Whether you run casually or for competitive racing, a running journal or log tracks your progress. The journal helps you identify areas you need to improve in your workouts. If you end up with a running injury, the journal may reveal what led up to the injury. The journal also serves as a motivator by documenting your running and fitness achievements. The specific information you keep in your running and fitness journal depends on personal preference, but some basic information is relevant for all runners.
Step 1
Write a list of the data you want to collect in the running and fitness journal. Common information to collect for each training session includes the date, time of day, distance, running time and heart rate. Other details might include the shoes you wore, route, food before and after the run, weather, how you felt and other factors that could affect an exercise session.
Step 2
Create a column for each piece of information within a spreadsheet program on the computer. Adjust the column widths to hold the corresponding information for each column. For example, your distance column doesn't need to be as wide as your section on how you felt after the run.
Step 3
Add a section at the end for general comments. Use this section to document any observations or thoughts you have about your fitness.
Step 4
Create a separate spreadsheet page to document race-day information if you participate in races. Include columns for the name of the race, location, date, distance and your time.
Step 5
Print off the spreadsheet pages if you prefer a hard copy. Punch holes along the left-hand side, and place the pages into the binder. Print new pages as needed when you fill up a page in the binder.
Step 6
Write your running statistics after each exercise session for an accurate log. Enter the data directly into the spreadsheet if you prefer to keep an electronic version of your running and fitness log.
Tips and Warnings
- Adjust the columns included on the running log pages as necessary. You may find that some information is not particularly useful. You might also decide there is other information that is missing from the log.
Things You'll Need
- Three-ring binder
- Hole punch
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