Both. I'm just winging it, no plan. Just general principles and the seat of my pants.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I don't log my workouts, I just work out and my Garmin uploads them. I mainly measure time, average heart rate and that's it. I use a training plan for guidance on duration and intensity when building to full distances. I've pr'd every race thus far.
Happy Training...

Wow your critiquing Lionel Sanders training methods on another thread and then you post this the most basic of training fundamentals???

I was? News to me.

A log isn't basic training fundamentals, btw. It's a log. For some people it may help, but for me and my personality, I'm questioning the value.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

You're smart or experienced enough to know how fast you swim, whether you're pushing yourself or taking it easy, and roughly the distance you can hold pace at.

I presume that you can do most of those things on the bike and while running. So you're good.

I realised that when I stopped logging workouts it took the pressure off it and it was more fun. No negativity if I didn't negative split, no feeling of defeat if I was 15s/km slower that day.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

I don't keep a true log. Basically for two reasons (1) it's too hard to get one format that captures everything. (2) I never go back and read the logs anyway.

When I was heavy into triathlon I would keep track of basic distance rubrics, but only to make sure I was keeping with the plan. Miles for running, time on the bike, and time in the pool. Everything else got dropped. I do the same for swimming now -- just track the basics.

Me. I just increase either distance or intensity depending if I plan to go long or short. The first few years I was back into this sport I kept getting injured and never knew if I was going to race or not. So I just booked a race in a few weeks when things were going well. Last three years no injury but have stuck to the pattern. Besides if I feel like racing I race if not I don't. I like that.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

I can typically remember what I've done for the last 7 days. I'll have a basic schedule, nothing detailed. But for me, I don't need to know if i'm keeping with the plan, I only ever care about what I do today. What I mean is, if I'm behind for the week, then I may or may not do an additional workout to make up for it, depending o circumstance, but if I'm behind for the month, I'm not trying to make up that much lost ground.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Yeah, I don't "make up" lost work from the month either. I'm a little older than you, though, so my memory isn't that great. Sometimes it takes staring at the cold hard facts for me to realize I haven't been as disciplined as I thought. It also feels good to see that I have done the work when I've done it.

Granted, those reasons aren't super compelling, so the logging effort level has got to be real low for it all to be worth it. If I just record total time dedicated to each discipline (or something similar) then I'm OK with the trade off.

I think my training events auto-log to Garmin Connect and Strava but I don't look at them.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Annoyingly, the only year I didn't log my training was the year I PB'd over the Ironman distance. So now I can't go back and see what I should be doing again! That was before I had a GPS watch too, so maybe too much data doesn't help much either, but I do miss being able to see the jist of what I was doing back then in 2011, although iirc it was more biking and less running, certainly less long runs than this season.

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29 years and counting

I use a Garmin 920XT which grabs all 3, swim/bike/run and that uploads to Garmin Connect and Strava automatically. Both Garmin and Strava have a training calendar where I can look back if I want to.

My 920XT will even catch treadmill runs and trainer rides.

Log of no log if you do the work you'll be fine. Once you're into it for a few months you'll know deep inside whether or not you're doing "enough" work.

Well, I am getting a watch and HR strap for my birthday or christmas, not sure which yet, so I'll probably set it up to do auto uploads. I won't wear it in the pool though, and I doubt that I'll do anything like check a plan to see what my workout should be that day.

So far I've been using my phone, but the GPS accuracy is complete crap. Speed jumps around all over the place.

I'm using GC w/ virtual power on my trainer, but it isn't uploading to anything else. Just doing the workout, which I pretty much make up as I go along the ride.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I also use GC (Golden Cheetah) w/virtual power. You can set that up to upload to Strava. It's not auto but it takes just a couple clicks of the mouse. You can also use the 920XT to capture the ride, it just won't log the virtual power wattage but it WILL auto load to Garmin Connect and Strava.

I use a pace clock for swims [that's what "real" swimmers use ;) ] so really don't need the watch but it's handy to look at swim progress over time. Just have to hit that stupid button after each 100 ....

hitting a button in a swim? not gonna happen. I pretty much know what my swim progress is like anyway, thanks to swim meets.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I read all your posts-you appear to be a thinker, perceptive and smart. You don't have to record anything. You've been around therefore you know what workouts need to be done and you'll handle the progressions-just as you advise in your swimming commentaries. Tempos, long, intervals, hills-repeat-but you already know that!
Good luck and maybe we will see you in Nice

Got you fooled!

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

keep a text file with notes on workout and general health, mostly for tracking injury and its various remediations.

races with actual goals tend to get an outline training plan, with logging to a spreadsheet using various forms of TSS. That became necessary once I got old and could destroy myself training with the greatest of ease..

don't upload anything, I fight with horrible software user interfaces all day for a living, don't feel like fighting more horrible software user interfaces just to log my workouts..

You're probably better off not logging anything, than putting in something erroneously

That's a First Circle of Hell violation

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Vermont Life calendar beginning around 1980. Hey that's all there was...
Runner's World logbooks 1982 - 1999.
Foe Friel Triathlon Logbooks since then
Was nice and useful in a civil suit against a driver who hit me (walking no less) and helped to substantiate my speed and racing history. Made an impressive stack on the table while they deposed me.
Since about 2010 I have a garmin but it's not the same as looking back 20+ years to see where i ran and what the weather was like.

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don't just do something..... sit there

I don't log workouts on Strava or Garmin etc. Most serious athletes I know do, but I honestly am on the fence whether it's beneficial or unnecessary complication. I'm open to suggestions if there are some basic reasons that can help significantly, as to why I should.

Do you plan your weeks/sessions ahead of time or are you planning on just winging it?
I ask only because I think it’s pretty easy to set up a free Training Peaks account and get it to auto record if you get a decent watch (have you decided yet on which one?). Then you can go back and look at some pretty cool data.

Basically winging it.

Getting a forerunner 35, so I'll probably just set it to auto upload, but based on my past history I won't actually use any of that data. What I do in a workout is generally based on how I feel now, training over the last few days, and what I have coming up in terms of events and personal schedule.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

As I get older, I will say it is nice to have a record of a good training run/bike session (swim not so often) to help jog the memory and motivate to a degree.