Keeping Track With A Training Diary

by Coach Carey Nelson

As time goes by you will have many race experiences. Some will be good and some will be bad. You will have victory and you will have defeat. Some of your race experiences will be connected to your training program and some will not. But you can improve the chance of success by following a training program that has worked for you. A training diary can provide you the information you need to learn what works for you by reviewing prior pre-race training.

The basic information you should add to your diary is the distance and time for each run. If you run speedwork you should write down a description of your workout. You may want to add more detail such as your food plan before a long run or a big race to workout what works best for you. You can add a rating system on how you feel.  If you run with a heart rate monitor record your average heart rate; it will show how you are progressing. A lower heart rate at the same pace means you are fitter. Keep track of the amount of time you spend in each zone.

For most of my running days I used a journal to record my daily training in a book. It was a powerful tool to use in reviewing my races to see what training worked the best. In the high tech era you can use a free online training diary called Training Peaks, www.trainingpeaks.com. The advantage of online software is that it allows you to enter your training schedule in advance so that you can compare it to your actual training. With an online training diary you can use the reports to analyze your training build up to your best and worst races and use the information to fine tune your training for your next race.

There is another good reason to keep a training diary; over the years I have forgotten most of the races that I have run and the times. Fortunately I have my old training logs that let me know when and where I have run races.