The World Keeps Running

Keep a Diary and Observe

One of the best tips from the professionals is to keep a record of your training. It is incredibly reinforcing to being able to see how much you’ve done and that you are building up a good quantity of training. A training diary might just be a slip of paper stuck on to your fridge with a space for each day of the month or it might be a separate diary.

If you note the details of each session or workout, over time you will be able to see a full picture of your physical (and psychological) reaction to your training programme.

For example, jot down as simply as possible:

• The specifics of each training session (different elements like walking, jogging or running as well as distance covered and time taken) along with the warm-up and stretching you did before and after
• The weather conditions
• The running surface
• The music you were listening to
• The people you were running with
• Your feelings about the session overall and its constituent parts

By keeping a record like this you will build up a thorough picture of what works best for you and, importantly, how you are progressing.

If your self-analysis is as honest as possible, your training journal should highlight the areas that you can improve on as well as the things you are doing well.

You might like to colour-code your log or diary so that you will be able to pick up trends at a glance.