Running Journals

I have kept a running journal since I was a freshman in college (you do the math there). I have kept every journal, and periodically like to review them. I do it the "old school" way as I have been told by many people and log it in an actual log book with pen and paper. To me, there is just something you lose when you do it online versus pen and paper. Plus, I am able to pull out journals from a few years ago and review them (yes I do it too).

It is amazing what you can learn in these journals about training and life in general just from a few little blurbs. It reminds me of times that I was injured, and I can review what I did a few months before to figure out what went wrong. It reminds me when I was sick, on vacation, who I ran with, when runs were good, and when they were not so good. I can look back at my race times, and again see what worked for training and what didn't. It reminds me of the joy I have of running in the rain, or running when it is 15 degrees outside. Looking at these log books also lets me reflect on the weird things that happen to me when running, such as getting stuff thrown at me by people driving by, getting whistled at, hiding in the bushes from a coyote, running by what I thought was a big dog, and turned out to be a wolf (yep, I apparently am not all that exciting because he just looked at me), getting chased by dogs AND cats, getting hissed at by geese and deer, being stopped by people at least once a week in the summer for lost dogs or directions, talking with strangers for long periods of time, and being followed by strangers. Log books have started conversations with strangers as I am buying them, and I have convinced people to start running over these conversations.

I was diagnosed with celiac sprue a little over 3 years ago, and it is interesting to see that just before diagnosis, I was tired, and my runs were not good, and 6 months after diagnosis is when I ran my fastest marathon. That was proof to me in writing to continue following my diet even though I truly did not want to follow it.

I have again been reviewing my journals since I have been injured these last several weeks. It is always inspiring to see the progress I have made even in these few weeks, and makes me more motivated to get back in the game so to speak. These logs also help me reflect on my future goals, and what I want out of my running. These running log books have been the key to my running past, present, and future.