I like to use my training log to see how I’m chipping away at my goals. Say I’m aiming for that 10-mile race I talked about earlier. To get ready for that race, one of my key workouts is several repetitions of running hard for a mile, jogging very easily for a few minutes to recover, and then running hard again. As the race nears, I want to be sure that I’m doing the hard miles at least a few seconds a mile faster than the pace I hope to maintain in the race.
After each workout, I write down my times for the hard miles. From week to week, I should be able to see that my times are improving. This record will motivate me to keep striving for my goal, or it can signal that I should revise my goal. Use your log the same way. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next four months, track your weight in your log. That’s a goal that you can mark your progress to, just as focusing on a race and trying to reach a certain level of fitness for it is for me. The same principle applies if you’ve been running a few miles a day and want to try to run more. Write down with pride when you run farther than you have so you have a record of the great strides that you’re making.
Training logs also help you to learn from your mistakes. Say that lately you’ve been dragging. Every run feels harder than it should, and you just don’t seem to be as eager to run as usual. You look back in your log, and notice that a few weeks ago, you had the flu, but ran farther than usual anyway (runners are stubborn!). Training logs can help to remove some of the mystery from your running. Over time, you’ll be able to see what does and doesn’t work for you.
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