Training journals: a way to find what works for you

At the beginning of this cross country season, my team's captains introduced a new requirement that my teammates and I would have to follow: filling out a daily, training journal. With these journals we were to keep a record of what we ran each day and how we felt about the run–mentally and physically, along with keeping track of what we ate each day, if we chose to do so. To keep us accountable, my coach would be checking our written reports once a week.

At first I was a bit skeptical about this new assignment. I hadn't kept a written report of what I ate each day since the Summer of 2015, which ended up with me counting calories and restricting–things that definitely triggered my eating disorder. However, I decided to put my faith in my captains and my coaches and give the journal a try. I had always found writing and journaling to be therapeutic, and I thought this might be similar to that.

After about two months of using a training journal, I would recommend the use of one to any type of runner–beginner or competitive.

I have found my training journal to be very useful in many different ways. First, it's a great way to see what type of training works for you. Each day I log what my workout is, how far I run, how I feel mentally and physically about my run and even what I eat every day. Being as detailed as possible is beneficial to me when I look back on the week and try to determine what I'm doing differently on good days versus bad days.

I'm also fortunate enough to receive weekly feedback from a professional runner–my coach–on my training and meal plan. She takes the time to write notes in my journal on my progress, which means the world to me.

There are various types and brands of training journals, but I personally love the ones my team was assigned. Our journals are called "Believe Training Journals" designed by professional runners, Lauren Fleshman and Roísín McGettigan-Dumas. Inside of this particular journal you'll find inspirational quotes, goal recording sections and more motivational tools.

This journal helps me stay on track, make progress towards accomplishing my goals, stay positive and find out what routines work best for me–as a runner and a recovering bulimic.

Here's a picture of my "Believe Training Journal".

The journal gives you lots of writing space to write down your thoughts, along with boxes for mileage, the date and a place to rate how well your run went.