On your mark, get set, log!
By Paul Baltutis
While leg muscles are certainly a runner’s primary mover, our hands can serve as a secondary mover. Writing mileage down or entering your distances into a computer after a run can provide a daily dose of motivation. When you account for your mileage, you create a mini-reward, a figurative pat on the back. And not filling in the blanks for three, four, five days (i.e. too many rest days) should generate enough guilt to steer you back toward running. On many levels, a training log can provide that incentive for you to put one foot in front of the other.
Especially useful for beginners, training logs are analogous to scaffolding on a building. Its purpose is to provide temporary support to the structure until such time as when the structure can stand on its own. Temporary measures can lead you to the point where running becomes self-perpetuating and your journey can begin.
This is what Bob Fletcher, author of the book Spaghetti Every Friday, said about keeping a running log: “I kept a log for the first five years that I started running. Mind you, I was a total beginner, running at Memorial Park in Houston. I kept it because the club I belonged to would send us incentives when we reached various benchmarks. They gave us patches at 500 miles, 1,000 miles, etc. It worked because I wanted to keep building my miles.” As Fletcher became more fit, he mentally kept track of his miles. His routine was set and included 80 miles a week and workouts twice daily. Like most runners, once his mileage increased, he wanted to attempt the marathon. After his first marathon, Fletcher was pretty well hooked on them and thought of different challenges to make them interesting.
His book, written back in 1983, was a running journal about completing 50 marathons in 50 weeks when he turned 50: “I wanted to do something special when I turned 50. I took a year off of work and hit the road. My wife and I traveled to 37 different states in those 50 weeks. I kept track of it all and decided to write a book about it.” Fletcher continued his marathon running ways, making the 50 States Club in 1988, and totaling 201 marathons so far. Fletcher ran most of his marathons while he lived in Houston, and he retired to Fredericksburg in 1994. You can read more about Bob Fletcher’s book on the Web site www.spaghettieveryfriday.com.
When you start your log, a good rule is to keep it basic. Entries can be as simple as “Two miles – easy.” More complex entries that delve deep into your emotional state of mind can come sometime later. As a matter of fact, you will probably find that running is a path of self-discovery, and your logbook will be a convenient place to record all your epiphanies. On the more practical side, you can use your old logs to look back at times you were racing well, when you bought or replaced your running shoes, or what might have caused an injury and how long it took to heal. As long as you write it down somewhere, the information can be retrieved later.
I suppose I am “old school,” for I enjoy the process of putting the pen to the paper. If you prefer newer technology, there are numerous online journal and computer programs that can be used. Check out some of the available online journals at coolrunning.com, runnerslog.com or logarun.com, to name a few.
What have worked for me are the writing-type journals. A written logbook can be nearly anything. I have used a wide variety of calendars to write on, from M.C. Escher, Sierra Club, The Far Side, Dilbert, and the original Jim Fixx, or John Jerome’s Complete Runners Day-By-Day Log that is usually on the New York Times bestseller list. I have even used blank index cards and wall charts. It doesn’t make too much difference as long as you have lines and a blank space on which to write.
I started my journal, back on October 10, 1975, when I was a freshman at Arizona State University. My first entry went something like this: “Start. Run 3 Miles – day, Calculus Exam 78.” (Why did I write “day”? In Tempe, Arizona, I did most of my running at night to escape the desert heat.) My first logbook was a 4″ x 5″ term planner/calendar I picked up for free at the ASU bookstore. Evidently, I felt an obligation to keep track of my schoolwork, and I threw in my workouts for the heck of it. I found out that I liked to keep track of my mileage, and it became a habit just like running itself.
My running log collection so far goes back 30+ years and totals 48,000 miles, but who’s counting? What is nice about old logs is that you can reminisce not only about your running but also about your life. Remember those epiphanies I mentioned earlier? And that’s why running, which is a sport about legs, sometimes needs a helping hand.
Paul Baltutis is the manager of Soler’s Sports at 5933 Broadway and a certified marathon coach for Team in Training. Contact him at sage_run03@yahoo.com.
