve been transitioning our older dog from running to run-walking to just walking. So naturally, my running volume has dropped and my walking volume has gone up. He’s stoked about it, I’m less so. He’s also doing all the things us human runners should be doing, like strength work and physiotherapy.

If I was to look only at volume, it would be easy to start panicking and look to press the eject button on the race altogether.

But I’ve hit almost every training session in the lead up, I missed maybe one long run due to work and I’ve had the most specific training block since I’ve been running, doing most of my long runs on the actual course and even doing the horrendous sessions on the sand.

I’ve done the speed work, I ran a PB at Gold Coast Marathon and Peaks and Trails 50k.

I have no real reason to panic.

I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince here.

If you actually look closer at 2023, rather than just the overall distance each week, what you see is that almost every single run is actually a run- walk interval as I had spent April through August rehabbing an angry ITB.

All is not what it seems, but thanks Strava for making me feel shit for a hot second.

I’ve done the training, I’ve made the spreadsheet (which now needs to be redone due to the course changes), I just need to pack my drop bags and sort my nutrition.

I know I benefited from an actual taper in 2023, when I set my current PB on the SCC course, so rationally I know I just need to calm the fuck down.

Every body sensation is not a life changing injury. I went a little too hard on my last speed session, say it with me, you didn’t pull your hamstring off the bone, you don’t have a sacral stress fracture, it’s fine, chill, stop with the Dr Google, he is not your friend.