velocipedio

I do, and I think it's a good idea. In fact, I have two. One is the software that came with my HRM. It graphs HR, time and speed [see below]

I also keep a separate log in a database program with traiuning info and notes: date, weight, type of exercise [not just cycling, but skiing, gym, etc.], which bike], start time, duration, distance, accumulated time, accumulated distance, average HR, ride notes and maintenance notes.

Does anyone else do this kind of thing?

MediaCreations 

Mine isn't quite so pretty but I use a free Excel file that I got on-line from the Velotrax website.

It logs daily weight, pulse, distance, time, average and then graphs them all.

DnvrFox

Nope. It would drive me nuts!! Just one more pressure in an already pressure-filled life!!

aerobat

I keep two. One is a quatro pro file with route, time, distance, average speed, comments, weather, and cumulative totals for each bike and all bikes together.

The other is a palm pilot program that has the above info, as well as other activities such as x-country skiing, running etc. I find this is handy because I always have it with me, and can use the info discussing rides with friends or planning new ones etc.

The palm program is supposed to be coming out with a companion desktop version, and if it does I'll probably switch to it so I'll only have to make entries once, instead of both programs.

In addition to this I keep a calendar posted in a prominent place with all the days of significant exercise marked, as a personal motivator.(and it works!)

lotek 

I'm just starting to get "serious" about
training so I've been kind of logging my
own in a notebook.
Next big move is online spreadsheet.

Marty

velocipedio

Got URL?

cyclezealot

I just keep a log of mileage, average speed an destination.

nathank

i keep a written log of all my training... date, route, duration, time in HR zones (above anearobic threshold, in aerobic zone), distance, average speed, vertical, total time, ride time and a brief description... i also include all my non-cycling sports training and tours (like ski touring) and weight lifting too.

since March i have a new cyclometer (Ciclo CM414 i think) that has a cool computer download of the vertical profile, speed, % grade and temperature which i then save and print out... unfortunately HR is NOT incorporated b/c i didn't buy that feature, but there is a cadnece add-on that i am planning to buy.

i also keep a few other logs... like for my ski tours and mountain climbing i list time at elevation points, etc. plus i also have a weight training log that lists which exercises i do, how many times and how much weight.

wow, velocipedio, looks pretty cool... i guess on a daily basis i'm too lazy to enter everything in to the computer so i just scribble it on paper somewhere and then copy it into a written log later. i guess copying it into the computer later would be just as easy, but i haven't looked for a training log before...

OctoberBlue

I only keep a written log, noting ride time/distance, route, avg. speed & cadence, max. speed & cadence, weather. I don't feel the need to track it on a spreadsheet yet. It's more of a casual thing for me right now.

I do love having a cyclocomputer.

velocipedio

Geez guys... the screen cap is of the software that came with my HRM [Polar S510]. It downloads HR, time and speed and graphs over time [bottom graph -- HR is black, speed is red]. I'm anal-retentive about logging, but not that much.

I do have issues about the Polar software, though. The HRM saves "data-points," which are average samples at certain intervals. It's every 30 seconds for a ride of less that 60 minutes [yeah, like I do a lot of those], for rides of more than three hours, the sample rate is 120 seconds. Consequently, it throws out an awful lot of information and tends to cut the highs, more than the lows, out of my profile. On the ride above, I had a 55 km sprint that doesn't appear on the profile.

On the other hand, I most use the profile to go over intervals and the like, and plan new intervals, and it works pretty well for that,

Spire

I guess there is only a limited out of memory inside, say enough for a few 100 data-points. So the longer the ride, the more time between points.

BTW: How much was that monitor and where did you get it. I am loggin on paper (started about a week ago )

lotek 

I did a search for VELOTRAX and got a link but
keep getting internal server errors.
I'd like to use it but can't get to it.
Sure would be easier to use than
hand entering all the data in a notebook.

Marty

Joe Gardner

Ba-Dg-Er was developing some type of training software aswell, I'll PM him, and see if he has finished his project.

Currently, I track the distance, time, average speed and misc comments in an Excel file.

MediaCreations 

The URL is https://www.btinternet.com/~velotrax/index.html

Unfortunately it seems to be down a lot of the time.

The guy created both a 'miles' version and a 'kilometres' version. I've got the kilometres. I can send you the file if you like. It's a small file.

Just email me and I'll send it by return email.

LittleBigMan

Yes, I keep track of exactly how many days per week I ride...

Um, sometimes...

fubar5

www.crosstrak.com has a really good ride log program. IT downloads right to the computer, and you can enter HR, body weight, and all sorts of other stuff. Plus it'll generate a summary.

velocipedio

It's a Polar S510 [Polar's product info is here]. It sells for about $325 [Canadian] retail in Montreal, though I confess I didn't pay anything near that price.

If you want to train seriously, I think you shold consider investing in a heart-rate monitor, though I think you should start with something a little more modest than the S510.

Spire

That piece of information seems a bit sketchy.

Thanks for the advice!

fietser_ivana

Well damn!

The system hung after I made a lengthy reply

I think the best thing is to keep both a written and a computer record. The written record in a small booklet so you will still have that info when your computer goes down but especially to write things immediately after completion of the day's ride

It's quite obvious what I've been doing in the past, just like most here: just jotting down what's on the computer: distance, avg speed, max, total distance sofar.

When riding brevets or other organized rides, I would also jot down these details at the end of each section, that is when arriving at a control. This was to see how consistent I was in a ride.
Since early 2000 I just record the computer stuff for the entire day and since it stopped functioning in Mexico in Feb 2001 I cycled for 3 months without one... very healthy I guess.

But there are a few things which I didn't record very much in the past and which should be good to do. Things that are verbal
1 mood/feelings : sleepy, excited, angry, relaxed
2 physical condition: tired from previous ride, tired from work, completely fit, suffering from ailment in ... toe/neck/arm, whatever
3 weather, especially whether you had a tail/head/cross wind and also precipitation and temperature.. this is something I DID record during my travels
4 technical stuff, like replacement of chain, cogs, tyre, tube, etc.
5 heart data.. used to have a simple Polar Tempo which only gave amt of time spent in a pre-set zone. Now I have a 2nd Xtrainer Plus, but I don't yet have the uploading system and thus haven't had the ability to really diagnose stuff..keying in the data was a bit too much work...
5 climbing data
I don't have an altimeter but DO have a cheap inclinometer Sky Mounti. One of them records climbs up to 20%, my other one up to 28%, which should cover 99% of all climbs..
When I did the 100 mountain pass ride in France past August/Sept I used an ingenious system to take the amt of climbing into account.
0,00001 * h2/l (h = height in meters/ l is km of climbing along the road). I then multiplied it by a given #. I had to fidget a bit with this as taking a too high number resulted in too short days on days with multiple cols/mtn passes as in the Pyrenees and too long days on flat roads.

When I start training for Paris-Brest-Paris again, I'll take the data more seriously. Until then I'll try to relax a bit, but still try to increase average speed..

Ivana

DanFromDetroit

I keep a log. It is not nearly as fancy or feature rich as some of the schemes detailed here.

I use a simple small notebook, though in the past I have used undated diaries. What gets logged depends on the activity.

Running I log distance, elapsed time, time of day, type of workout (interval, neighborhood run, hill running, treadmill, etc).

Cycling I log approximate distance and a short comment about the ride.

Weightlifting I have a specific notation that I use. I record muscle group, repetitions and sets.

Martial Arts training (Modern Arnis and JiuJitsu) I generally write a small narrative describing the workout with notes on what went well and what needs improvement.

I use the log to spot trends and note PR's. These logs are really interesting to look at over time. It is helpful for me to see how I was doing last year and compare it to today. I find that the comments are more interesting to look at than the numbers, especially from the older logs.

regards
Dan

2bike4

For those who wanted to know:

For the S610

Recording Rate -------- Max Exercise Time
5 seconds -------------- 22 h 03 mins
15 seconds ------------ 66 h 10 mins
60 seconds ------------ 99 h 59 mins in one file (260 hrs total all files)

-Stephen