Workout Journal

     I have finally started keeping a workout journal. All these years, decades really, of regular training of one form or another, and I have finally committed to keeping a handwritten journal. It is just the basics: date, time, duration, yardage, sets, type. You know, basics. Then, at the end of each week I tally up swim yardage, time on bike, and total hours of training. At one time I tried to keep the stats posted here, on my blog, but that lasted about twice. Keeping regular records has never been my strong suit. But I have a handful of small journals lying about, each with a different purpose. One is full of quotes that strike my fancy, another for good business ideas that pop into my head at the weirdest of times, one is just random thoughts and lists. I had a spare, unused, hardcover, small journal that needed a purpose,.. my workout journal was born.
    So far, I have been good at keeping it updated. Okay, it has only been ten days, but for me that is a new record. The downside is that the ice and snow we had last week kept me away from the pool all but 2 days. I have really been upping my pool time, and aiming for a minimum of 4 days a week, preferably 5 days. This week and next I will be sabotaged by the holidays, since the club will be closing early two saturdays in a row. Saturday has been my favorite "big" night; heavy upper body workout followed by a strong swim. I will be bumping that to Friday to compensate.
    One advantage of a journal is the ability to accurately track distance and duration. Yes, I am actually really good at keeping a mental record of recent workouts, as well as training schedule. But I am thinking of it in terms of the visual satisfaction of seeing it in black and white. Kind of like making a list of projects and getting to cross them off the list as they are completed. It is very satisfactory.
    Another advantage is that my naturally competitive nature will make me want to keep upping the ante. I am good at keeping myself honest anyway, if I plan on swimming 3000 yards, I will swim the 3000 yards (unless I have a good reason not to). But to put pen to paper will give me even more reason to push myself. At least that is the hope. So, let's see just how long I can keep journaling. Keep it up long enough and it will become a habit, like training, and that is something I am very good at.