Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Help!!!
![[Deleted User]](https://w9.vanillicon.com/9beb630dde8845b081487a56451c2dc9_100.png)
Hey,
My name's Pippa and I just got into netball PDP (Player Development Programme) which is two gruesome weekends of fitness and my running fitness lets me down. I swim 8 times a week and play netball 4/5 times a week but I always struggle when it comes to just running (but i can do circuits etc). If anyones got any tips on how to improve this but still be able to fit it in my timetable as I have exams, music etc (I'm only 13!)
Thanks very much,
Pippa 
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
Pippa, congratulations on being picked, that's a great achievement.
When are your weekends? What position do you play - are you centre court?
I'm an ex-England and county netball player (from a very long time ago!) and as part of our England training, we had to do running - both distance and sprints.
As Intermanaut says, I'd drop the swimming, possibly one of the netball sessions (depending on what you're doing in the sessions) and concentrate on building up your running.
I'd suggest that you some "distance" running, looking at building up the amount of time that you run. I'd suggest that you start with about 10 -15 mins gentle running, your aim to run at a constant pace throughout the time, so make sure you go fairly slowly. If you're looking to build up your ability to run, then I'd suggest that you drop the swimming altogether so that you can concentrate on the running. See how you get on and if OK, you should aim to do 2 sessions a week, leave a few days in between to allow your body to recover. Once you've been doing that for a week or so and feel comfortable, you could start to include a bit of faster running - pick something a few yards ahead of you and run (fast) to that, then slow right down, jog for a bit, then repeat. Depending on how much time you have before the weekends, you could try to increase the length of your runs to around 30 mins.
How long are your matches - in my day, at your age, they were only allowed to be 2 x 20 mins.
Good luck with the selection, it's tough, but you need to keep going. Make sure that you pace yourself, don't go too fast to start with, make sure you keep your distance - don't give away any free passes and make sure that you stand out!