Logging your runs is an easy way to get insights into your performance and can help you improve and avoid injuries. Find out why keeping on top of it is so important...
Getting into the habit of logging
The key to logging your performance is to get into a habit – soon enough you’ll find it’s an essential part of your training.
And while jotting down every detail of your runs may appear a hassle on the surface, modern technology makes it almost effortless.
Online services like MY ASICS are designed to make keeping a running diary as easy as possible. In fact, with smartphone apps too, it actually does most of the work for you.
Of course you can also keep a logbook on paper. It requires a little more work, but for some runners it becomes a fully-fledged running diary, recording not only their achievements but how they felt and what they thought.
However you decide to keep track of your training, at the very least you should be recording the distance, time and pace of each of your runs. If you’re following a training plan, you should also record which run in your plan you’ve done.
Find out more about keeping a running diary
Improving your performance
One of the biggest benefits to logging your performance is being able to see how you’re improving.
Take a look at your times – are you getting faster or are your runs fairly consistent? Or maybe you’re slowing down? Knowing this information and being able to compare it at-a-glance will help you identify areas to improve.
And if you use an online tracking service it’s even easier to spot trends. MY ASICS will produce useful graphs of your distance, time and pace. It means you can log in and instantly compare your performance to previous runs.
And if you have a personalised training plan, you should start to see the improvements. The MY ASICS training plans are designed to first improve your pace, and then add distance. This should be reflected in your graphs. If it’s not, you may need to adjust your training plan to make sure you’re hitting your targets.
Why am I getting injured?
A logbook can also give you valuable insight into injuries. By logging any injuries that happen during training you can analyse patterns and learn about your body’s tolerance for increased training intensity. In other words, how far you can push yourself without getting injured?
For instance, do injuries occur after a significant increase in pace or distance? This may indicate that you’ve pushed your body too far, too quickly.
Or do injuries occur after you have reached a plateau in your performance? Here the reason may be that you’ve overcompensated for fatigue.
Find out how to reduce the risk of injuries
Using your logbook to motivate yourself
As well as an indicator of performance, a logbook is a great way to keep yourself motivated.
You can also set fun challenges for yourself. Some runners pick a monthly or yearly mileage goals and work towards that. Others make small competitions out of it with their friends, or even set time goals to work towards in their training.
And with MY ASICS, you can share your runs on Facebook, so you can have your friends support – or maybe even challenge – you. It might just be that extra nudge you need to push on to the next level!
Don’t have a training plan yet? Start a customised training plan today
