A link in a running email today reminded me how important it is to keep a running diary, not just a log of distance and times, but a record of how it felt, what you want to improve and what you have learnt.
I stopped keeping one during lockdown, when there were few goals and running was just about getting out and relaxing. I started writing my training down again when I started training for an ultra. It helped me to plan the training out, learn from previous training and show progress etc.
When planning out training I will look through old running diaries when I have done a similar race, to see what I can learn. Sometimes I just have fun reading through old diaries back from when I used to be able to run quickly! Diaries also help you record all the extra training that isn’t just running, like long walks, strength work, drills and anything else you do.
One of the things I really like about the Running journal I currently have, is a month end review, where you note how the past month’s running felt physically & mentally, what the positives and negatives were, what you have learnt, what was the highlight and finally what you will apply to the next month’s running. It is really useful to carry out regular reviews of how training is going, rather than just banging on doing the same thing and a month end is an easy reminder to have a think about how it is going.
You can find a published Runner’s diary with inspirational quotes, pages to plan out training, record goals and list totals, or you can just use a plan notebook and fill in whatever details you want. But whatever you use, keeping a training log is a vital tool in learning and progressing your training.
Running Tips by Coach Julie 