Here we are my friends and my favorite time of year has finally arrived in upstate NY, Fall! For those of you who live in the warmer parts of the country, I pity you! Well, maybe not by the time February creeps along with the never-ending drudgery of Winter. But seriously you're missing out on some of the best running weather on the planet and breathtaking views of Fall foliage. I love this time of year. It never seems to last long enough for me. It's been cruel and unusual punishment for me to not be running out there right now. But there will be other Falls to enjoy.
With all this extra time on my hands I decided to put it to some good use and did something that I've been trying to do for a while, I reorganized my training log. That sucker's been with me from the beginning and has all sorts of information about me, my running and racing spanning my entire 13 year journey. It's frankly amazing that I still have it. It's survived several moves, accidental deletions and even a Gatorade spill or two. When the IT people of the world ramble on and on about saving your important data in many different formats in many different places, take their pesky know-it-all advice and make the effort. After too many close calls, these days my juicy running secrets are saved in at least four different locations. I've learned to not take chances with my Holy Grail.
So there I was obsessively going over the thing the other night. Through the years I've tried some stock programs but I always keep coming back to my self-created Excel worksheet. I like it because it's mine, easy to use and of course has a lot of history. You can pick any date going all the way back to December 1, 2002 and I could tell you what time I ran, how far, the weather conditions and even what shoes I wore. It's become sort of a diary of my life too. I've written something in it pretty much everyday. Sometimes it's more about my life than running. The funny part is that I rarely look back and read my notes. That night I took the time and went back to the beginning.
Back to December 8, 2002 when I ran one of my first long runs. I laughed out loud as I read the notes for the day. "10 miles. Felt like shit. My nipples damn near felt like they rubbed off." Ah the glory of discovering what chaffing is for the very first time! That shit can bring a grown man to his knees!
Back to April 20, 2005 when my newly born son and I had our first run together. I can still remember the crisp chill in the air. I bundled him up in three different sets of winter clothing. I don't think he could move his legs or arms, but at least he was warm. "5.25 miles. It felt good to run outside just for fun with him for the first time. Didn't get a lot of sleep though." I called myself zombie runner that year. Newborns and sleep don't go hand in hand. I still don't know how I managed to run with my eyes shut!
Back to September 23, 2012 when I finally broke the four hour wall in a marathon. I remember that it was just the perfect day for a marathon. "26.2 miles in 3:56:37. History was made!" I remember crossing that finish line, my iPod randomly shuffling to my all time favorite running song. What a rush to accomplish something that I'd been trying to do for 10 years.
Pretty cool stuff. Especially when your on the injured list and feeling like your never going to be able to run again. Let's look at some of the reasons why having a training log can help you become a better runner.
Organization. Some people are good at managing their time. Some aren't. I happen to be very good at making what little free-time that I do have count. But as I've gotten older things have gotten pretty crazy. Things come up as your responsibilities grow. Throw in the added pressure of training for a marathon and your head will spin. Having a training log will help you organize your workouts so that you know what you're going to do and when you should be doing it. It'll also help you have some flexibility when unexpected things come up. Even new runners quickly realize that there's more to running a race than just getting out the door or hitting the treadmill everyday. Specificity rules our world and it's nice to have something to make order out of all the chaos.
Mileage. If you're a runner then you obviously like to run. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. Even the elite runners of our sport don't put up 100+ mile weeks all year long. They track their mileage and make adjustments according to their specific plans and goals. Sometimes running can become super addictive. It feels great and you can want that all the time. The urge to do it more often and longer can be very strong. But to become a better runner training should progress more slowly than you'd think. Tracking your mileage with a training log will give you solid numbers to work with as a guide. It'll also help you track mileage that you put on your shoes. Unfortunately the things don't last forever.
Slumps. Everyone has them. It's cold outside, raining, snowing, you don't feel like going for a run. Sometimes runners can become complacent with their training. After running the same speed, distance or workout for weeks at a time your body naturally adjusts. Everything will be easier and sometimes you'll like it that way. No hard work and just some coasting. That's OK for short periods. But what happens when it becomes a prolonged period of time? Keeping a training log will help you identify why you've fallen into a slump and how long you've languished there.
Improvement. On the same line as with slumps, having a training log can show improvements that you've made. The physical changes that happen when you become a runner are very slight at first. Your body adjusts and it's hard to notice the changes in yourself. But when viewed over a long time-frame those changes can be incredible to look at. A training log can help you to identify the things that helped you make those improvements. The more information that you put in your notes, the easier it'll be to see what works for you. It could be your pace work, your diet, your daily amount of sleep all contributing to your new successes. If you don't track it you may just overlook it altogether.
Accountability. Sometimes the weather will be shitty, you'll have to stay late at work or your running partner will cancel last minute. Things come up. That's life. But you can't just wing it all training season when training for longer distance races. Unless you're a highly experienced runner, you need to put in the training to go the long distances. Having a training log will hold you accountable to that training. I can't tell you how terrible a blank day looks to me when I look at my log. It almost screams at me to go out and get some miles under my belt. A training log can help motivate you and keep yourself honest. It'll help you follow through on your training so you show up to the starting line of your race strong and healthy. Good things come to those who work their asses off.
Confidence. My confidence has been in the tank since this crazy thing with my back. So many days of not running have left me feeling like I'm sham. I'm supposed to be this big-time runner to everyone who knows me. But here I am still unable to get out there. I really needed to get my head out from may ass and taking a good long look at my log helped me do that. Looking back I've run over 66 different races logging over 27,000 miles. As I went through the years I was amazed at how far I've really come. Yes, there are days with nothing logged but big fat zeros. But there were some incredibly high mileage weeks. Yes, there were weeks of boring flat numbers. But there was hard data showing 25 lbs. of weight loss, steady improvements and long stretches of double digit running. Yes, there were times on injury where I felt like it was the end of the world (a lot like now). But it also showed how gradual, steady, slow recovery brought me back stronger and better than before. Trials I'd long beaten and forgotten came back to me. Getting injured is part of any adult athlete's life. It happens no matter what you do. Having a training log will give you the confidence that you'll heal to run another day. Looking over 13 years I noticed way more victories than defeats. Having my younger self smack me around a little did much to boost my attitude. Glad that I had that reference to look back on.
Fun. After a while having a training log sort of takes on a life of it's own. It grows and grows. It's fun to have all of that data to play with. It's cool to be able to say that I've run around the planet distance wise. It makes me feel like a superstar to look at my times and note that my older self has been much faster than my younger. 609 days of running in a row is more of an accomplishment for me than all the races I've finished. Having a training log will give you some funny stuff to look back on and bragging rights for a lifetime.
So if you don't have a training log think about starting one. It'll give your a lot to think about, obsess about and laugh at. There's pros and cons to paper ones versus computer based ones; and prefab ones versus self-made. It's your preference. If you'd like a basic format to work with I'd be glad to help you get started. If you already have one let me know what you use. I'm always looking for ways to improve mine.
It's been a good week. I'm not going to talk about it yet because I don't want to jinx anything! Training logs can make you quite superstitious too! So instead ,I'll leave you with some poetry:
Something stirring deep down inside,
Not yet come to the surface,
The call of the road is strong & not forgotten,
Not pain, Not fear,
Not sweat, Not tear,
Nothing will be able to hold it back,
One foot in front of the other,
Slowly it will begin anew...
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