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Basic Intermediate Runner'sTraining Program |
Great Strides 2007 Shelly Glover | |
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Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10
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Week 3: The Training Diary
Runner's Handbook Recommended Reading
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Training diaries are a calendar, scrapbook, database, training partner and friend. They are grown-up versions of baby books that track the season's first running steps up to your most challenging and successful races. Brag to it about good workouts and races. Complain to it about your fatigue, poor runs and races, as well as injuries and illnesses.Confide to your good friend everyday. Record at least the basics: how far, how fast, and where you ran. By also recording speed training times and races, a diary helps measure improvement. Tracking yearly and weekly mileage, a diary helps you be consistent and progressive. It tracks your personal running trek from one year to the next. Before you start writing your log check (pages 4-9) for ideas. Training logs are for everyone, not only serious runners, competitors or marathoners. Even if you haven't won a race yet, it's okay. You don't have to be an accomplished runner to keep a log. Start a diary as soon as you start running. Where to Journal Keep you training information in The Runner's Training Diary by Shelly and Bob Glover. Track! - Records to Keep.The basics are the route, distance and time run. That's a good start. Try adding who you ran with, and the weather conditions. Its nice, but not necessary, to have a record of weight, hours of sleep and heart rate. Record only what matter to your life. An accurate diary is important but you don't have to write down every furshlugginer detail. Try an a la carte approach to these suggestions:
| Quality - Some runners rank each workout. Possibilities include a letter system such as A for top quality, B for average run or C for, well, let's say it could have gone better. For a number system, try a scale of 1-5 or a simple plus and minus system -- a plus for a great day and a minus for a less than spectacular performance. Goals - Starting each week record your goal and game plans. Pencil in your game plan. That's it -- write it down, a wish is only a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a goal. Analysis - To succeed in the future, you need only to study your past path. The analysis tools included in this diary are:
Menstrual Cycle - You may note the days of your menstrual cycle. Number the first day of bleeding as #1. This makes handy stats for race analysis. Compare the day of the menstrual cycle and workout ratings. For some women the more advanced the monthly cycle, the more powerful its impact on performance. Each woman should gauge her own reactions. Other Cycles - All runners go through cycles. For women the obvious is the menstrual cycle. But other cycles affect training. School, for example, has cyclic stress, exams etc. If you suspect a relationship between your running and a cycle -- track it !! Summary - Brag and complain about your running to someone that really matters -- your training diary. A training diary does not forget, it doesn't tell your secrets and it only exaggerates if you do. It may not have one of those miniature golden locks of little girl diaries, but a training log can have the key to your success. Running Coach Shelly Glover has a master's degree in exercise physiology from Columbia University. She co-authored The Runner's Handbook and The Competitive Runner’s Handbook, is a veteran road runner and marathoner. She also coaches The Greater New York Racing Team is available for private coaching. Coaching Services
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