They're Watching You: Attackpoint.org

You know they're out there. You know they're watching you. And this, in a nutshell, is what makes Attackpoint.org such a great training log.

After using the site ritually since September 2008, including a hard winter's training block ahead of next Saturday's Coyote Two Moon 100k, I've found that what really makes the site standout isn't its ease of use, isn't its objective look at weekly miles and vertical feet, it is its social networking.

Attackpoint allows you to follow the logs of any other athlete who uses the site, whether it's a training partner, a standout athlete, or old high school sweetheart. And some of these people do the same for you: watching your weekly miles, what routes you've been choosing, how you've been feeling.

What this effectively does is surround you with training partners 24/7. And this is a good thing, at least for those like me who work off a rich mixture of internal and external motivation. Although you may only physically run once a week with your training partners, you can all keep tabs on each other on the off days, which can be quite motivating. No one wants to be the one showing up at the trailhead with a string of zero days or a number of 30 mile weeks. It's basic pack behavior, and it can work wonders.

The past three months, I've run more than I ever have in any period of my athletic career -- both in number of days and in mileage. While a lot of this has to do with my fairly new move to ultra running and a big early season goal, I have to credit much of it to Attackpoint as well. It's simply a great site, with a lot to offer.

Feel like giving it a try? Remember: They're out there and they're watching. You better go run.

Poetry from Motion: Logging My Runs in Attackpoint

Running isn't quite as scintillating these days as it is during the wide open days of summer. All the trails we'd really like to hit are under at least a meter of snow, and after a number of weeks running on the same plowed routes again and again things are beginning to feel a bit stale, which leaves my mind looking for something, anything to focus on.

Lately a lot of my thoughts, especially during those runs in the wee hours, have focused on crafting the details for my attackpoint.org training log entries for that day. This is patently silly, of course. It doesn't take too much thought to enter distance, pace, and route. But it's certainly a fun distraction as you make way over dark, icy roads to think about what's worth noting and what's not.

My first thoughts are purely about the details. Was that 6.5 miles or 6.25? Did it have 1900 ft of elevation gain or 1750 ft.

Next, especially these days, are the conditions. I note temperature if it's less than ten degrees, just because it shows a bit of grit to get out there in the single digits or lower. Road conditions come next, where I'm finding I have an Inuit's winter vocabulary -- ice, glaze ice, crusty ice, compact snow, loose snow, deep snow, 3 inches new, and rarely, bare and dry.

Then come the more subjective notes: how I felt, what I saw, how the general arc of training is going. Things like this.

Finally, is bringing it all together succinctly and with a voyeur's eye. What will I be interested in re-reading when I look back, and what might people who read my log be interested in reading -- Attackpoint.org has a social networking component so training partners and complete strangers can see exactly what you're doing (or at least what you report).

Looking at my logs, you'd be surprised that so much of my running time is spent crafting, editing, and amending the often perfunctory notes. But as we all know, we can sometimes have a day's worth of experiences in a single run, and picking what to log and what to leave on the road is an art in and of itself.

RJ Review: Attackpoint.org Online Training Logs

Credit to Geoff Roes's blog (Fumbling Towards Endurance) for leading me to the great training log website, attackpoint.org. I've been testing it out this week and have nothing but good things to say about it. With an orienteering-focus, it's got a lot that an ultra-marathoner is looking for in a training site. Of course there are all the standard entries (date, distance, time, intensity), plus it's got a great way to log how much vertical you've been getting in, as well as some neat injury and shoe tracking functions, and a slew of others you may find neat, you may find useful, or may not be interested in at all. Plus, it's all free, and even better, quick to register and very easy to use.

One major function that may turn some folks away is the social networking aspect. All entries on the site are al fresco - open for viewing to anyone who visits the site. With the omnipresence of personal blogs these days, this is becoming less of an issue, but still it may turn away some folks looking for a fully private easy-to-use training log website. Of course, you can use a nom de plume and not worry about it.

Either way, the site seems worth a look for those who haven't yet found a training log site that truly meets their needs.

To see Attackpoint stress-tested by some big name ultra-runners, check out the logs of Justin Angle and Geoff Roes.