[Celebrating Eleven Thousand Miles since this log started, Monksford Lane just before Wookey, Sunday, 21st August 2011, 14:01:39 GMT.]
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Alistair's Running Log

Introduction

Thanks for looking up my running log. The log was started in August 2004 when I wanted to keep track of my training - starting from a very low mileage - building up to the Clarendon Way Marathon for that year. Although the log starts in 2004, I've been running (reasonably) seriously since March 1984, and on-and-off for years before that. So, the current log is the tip of the iceberg of my total running experience.

As I've developed the log, I've used it as an exercise in learning various IT techniques. The log started as an Excel spreadsheet, and gradually evolved through various incarnations to what you see today. I've provided a potted history below of its evolution.

Using the Log

Feel free to browse around the log - I hope the menu options are obvious. There are three main pages.

  • The Routes page lists the routes I run, mostly based around my home in Wells, Somerset. I've given each route a short name and provided a longer description and distance for each. Distances are measured from the Anquet 1:50000 map.
    You can sort the routes by name or distance by clicking on the little arrow symbols. You can bring up a map of the route (again, from Anquet) by clicking on the route name.
  • The Runs page lists each run, on the day it happened. Yes, I really do get back and make an entry in the log each time... that's why I've made it as simple as possible. All I have to do is select the run, press Enter and the run is entered with the current date. (If I forget and enter the next day, there's currently no way of correcting the date - I have to get into the database and do it 'by hand'.) I'm confident that all my runs since 29th August 2004 are faithfully recorded.
    You can sort the runs by date, and similarly display a map of the route by clicking on the route name. Now, by clicking on the GPS symbol for selected runs, you can see a Google Map of the track of that particular run, as recorded on my hand-held Garmin GPS - see below for how I achieved this.
  • The Stats page gives some useful (to me, anyway) statistics now I have over 650 runs recorded. You can choose pie charts showing the most and least run routes, frequency for a given route, number of runs per month and mileage per month. The charts were created with the Google Chart API - a neat idea I think.

Development of the Log

Here's a potted history of how the log evolved. I haven't kept records at each stage so most of this is from memory, but I'm sure it's not far off the truth.

  • August 2004 My first stab at the log using an Excel spreadsheet. I started off just logging each run in one table, cross-referencing the route name and description. It didn't take me long to decide that this would be better as a relational database.
  • September 2004 I transferred the data into an Access database, allowing a join between the Runs and Routes table. I displayed the results in list boxes on Access forms, which always look a bit half-baked to me. It soon became apparent that it would be good to be able to read the log from any computer, hence the idea of creating a web page version.
    • October-December 2004 At this stage I had no idea how to represent a database on a web page, and I soon found that my BT 'freespace' wouldn't allow me the necessary operations to do so. As the database was already in Access, I looked into hosting providers that would accept Access and the necessary server coding. Low Cost Names for £30 per year offered a (share of a) Windows server allowing storage of Access and programming in Active Server Pages (ASP). It didn't take long to have the basic Runs and Routes pages implemented.
  • December 2005 The log was providing sterling service. Now I wanted to be able so see a map of the route as well as just its description. At this stage, I introduced a Map page (together with all the maps, images from the Anquet 1/50000 maps application) accessible from clicking on the route name, from either the Routes or Runs page.
  • November 2007 I made the site look a bit more professional by introducing the menu banner (previously navigation was by simpler links at the top of each page). This banner and menu layout is based on that of the British Computer Society (BCS, of which I am a chartered member and CEng) because I think it looks good. I also registered the domain name.
    More significantly, I'd discovered how to display tracks from my recently-acquired hand-held Garmin GPS on Google Maps. This basically involves writing Java Script to display the map, track, and in my case height profile. Originally I created these pages using a small Java program to convert the data into the required Java Script array format. Then, I developed it so the track data is held as separate files, and the ASP script generates the Java Script on the fly.
  • December 2007 I came across the recently-introduced Google Chart API and introduced the Stats page. This allows you to view most and least run routes, frequency run of any given route, runs per month and mileage per month. Pretty neat I think.
  • January 2008 I'd had concerns that Low Cost Names no longer offer new Windows server accounts (i.e. with Access and ASP), so I considered moving to their Linux server offering which would mean converting everything to MySQL and PHP. Looking around, I found a reasonable looking alternative with Dataflame. Now the code is all converted to MySQL/PHP (really quite easy) and I'm currently seeing how things go.

Future Ideas

No self-respecting web page is ever complete or finished. I have a few ideas for further development.

  • Stats I have a few ideas for displaying more data - and I might put on mean and maybe sd on some of the charts.
  • Walking I also enjoy walking. I might put on a page to record walks. Typically, walks are different each time so there would be no cross-reference to predefined routes - but I'll probably include the Google Map GPS feature. I'm also interested in seeing if I can synchronise the map with photos taken during the walk and displayed in my Google Picasa photo album.

Disclaimer

Despite my seemingly fanatical approach to keeping this log, I would like to point out:

  • I am not a 'Running Bore' Running is part of my life, but is not the be-all and end-all. As you can see from the charts, my mileage varies widely and I never aim to achive a given mileage per week. Some months have low mileage because I am unwell (occasional colds and 'flu) or beciause of apathy (especially in hot weather).
  • I love events but they can be ruined by having to listen to people droning on and on about training and mileage etc. I promise never, ever to turn up to an event and bore everyone rigid with tales of my training and past events.
  • I don't care about speed My fastest half-marathon, back in the 80's, was under 1 hour 18 mins. Now I'm afraid you can add half an hour to that - I really don't care!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy my Running Log.
Cheers, Alistair.