Mach3Multisport.com

When I began running in my mid- 20s (after a brief stint as a couch potato following college), it was very haphazard and random. One week I’d run three miles every day, and then the next I’d do nothing at all. It wasn’t until I starting writing things down that progress began to be made. These days, I keep a training log.

For what, you might ask. You might also insert a snarky remark about how I rarely train for anything and the log might as well be an actual log that once was a tree, but I’d smartly ignore you there. I have a bunch of kids and a bunch of different plans and lists and schedules, so balancing the chaos with a bit of organization is key.

The log has served me well through many races, and has proven how OCD I can be. I don’t like to see running workouts not completed (I believe a swim workout to be optional, much like my father believes turn signals to be optional – everyone wishes he’d just use them but something keeps him from trying). I have headed out the door or onto the treadmill at dreadful hours to check off a workout. I prefer check marks to crossing things off (such a crisp satisfaction in a check mark!), and I can’t stand to write a big fat zero next to “weekly mileage”. Even if it is slow jogging, I have to have something written down.

The log started out as a formal bound notebook that actually said “Training Log” on it, but as often happens when one lives in a giant shoe with dozens of children, that log got lost/stolen/eaten. I needed something that the kids wouldn’t steal or color on or sell, and anything that is clean, white, or not written on might not fit the bill. So I started keeping my log on a scrap piece of paper.

That one scrap turned into many scraps, and now I have a training log that looks like a stack of junk mail. Each week is neatly tallied, though, and I even make note of any events that might have effected training that week (“had baby” or “discovered Doritos in cabinet”). The stack of papers is like my bible, being added to each day and each week and allowing me to track shoe mileage and determine where an injury might have begun.

So as I recover from my quick 2-miler this morning while trying to get the kids ready for school and the baby fed, I happily check off my morning mileage (6 more this afternoon are scheduled), and hastily tuck my stack of papers away, content in the knowledge that tonight I get to use my Sharpie to check off another workout.

Up next: Spring Cross Country Classic this weekend!

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