does anyone keep a running diary?

[juicychops]

is it a good idea? or does it make running too structured?

ive been debating whether to start one as im just getting myself back into running and am half trying to keep a record or how far im going and how often im running.

is this a good idea to keep up? or not really?

Definitely! I have done this in the past and thinking about doing it again. Also had a v basic, cheap, stop watch timer thing, so could record time taken and monitor my improvement (or otherwise!)

I gave my routes names, such as "medium", "long", "Long + extension" (v imaginative, me!), and used mappping thing on London marathon website to measure distances.

Really think this helped motivate me to go out more/add a bit to my route etc etc.

Good luck!

brilliant thanks ibbydibby think thats what im gunna do then. and il think of some imaginative names for my routes too

The ex used to do this with his running and it meant he could see what he was doing, what worked, what he wasnt doing and needed to step (eg hill work /interval training etc)

From a non running point of view i find my training diary very good at helping me plan and work round things like migraines - eg i now know that i can still train with a headache/mild migraine if i do x but not y and z. However if i train on day P i get more done if I do a or b but wont get much of that done if i train on day Z. I am getting far more effective in my training without actually training more or longer.

It also helps if you get an injury.

I use a garmin to run with and log all the info from it on the Garmin Connect website. It's good to see how my pace has improved and does help to keep me motivated.

You can give your runs a title and add any additional info aswell so if it's been very wet and muddy or windy, I make a note of that. I run mostly off road and conditions underfoot can make a difference to my time, so it's very useful.

you can get a good running spreadsheet for free on the Serpentine website: www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/training_logs.html

i use a spreadsheet cos i love them, but www.fetcheveryone.com is a very useful site, free training log and tonnes of advice.