Walking Software
If you are reading this I, swami Wendy, can divine two things about you: you have a computer and you enjoy walking. At some time or another you likely think about using your computer to keep track of your walks. I browsed the web in search of software and then asked the real experts - racewalkers and fitness walkers - what they actually use.
JustWalk.com: Online tracking of your walks: how far, how fast, trail description, which shoes you wore. Then it generates graphs for you.
NutriGenie: Many titles of nutritional software for various diets.
What Real Walkers Use
1. Pencil and paper
Regina sums it up, "I get the club stamp and annotate it with the sequence number for the year, how far I walked, a cumulative for the year, how far my pedometer said it was and how long it took me, plus occasionally other comments, who I walked with, weather, etc. I like the flexibility that paper gives me, the ability to update it on the spot and the ability to carry it with me to compare with other walkers' booklets (it happens)."
2: Excel or other spreadsheet program.
Designing your own speadsheet is quick, easy, and flexible. Several walkers sent me examples of the template they use or offered to share. We offer one on our Walking Logs and Trackers page.
David, a racewalker, explains how and why he uses a spreadsheet:
"I have used EXCEL, the Microsoft spreadsheet, to track my walking for quite a few years. I have set up several sheets. One sheet, or table if you wish, has data from every race I have competed in and goes back to 1984. In it I have fields (columns) for the usual name, date, place and distance but also for my time, the top walker's time, the approximate number of walkers, my place overall and in my age group, and minutes per mile calculations. I also have sheets and charts plotting training miles and types over time, race times, blood pressure history (my personal problem), etc.
Using spreadsheets is a lot easier than most people think. The time spent learning to use and set them up is not greater than the time spent learning to use a software package dedicated to athletic training. They produce superlative graphics, calculate most statistics, and they are capable of almost infinite modification to fit individual preferences. The information we athletes work with is termed time series data, that is some property is measured against time, be it training or diet results.
Excellent graphs are essential for interpreting such information. Spreadsheets calculate much faster than most dedicated database/presentation software. Two big additional advantages are that many people are already familiar with spreadsheets to some degree from their work, and most software bundles provided with home computers include a spreadsheet.
Finally, you have to have data. One must keep good training and racing log notes, keep times, measure distances, etc. A lot of folks don't like handling such detail, and no software will compensate for spotty or poor information resulting from a dislike of detail.
Racewalker Bob also provided this description of his spreadsheet: The columns run as follows:
1 - Month
2 - Day of month
3 - Day of Week
4 - Type of workout [W = race walk; R = run; WI=walking intervals; RI = running intervals; F = fartlick
5 - Aerobic points. I take my average time and subtract it from 16 and multiply that by the distance the formula is: (16-average time)*distance. The use of the number 16 is arbitrary on my part. I selected 16 as that is the slowest pace I would consider for a workout. Actually, the slowest I've ever done is 14 minutes and my average is just under 12 minutes.
6 - Distance walked
7 - Total distance walked since beginning of the year
8 - Time of walk
9 - total time walked since beginning of the year
10 - Average time for the particular workout (#8 divided by #6)
11 - Average time for the year (#9 divided by #7)
12 - Description of workout. Includes splits per mile or half mile. Note: For interval workouts I take the total time for each individual interval, added together and the total distances for the intervals.
13 & 14- I break it down by weekly totals for distance and time
15 & 16 I break it down on a monthly basis.
3. Word processor
Fitness walker Marti preferred a simpler diary concept, "I have a walking diary I use to keep track of all walking I do. If I am doing a volksmarch, I include the place, name of club who sponsored the event, who I walked with, where, and any other information I find interesting. When I walk during the week, I note if it is at lunchtime, the approximate amount of time and distance I walked, and where I walked. sometimes, I walk at the YMCA, which is a track which has laps. I keep track of the laps, too. I keep this diary as a way to measure how fast I am completing my yearly goal. (my yearly goal every year is 500 miles)"
Use What Works
As David noted, if you are keeping records you need to be consistent in recording them. Experiment and see if the fancy interface of a dedicated program makes this easier or more fun, or if you prefer a simple spreadsheet or an even simpler diary in a word processor. Whatever you choose, make it a great new habit.
