We talk all the time about having goals, but without an actual plan, goals don’t really mean anything. I’ve found I have to keep myself accountable every day in order to move forward and avoid losing momentum. I have a few ways of tracking my progress, and so I thought I’d share them with you today.
Believe Training Journal
This training journal, created by elite runners Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas has honestly revolutionised the way I look at my training. It’s a year-long training log that doubles as a journal and a handbook: you log your miles and rate each day/workout, but there’s space to do so much more than that too. Each week there’s a small prompt such as “When things get tough I’ll focus on…” and “Things that will make me a better runner”. It helps you look at your training more holistically- there are regular check-in pages as well as guides to nutrition, cross-training and balance, among other things.
Bullet Journal: Habit Tracker
I recently started keeping a bullet journal as a way to organize my brain and reduce anxiety- it’s definitely helping! For anyone who doesn’t know, a bullet journal is more a concept than a product- you take a blank journal and you organize it exactly how you think would best suit you- there are guidelines on the “best” way to do it, but in reality its entirely up to you. One of the most popular add-ons is the habit tracker: it’s really simple- you decide what habits you want to keep for the week, and you track them. In the lead-up to marathon day this mainly consisted of my strength and conditioning routine, although I also added an “Act of Self Care” to make sure I was taking care of myself well.
Wall Planner
Way back in July when I started tentative marathon training, I drew myself up a wall calendar on Word, and sneakily printed it off in A3 on my work printer. It’s stuck at the end of my bed, and every evening I would fill it in for the day. It wasn’t a training plan as such, but it helped me keep accountable as well as see all the miles building up, which defeinitely helped mitigate a few taper-induced crises.
Accountability Buddies
For keeping yourself accountable, there’s no-one quite like a training buddy to count on. Not only can you tackle tough workouts together; even when you’re training separately you can check in on each other’s progress. It’s great to know that someone’s got your back, plus you can bounce all those crazy worries and nagging doubts off each other.

So there you have it, my toolkit for keeping yourself accountable and always moving towards your goals. If you have any other suggestions I’m all ears!
How do you keep yourself driven and accountable?
Lots of love,
Pippa
You pose a very interesting question, Pippa…. I need my daily ride like I need laughter. Too long without it and I turn all cranky. I don’t think much about having to get out, as much as how can I get out and ride.
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Sounds like you don’t need accountability then!
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really love the finish picture. Having a similar pic would motivate me for sure.
On my side, my supreme master is my Garmin watch. It has all my past and future workouts, and can tell me exactly what workout I should do today, at what pace, or at what heart rate, with all the details. There is less anxiety. I just obey the master and do the miles it tells me to do 🙂
I also have a small group of accountability buddies. We tell each other our personal bests, who is training when etc. Friendly competition is always motivating!
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Garmin’s are great! Out of curiosity which one do you have?
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I have a Garmin Fenix 3 HR. Got it for $330 on eBay .. had to wait 2 months to get that price . I love it ! Will actually post a review on my blog
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I always have a calendar with my training on it. I actually write out my training on it and check it off as I go or write in what I did instead, but I find it a nice way to keep things organized and a nice quick reference aside from a training log.
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Ah that’s nice! I personally can’t write my training plan out and have it stuck on the wall, it would intimidate me!
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I need a calendar like this. I just got a white board for on the wall near my treadmill so I think I’m going to do something like this! I write all my runs down in a book however, having that visual reminder right in my face helps a lot too!
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It really helps doesn’t it!? The calendar also helps me mentally map out my runs, especially the long run progression- so if I have to miss a run or reschedule it I can work it out and it’s not the end of the world!
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