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Week 1
Overview

Week 2
Speed Intro

Week 3
Running Log

Week 4
Injuries

Week 5
Heart Rate

Week 6
Tempo Run

Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

Week 3: The Training Diary

Read Pages 91-102

Curriculum Textbook

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.

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:

Weekly 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.

Set goals for the criteria you track (eg:  weekly mileage, number of workouts, average daily mileage, pace of runs, speed workouts, cross training goals--  you know abs & stretching  and weight routines).  Customize goals to your life style.  Running 60 miles a week may look good on paper but don't forget the rest of your life.  Get real. Match your goals with your available time.

Planning weekend mileage ahead is a great way to ensure workouts happen.  Make appointments with yourself for running. Commit the same energy to those dates as you would to any appointment. You are after all your most important friend/client.

What Me Worry? The Fear of Zeros - Once a week a  "zero" mileage day is not a bad entry.  It helps prevent staleness, injury and burnout.  A string of zeros makes your training -- just that -- a big zero. The Fear Of Zeros should keep you running toward healthy goals, but not a worry that feeds compulsive and destructive behavior.

The more regular your schedule - the more likely you are to succeed.  Try to establish a committed routine. United States President John Q. Adams said there are three ingredients to success:

1) Regularity.
2) Regularity.
3) Regularity.

He walked 5 miles or swam in the Potomac each morning.  Maybe he didn't bother to wear a swimsuit, but he recorded his workouts in his journals.

A Little More - 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