Football and Running

[Deleted User]

At the moment i'm running twice a week for about 30-40 minutes each time, going to the gym once and playing football on Sundays.

What kind of training and runs should I be doing to maximise my fitness for running and football? I'm also looking to run in the Great North Run next year.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

sven27

Lots of speedwork!
Thats how I started, and my fitness level soared.
Speedwork was done at 400, 800, 1500 and 5k pace.

Aardvark

I'd suggest that andurance should come before speedwork, especially if you're wanting to train for a half marathon. Try gradually increasing the amount of running you do per week - go to 3 days, then 4, and so on. I wouldn't worry about speedwork until you're running at least 3 or 4 times per week.

Start increasing the distance of one run each week - an extra 5 mins per week might be a good way to go. For a half marathon you need to build this run up to at least 10 miles, and ideally to 14 or 15.

The main rule is to increase everything gradually - any sudden increases in mileage or speedwork are liable to cause injuries. Build up slowly and you'll be fine. You've got plenty of time before the GNR so make the most of it.

Good luck.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the advice i'll try steadily increasing my mileage and bringing in some speedwork.

Do you think a gym session or two a week is worth continuing? Maybe the treadmill would be worth using for the speed sessions.

Aardvark

Depends what kind of gym training you're doing. All training is specific, ie swimming makes you a better swimmer but not a better runner. I would avoid heavy weight training as you don't want to build too much muscle, but some lighter weights and/or cross-training might be useful to keep your abdominals and lower back strong (important for running). Also, as a general rule you're less likely to get injured if you keep your whole body fit.

Everything I've said there applies to running, but you might have different training needs for football. Can't really help you there as I don't play it myself.