i run between 25-30 mi/week, consider myself pretty fit in the grand scheme. i’ve also started playing soccer a couple of times a week, and i’m noticing that i’m getting winded within 10 mins of play. i thought that my weekly mileage would make two 20 min halfs pretty manageable. any recommendations on what to add to my weekly workouts to get in better game shape?
play more soccer…
wish i had that kinda time. unfortunately i need to consolidate all these activities some sort of way…
As my coach from high school said, running and soccer are NOT the same idea. It’s like comparing road racing to time trial. Running is more like time trial: you have a distance, a time, and you want to get to the end with nothing left. Soccer is like road racing - lots of fast sections, but lots of down time, too.
The different styles strain different systems. Someone who kicks butt at soccer won’t necessarily be the best runner (but often they do make killer runners - we had a british footballer join out XC team, and his first race, he ran a 17:01 at altitute).
Actually, join some pickup games of soccer. Replace a run with a game. It’s hard, but it gets your fitness there. It’s like one big 90-minute fartlek session.
Actually, there is one way I can see how this helps your training…Given what I read here, it seems that many triathletes don’t even enjoy running.
Soccer on the other end can be seen more as fun. You end up running after the ball, like when you’re a kid, and you run because it’s fun…from a mental standpoint, there might be some value to it…
The fact that I’m currently reading ‘Born to run’ has a lot to do with what I just wrote by the way 
I think it is similar to the pain many triathletes feel if they try to enter a criterium bike race. The constant accelerations of soccer/crit racing are a shock to the system when someone is used to the steady-state work of triathlon running/cycling.
With running 25-30 miles you are probably using mostly your aerobic system LSD some tempo. You are using two different systems anaerobic and aerobic while doing soccer. You need burst of speed which contribute huge amounts of lactic acid to the systems. Running 25-30 miles will help with overall fitness but to play two halves of soccer is a different story.
As others have stated more soccer will help. Otherwise get on the track and work on some speed bursts. More mileage will help also, but there is no substitute for the game.
Gordon
If all you’re doing is steady state type workouts to train for a tri or any sport for that matter, you’re doing yourself a disservice. High intensity intermittent training can improve both aerobic and anaerobic energy while increasing your max VO2. Towards the end of a normal workout try adding in some intense interval work. Seven to eight sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. That 20 seconds on should have you way above your max VO2 level. You’re not worrying about form, just effort. This type of workout is easy to do while swimming and biking. I do it during spin classes when instructors insist on doing jumps. While running I try to do about 3/4 of my run and end up at a nice rubber track so it’s easier on the knees.
If you want more info just google “tabata” and you’ll have plenty of info to read. In general though you should be doing interval work of some sort with the on part taking you out of your comfort zone.
What you describe reminds me of my first cyclocross race. I though I was good to go since I bike and run. Wrong. Triathlon is all steady state, cross is rip your lungs out agony. If I remember what soccer was like as a kid I would say it’s closer to cross than running.
Your running still has you fitter that you would otherwise be. You’re only winded because you’re trying hard as would probably be the case no matter what.