The Tyranny Of The Log
Those of you who are regular followers of this blog know that I have been feeling adrift a bit in terms of my training. I believe one of the reasons for this is my current lack of a training log.
In it, you record your training, your race performances, often some details about the day and your route, often the weather, perhaps your mood. It doesn't need to be big or fancy or specialized, it just has to be kept. Many fine runners use spiral notebooks or week-at-a-glance calendars.
If you question the value of a log, ask the finest runners you know about their logs. I'm confident they'll answer immediately and without hesitation. Their answer won't be "I don't have one." Instead, it will be, "What do you want to know?" They all have them. This weekend, I'll be at the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and one of the things included in many of the displays about athletes is one of their logs. They get used, the guys who are the best put information in thoroughly and accurately. It lets them go back later and mine the data. They can find out why they did well two years ago, or look for patterns they don't like. I can't tell you how valuable they are.
I began the year keeping my log on computer, but technology made it complex and I got sloppy and gave it up. I must get back to it. It makes applying structure and discipline easier, and there are few tougher taskmasters than seeing that blank date staring at you. My new log starts this weekend.
In it, you record your training, your race performances, often some details about the day and your route, often the weather, perhaps your mood. It doesn't need to be big or fancy or specialized, it just has to be kept. Many fine runners use spiral notebooks or week-at-a-glance calendars.
If you question the value of a log, ask the finest runners you know about their logs. I'm confident they'll answer immediately and without hesitation. Their answer won't be "I don't have one." Instead, it will be, "What do you want to know?" They all have them. This weekend, I'll be at the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and one of the things included in many of the displays about athletes is one of their logs. They get used, the guys who are the best put information in thoroughly and accurately. It lets them go back later and mine the data. They can find out why they did well two years ago, or look for patterns they don't like. I can't tell you how valuable they are.
I began the year keeping my log on computer, but technology made it complex and I got sloppy and gave it up. I must get back to it. It makes applying structure and discipline easier, and there are few tougher taskmasters than seeing that blank date staring at you. My new log starts this weekend.
posted by Scooter at 6:51 AM
4 Comments:
Yeah, I know what you mean about a log, I love mine. I use Cool Running (you can see mine here: http://www.coolrunning.com/cgi-bin/log/display.cgi?u=mking;s=ultras). I love to go back and view charts to compare distance, pace, etc. It also helps me track my shoe mileage, race PRs, etc. It's a great tool. I used Nike's for a while, which is really slick but after a while I found the advanced features lacking (plus you can't export, so you are trapped). Any way, have fun with the log--it is a great motivator.
Howdy! I don't have a "electronic log" nor a "blog" as I've been using those paper logbooks that Runner's World Magazine give for free if you subscribe to their magazine. I've been considering posting a blog and log on this interesting website called, Runbud, http://www.runbud.com/runbud/robison52 Would be interesting to see what your opinion would be, as it's more than a blog, but a community too that posts their racing results and logbooks. Happy trails, Bruce
Before I started using a plain-old text file on the mac, I got a lot of use out of "Far Side" weekly calendars. I still have three of them from the past three years on my bookshelf.
What's with all the ads?
I'm so bad about keeping a log, but I do agree that it is a valuable tool.
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