I know everyone is talking about the latest app on their smartphone to track workouts and compete with friends, but I’m totally old school and prefer traditional paper and pen. I loved Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas’ log book, Believe. It looked professional, was compact enough to fit in my purse and had just enough space to track goals for a six month time span. The duo took everything that worked with their original logbook and expanded it. That evolution created “Compete,” which is pretty much the most perfect logbook I’ve come across. It’s comprehensive, yet simple, encourages healthy competition and motivates runners of all levels.
14 Benefits Of Using Compete Training Journal
- Set goals you can achieve.
- Map out the steps to achieve your goals.
- Log your workouts.
- Keep it real—and avoid harmful obsession with outcomes.
- Make racing an expression of your training.
- Set smart race strategies.
- Relax! And train with intention.
- Emphasize the process instead of the goals.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others.
- Get in the zone the week before your race.
- Own your strengths—and root out your weaknesses.
- Build up a strong “race case”.
- Keep it fun.
- Reflect on your season and consider the next challenge.
Keep in mind, I love mantras, pep talks and to learn from professional athletes, so if those things bore you, your smartphone might be a better option. However, if you’re looking for a little guidance in setting goals, suggestions with ways to reach them and motivation galore, this logbook is perfect. It isn’t another ‘cookie cutter’ running training program, but instead requires you do some soul searching to determine your running goals. Fleshman and McGettigan-Dumas help you narrow your vision, decide your distance, pick your pace and achieve it and I think $21.95 is a pretty decent deal.
“Compete” offers a yearly calendar and monthly plans with plenty of areas to ‘check in’ and evaluate how you are doing. Pace charts are included, which is so nice to have it all in one spot. There’s even a little bookmark attached, so you can conveniently save your place. I love the pace chart, race plans and strategies, but mostly because their focus is on challenging you, for yourself and that’s it. It isn’t about competing with others, though that obviously happens, it focuses solely on self improvement for you and you alone.
I know it makes me sound like a kid when I say I love the pictures sprinkled throughout with athletes like Ashton Eaton, Molly Huddle and Meb Keflezighi. Quotes, graphs and pie charts can all be found among the pages and it really helps bring some fun into the planning, which at times can feel daunting for me. “Compete “helps break it into manageable pieces, includes valuable training tips and encourages its users to incorporate their mind and spirit into training. Everything in life is about balance and this logbook helps do just that, the old fashioned journaling way. The cover has power words embossed on the front and back, is durable and meant to last, like a training ‘scrapbook’ of sorts. While the cover is attractive, the print is what has me most excited. It’s a perfect way to start the new year. Grab a copy, pick a race and get after it, one week at a time and, as the authors note, compete for you.
“The more I pushed myself in running, the more I discovered the weaknesses of my mind. These were the same dragons luring in my life. To compete is to voluntarily come into contact with your dragons so you can learn to slay them. ” ~ Lauren Fleshman
