ATTQOTD:
I've got a training journal on this site (
link). I've been writing in it since Jan 2016. I find it to be a valuable resource for myself. I can't even count the number of times that I've gone back and re-read notes from past runs. Primarily of interest is:
-When did I last have this odd feeling in my leg/hip/foot?
-How long did it take for the odd feeling to resolve?
-Coming back from a marathon, how long does it take for me to feel normal again? Shockingly, about 21-28 days post-marathon for feeling normal again and 42 days before my HR returns to normal.
-What was my training stats from a training cycle and how did I perform in the "A" race afterwards? Were there any indicators to predict the outcome?
My journal also serves as a place where I can put to paper and write out my running philosophies. Ideas on train slow to race fast, Pac-Man, mental side of running, pace, duration, carb consumption, recovery, T+D, heart rate vs pace relationship, etc.
During a training cycle, I update the journal on the past week's runs. I usually do this on Mondays. I write out the number of miles and number of intervals I hit within my specific scheduled pace. Tracking those intervals has been invaluable because if I'm not hitting my daily % or my weekly % its usually my first indicator something needs to be reevaluated. I write down the weather, and some random musings about the run. How did it feel? When did it click, if ever? I go back and re-read these things to see if I can continue to learn more about myself.
Lastly, I'm starting a new section on my training journal to track my training plans. I've been writing training plans since November 2015. One of the biggest deficiencies in my writing of them has been tracking the results of the plans. Anecdotally, I remember some, but I assuredly don't remember all of them. So after Marathon Weekend, I had runners submit their testimonials (the good, the bad, and the critical). I'm still learning and applying my ideas to the training plans. Thus, any feedback at this point is good feedback and I'm willing to share any and all critiques because it helps make me accountable to the people I'm trying to help. So if someone wants to learn that it's not only possible to train at a max of 11 miles for a marathon, but to complete it feeling good and continue on with their day. Or how someone cut nearly 90 minutes off their marathon PR, or how someone went from a 1:50 HM to a 1:29 HM in only 18 weeks, or someone runs a HM and in the process sets a PR at every distance from 400m to HM during the event, etc. I've then got a place where these things are on record and I can point to them.
Outside of my training journal, I have an extensive Excel file that I use to track data and record random information. Tabs I've got:
-Records (every race, distance, time, placement in total/gender/division, and race PR tracking)
-102 Goals
-Marathon Recovery information (when do I feel normal, when is my HR normal again, when did I start re-training?)
-Marathons (a detailed analysis of my splits from most of my marathons, analyzing the splits in race versus training paces, average race pace, etc.)
-Historical (old data from pre-Garmin)
-Caloric Needs (a large calculator built to help determine caloric needs for a marathon based on body weight and VO2max)
-HR vs Pace (a dataset analyzing the relationship of my HR at a set pace over years, while HR can be manipulated by some outside factors when viewed from a far in can be quite predictive and useful to determine current fitness, calculations for HRR, resting HR tracking on daily and weekly basis, etc.)
-Every training plan I've followed since Winter 2013
-Stravistix (a detailed analysis of my data from Stravistix to help optimize my personal training plan writing, also trying to learn about the inner workings of the training load calculations, etc.)
-Hansons Method (a breakdown of the book Hansons plan, non-book Hansons plans that go to 60-80+ miles, and Luke Humphrey's plan and how they're written differently)
-Diet (tracking of calories and macronutrients in my diet)
-Pacing (an excel calculator made from the Hansons book paces [which is now available on their website])
-Cadence, Pace, and Stride (an attempt to figure out what the relationship is between cadence, pace and stride - it's y=1.0952x^-1.004 with y as cadenceXstride and x as pace - and to see how mine has changed over time)
-Boston Qualifying Times (an analysis of Boston Qualifying times from several major races to determine the equality of the BQ times)
-Shoes (tracking mileage, cost and cost per mile)
-Prediction Contest tracking
-Disney Times (tracking AG winners of 10k, HM, and M from the last years to determine how close I am, tracking corral information, tracking temp+dew of previous race weekends)
-Bucket List races
-Health (tracking medical info like cholesterol, HDL, LDL, blood pressure, weight, etc.)
-Every training plan I've ever written for someone else
