DEAR DIARY, IT FEELS LIKE A NEW CHAPTER IN MY RUNNING

If a tree falls in a forest and there's nobody there, does it make a sound? Yes, obviously. If a run isn't recorded, did it actually happen? Again, yes. Is it more fun to keep a training diary? I've recently concluded it is.

- PAUL TONKINSON

For years, I've been running off grid. I made a token effort to join Strava, but it was way more involved than I wanted. I get it, though. It's a community, a motivational group dynamic that can be positive. Maybe it's because I work in an industry - comedy - that's inherently performative that I saw running as an escape, someting just for me. No one knows I'm out there - floating, dreaming, sweating in the woods.

As a teenage athlete, I kept detailed training logs. Every month, a page; every day, a single line. The majority of days were full. After every week, a total mileage (60 to 80km) and every month, a tally (usually 200-plus). Page upon page of effort, varying sessions and races. Cross-country in the winter, track in summer, peppered with 8Ks, 10Ks and half marathons on the road. I'd look at it and learn, take pride in it. This is how fitness happens, over time - the accumulation of days and weeks and months.

When I was aiming for a quick marathon in middle age, I started recording again. It was fun. A moment of quiet satisfaction, sitting down to note my activity, watching the mileage tot up. A big red star when the goal was achieved.