Have you been running for months, but just can't seem to get any faster or fitter? Not sure what to do to improve? It's time to get serious about keeping a training log. Your training log is a great tool to sit down and review to see whether the things you are doing work for you or not.
It is so frustrating to be putting in the miles or training days and not seem to be improving. Look at the quality of your workouts. Are you putting in a lot of miles on the same route and speed? Are you doing any interval or hill training? What about tempo runs? If you continue to run the same route and speed day after day your fitness level plateaus. You have to keep challenging your body for it to adapt and grow stronger. try mixing up your training runs and your routes to increase your fitness level. Are you interested in getting faster? Then you have to train yourself by running faster! This is the purpose of intervals. You alternate going faster for a period of time with jogging to teach your body to handle the stress of pushing harder.
Another use for the log is to track injury. Each run you need to note the date, route, miles, weather, and any soreness or problem you may have felt during the run. Any detail that will help you pinpoint and remember what was going on with you at the time will be a clue whether something caused the injury. Was it over training? Under training? Were you hydrated enough for the weather? Did you have too many miles on the same old shoes? Anything that can help you see what worked or didn't work will give insight when making decisions about your training. If you have an injury that will need medical care or rehabilitation for recovery, your log can be a great help for your doctor or therapist. They might be able to spot something you didn't notice or think was important at the time.
If you like to participate in the same races year after year be sure to use your log to note finish times. This will give you a good answer to the question, "Am I getting faster and fitter?" Just don't confuse slower times due to poor training with slower times simply because of getting older. Getting a little slower with age is normal.
Don't forget to record some emotional details to help you recall a great run or a bad run. Blue skies, rainbows, gorgeous sunsets, bird song, perfume of cut grass; whatever will help you recall the pleasure of running and not just the boring stuff. We run for the fun of it, not just the obsessive need to be faster or go farther. Record a log to help you stay motivated and involved in the process. Now go run!
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