DEAR DIARY

As a kid, I never kept a diary....

However, my sister did...  and once I realized that my sisters' deepest, darkest secrets were going to be documented in the diary....  well I made it my life's mission, to torture her with it.

So, Here's how the game of  Dear Diary worked...   

My sister Liz, was about 15 at the time, I was 13...  Liz was like any typical swooning, love struck teenage girl.  So... just before she went to bed... she would write in her diary and then hide it somewhere in her room. 

Now... I wasn't much interested in what was "in" the diary... Candidly, I figured it would be filled with mush and a bunch of dribble.   I was totally focused on the reaction of locating the diary, and threatening her with exposure... to MOM!!!

So... I waited a few weeks and then went looking for said diary... it really didn't take long at all, my sister wasn't really that clever at hiding stuff. 

Once locating the diary.... I waited for the perfect moment...  

I appeared in my sisters' bedroom doorway,  holding her prized diary by the corners, as if it were a stained pair of underwear and said 4 simple words....

"Has Mom read this???!!!!"  

 

As you can imagine this incited a Sarajevo level meltdown ...

 

My sister puffed up like a cat that came face to face with a pack of wild coyotes.

Then she went into a full blown grand mal, high pitched screaming fit, followed by a blubbering waterfall of tears.  Wow... even better than I imagined!!!!

Ultimately my little plan back fired.  The whole house went into a complete up roar!  My brothers came racing to the scene and wanted in on the fun, my Mom got involved and I'm clearly the bad guy, my Dad kicked my butt for "invasion of privacy"... I'm grounded for 2 weeks and not allowed within 50 feet of my sisters' room for life!!!!  Wow... can't anyone take a joke!!!  

The funny thing was... I never opened her diary.  I never told my dad, I never read the diary... what was the point,  I still deserved the butt kicking.   I shouldn't have touched her diary...

But... I have to admit one thing to all of you.  To this day... I would do it again... It was well worth the reaction at the time.  :)   I still torture my sister to this day... just in different ways.    

Even thought I didn't see much value in keeping a diary as a kid... I see a huge benefit in keeping a training log as an athlete and here's a few reasons why.

I don't know about you... but I count on my memory a lot.
As time passes... we forget some stuff around a certain event, then our brains tend to rationalize certain details, and before you know it, what happened.... takes on a new face.  Let me give you a brief example.

I planned an out and back commute (40 miles each way) from home to work and back.  I had done it before and didn't remember it to be such a big deal. BUT... I hadn't noted it in my training log, so I was going blind (in other words... based on my memory)

The ride in  to work was fine... I felt great.  Sure... I was fresh!!! But the trip home was a totally different story.  After 10 hours on my feet... 6 miles into my commute home... I knew I was in trouble.  All of a sudden, the memories of the last time I tried this stunt came flooding back!  All of a sudden, I remembered (too late!) at time of day, I was heading into a stone head wind, not to mention there were lots of rollers heading to Lake Sunapee.  My legs were toast, my feet were on fire and by the mid point, it had  turned into a death march home.... I was not happy!!  The only humorous moment in the ride... was when my "fart" ring tone on my phone went off... and that was fleeting at best. 

If I had noted those details in my training log... I wouldn't have considered the out and back!!!   

Per:   http://grahamstoney.com/mindset/practical-guide-brain-works   
 

I was surprised to discover that there isn’t any one centre of memory in the brain; memory is distributed throughout every neuron in our brain and central nervous system. All neurons have a simple biochemical mechanism for remembering what stimulus they fire in response to, and this mechanism is reinforced each time they fire in response to the same stimulus. 

In other words.... Our memories are triggered by patterns.  As you all know, our brains are very complex..when we come across something new, our brain tries to find something in our experiences that have a similar "pattern", in which to connect it to... that's why we have those ah ha, moments from time to time... our brains are busy, connecting patterns.     

So... understanding the above... here's what I track in my training log and why I track it:

Annually 

Goals -  At the beginning of the year or the season you should put down some goals.  Even if you don't share them with anyone else.  Goals are important, they help us get better, they help us test ourselves, they hold us accountable for something.  It's more important to have a goal and not meet it, than to have no goal at all.

Good examples of Goals:  

* Race 10 Cross Races in 2012

* Finish in the top 10 in your age group

Total miles for the year:  This is a fun number to keep track of 

Weekly(Summary):   

Weight (I weight myself daily... but some folks consider that over the top)

My weekly Training log starts on a Monday and Ends on a Sunday... just like the week  

Total hours ridden

Total Miles ridden    

Daily - This is the meat and potatoes of my log and takes me 3 mins to jot this info down at the end of every day.

*  I do weight myself every morning - The reason... my training weight is normally 3-5 lbs heavier than my race weight.  So I keep an eye on where I'm at as the season is progressing.  In Cyclocross... the lighter you are... the faster you are.

*  At the end of the day, I make a quick note of my workout, how I felt (physically and mentally). I make a note of everything!!!  Be it a cold, saddle sore... everything!!!  

One thing I have discovered... is that colds, illnesses, etc... are cyclical.  As strange as that may sound.  Now that I am keeping a training log, I am finding a pattern in when I can expect to get sick in my training cycles.  It may be a combination of seasonal elements as well as physical breakdown due to training... but at least I can try to head it off at the pass by trying to load up with vitamins, etc.  I wouldn't know this without a historical log.

Noting how I'm feeling mentally is important as well... If I'm feeling a little down.... I can look back in my training log and see if this is a pattern consistent with this point in time last year... is it possibly a indicator that I'm coming down with something???  Another clue???  Another pattern!!!!

So Sports Fans... if you are not keeping a training log.  Hustle your butts out to your local bookstores and find a nice leather bound, lined journal and start keeping track of your training.  It makes a difference!!

But... Be sure to hide it well!  You never know who might get their hands on it and show it to Mom! :)     

Have fun out there, Ride Safe

I'll Talk with you all soon

The Peanut Gallery