Record Keeping

We all keep records of our running.  Some records are more loosely organized than others, but we all know approximately what our PRs are and some basic stats about different aspects, right?

Every once in a while, I come across someone that keeps records differently than I do, so that got me curious.  How do you keep your own records?

1     ~    I like to keep track of my monthly and yearly mileages.  I include warm-ups and cool downs in my total mileage.  Races and training runs are included.  Hubby and I go for walks at home or while we travel, I don’t usually include these in any totals.  Ditto goes for hiking and backpacking.  Some people use their Garmin each time they run and can tell you how many days and hours they spend running each year.  Hubby is doing that this year, but I think it is too much work for me. I don’t run with my Garmin every single run either.

2     ~   I keep different sets of “official” and “unofficial” PRs.  If the distance was in a race setting, unless I find out later the course was short, I include them in "official".  Everything else goes in the unofficial.  It is fun to keep track of the unofficial stuff because I never know when a good day will hit and it always keeps me on my game.

3        ~ I know some people that track training runs of certain lengths with corresponding race distances.  For example, while training for a 50K, they run two training distances of a marathon or more.  Those are added to their totals, saying “I ran two marathons while training… so I've run six marathons" (and then don't bother to say that two were training runs, not races).  I think this is ridiculous.  Unless I’m actually racing with others on a course with an official name, it doesn’t count.  I mean really, I’d have like 300 half marathons by now.  They totally don’t compare to the race halves I’ve done.  The only way I could imagine calculating it as a “real” half/full/50K is if I ran an entire race course on my own.  The whole course with no deviations, but even that seems fishy.

So readers, what is your records style like?

1.       Do you track total mileage?  Do you track runs of a certain length? Do you track overall pace?

2.       How do you keep track of your time PRs?  As you age, do you set a new category for each decade or 5 year age group increment to keep from getting discouraged?

3.       If you run 26.2 miles (or 5K, 10K, 13.1 mi., 50K) by yourself one day, do you count it?

4.       I’m planning on a lot of trail running this summer near my parents’ house.  There are two ultras nearby, Keyes Peak 50K and Marquette 50M/50K.  It seems like the best way to skip planning routes for myself.  I don’t think they count, do you?