Balancing Soccer, Lifting and Running

[DRSoccer5]

I'm going to use this journal to track my lifting, soccer playing and running. These three areas typically compliment each other fairly well, especially since I've only been playing soccer twice a week at the moment. I have been focusing mostly on lifting and just accumulating miles running without much focus. I have been seeing gains in running and lifting lately, so for now, nothing seems to be interfering.

I have been suffering from lack of energy and it does take a lot to get going some days. It could be attributed to law school and frequent commutes from New York to Delaware (where my fiance lives). This will be figured out soon enough though as graduation and moving are only a week away.

Generally, all of my goals are focused on strength and speed. I find that I'm almost always one of the fastest on the field, but stamina has been lacking so my longer runs are an attempt of improving overall conditioning. I hope to get some plyometric training in starting in a few weeks.

Lifting

Back in February, I maxed out benching 2X3 @ 205lbs but then proceeded to decline to the point where I was struggling to lift 170. For the past few months I have been using dumbbells to bench and have increased from using 65s to 85s. I'd like to be able consistently bench 225+. I'd also like to be able to bench 200 with the dumbbells.

For the past few months I have only been able to lift 3 days a week but beginning in two weeks, I should be able to increase to 4-5 days a week. Since speed is one of my goals, I will be focussing on legs more than I had been, but the general goal is overall strength and fitness, so I will be breaking up the days to achieve full body workouts.

Running

Goals here are to increase stamina and speed. Moving to Delaware will provide access to great trails with some very steep hills. My weekend running in DE has already increased my endurance. The hills intensify runs without much planning.

My fiance and I do run road races frequently. My distance varies from 5k up to the half marathon. I would like to run the Philly Marathon in November. I don't plan to follow a specific training plan but I will need to focus on pacing myself and preparing mentally for the distance.

Soccer

I currently play in a Sunday league but will be looking to join a much bigger league in the fall. That league plays full 90 minute games (as opposed to the 50 minute games I have been playing in) so a lot of endurance will need to be built over the summer.

[DRSoccer5]

April 28, 2012

Ran the Connie Dietrich 5k in Hockessin, DE. Placed third in my age group with a time of 22:37. Personal Record for the 5k by nearly 45 seconds, a time I set freshmen year of college 8 years ago!

Mile 1: 6:59
Mile 2: 7:01
Mile 3: 7:24

April 29, 2012

First game of the season with a new team of free agents. I've actually played with most of these guys before, but there was no continuity to our play. I was forced to play sweeper rather than my usual right back position as no one else played defense. Although the result was awful, I was fairly happy with my play. I was physical, had a good touch on the ball and shut down plenty of crosses and passes. We couldn't get anything going offensively, which was frustrating as I put several balls into the box over the top that only required a touch or two to beat their goalie.

May 2, 2012

Ran 3.17 miles in 24:55.
Mile 1: 7:04
Mile 2: 7:43
Mile 3: 8:30

Lifted:
DB Bench Press
1x10 @ 80
3x6 @ 170

DB Incline Bench Press
3x8 @ 100

Flys
3x10 @ 60

Triceps Rope Extensions
4x8 @7 (not sure of weight, its a stack)

[DRSoccer5]

May 4, 2012

Played pick-up soccer for two hours. Well organized games that I've been playing for in Queens. My touch was horrible in the first game. Played hard but couldn't get much going. Second game was much better. Connected passes well and moved the ball around nicely. Regardless, two hours on the field is better than nothing.

May 6, 2012

Ran 2.8 Miles in 23:07
Mile 1: 7:41
Mile 2: 8:30

Not sure if it was from soccer Friday or my shoes, but a lot of tightness in my left shin, knee and hip. Older pair of shoes may finally be done.

Lifted:
DB Bench Press
1x8 @ 110
1x5 @ 180 (PR)
1x4 @ 180
1x3 @ 180

DB Incline Bench Press
2x6 @ 140

Dips
12
15
9

Short workout but had to get back to the library to study for finals. Hoping to get a few days in this week, but with four exams in fours days, it will be tough. Looking forward to really getting back on track next week. Still happy to have hit a new PR with my sparatic lifting the last few weeks because of finals.

[santic121]

Looks like you have very similar goals to me so will definitely be checking your progress from time to time. Good to see another defender as well.

Best of luck with your endeavours.

[DRSoccer5]

Thanks santic! I've been following your's as well. Keep up the good work!

[DRSoccer5]

May 8, 2012

Running:

1 Mile @ 8:30 (indoor track)

Lifting:

Cable Row
3x8 @ 150

Lat Pulldown
3x8 @ 120

Barbell Curl
1x8 @ 50
3x5 @ 70

Just a quick, late night gym session. Ran inside since it was late and raining. Finals end tomorrow and I'll be able to get back on track! Game Sunday night; planning a good workout for Friday.

[DRSoccer5]

So it's been quite some time since I've posted. Finishing finals, graduation and moving has kept me very busy! Now that things are settling down, I'll be getting back into a routine. I've also been trying out for a soccer team that plays a charity event against the coaching and front office staff of the Philadelphia Union. It has been going well and I'll comment on that more below.

May 13, 2012

Soccer:

Back to my Sunday league, this game was awful. We had a lot of people missing and had to have some fill in. First half was fine; we were down 2-1 at half. I played okay, but it was the first hot day in a while and I was feeling it. Had a couple decent shots on goal and missed one from distance wide right by only a few inches. The second half was a disaster. I was the only who played defense and was left alone in the back most of the time. We were incredibly vulnerable to the counter attack and wound up losing 6-3. Awful game all around.

May 16, 2012

Running:

Ran 3.12 in 26:14
Mile 1: 7:46
Mile 2: 8:32
Mile 3: 8:57

Lifting:

Seated Leg Curl
1x10 @ 70
1x6 @ 110

Leg Extensions
2x6 @ 150

Seated Calf Raise
1x10 @ 90
2x9 @ 135

Dumbbell Lunges
3x8 @ 50

Dumbbell Rear Lunges
2x8 @ 50

Leg Press
1x10 @ 180
2x8 @ 450

Calf Press on Leg Press Machine
1x10 @ 180
2x9 @ 450

May 17, 2012

Running:

Ran 3 Miles in 25:01
Mile 1: 7:39
Mile 2: 8:29
Mile 3: 8:47

Lifting:

Dumbbell Bench Press:

1x10 @ 140
2x5 @ 160
1x6 @ 140

Pullups:
1x10
1x6

Dips:
1x8
1x6
1x5

May 19, 2012

Running:

Ran 4.5 miles in 41:50
Mile 1:8:17
Mile 2: 8:58
Mile 3: 9:56
Mile 4: 9:53
*This was a very hilly run with gain/loss of 610'/607'

May 21, 2012

Soccer:

This was the first night of tryouts for the River Cup team. We were broken into teams of 10 and rotated so that we played each of the other teams 3 times in 15 minute games. I played right back and was happy with my performance. Despite playing on turf and in the rain, my touch on the ball was good, passes were crisp and recorded 2 assists. Since I wasn't pleased with how I played the week before, I forced myself to focus on the basics which I think helped me play better than some given the weather conditions. Most of the shots and goals against us came from the left side as I consistently had the right side covered. I couldn't have been happier with how the night went.

May 22, 2012

Running:

Ran 2.11 miles in 17:38
Mile 1: 8:09
Mile 2: 8:28

May 23, 2012

Soccer:

This was the second night of the River Cup tryout. The heat and humidity were awful and I don't think I played quite as well as the first night. However, I netted two goals and had an assist while playing right back. The first goal was the most beautiful goal I have ever scored. I had actually switched and was playing left back when I cut off a pass and with only two touches, curled the ball into the upper 90 from 20+ yards out. The second goal came off a ball sent through by the right midfielder as I made an overlapping run up the sideline. One-on-one with the keeper, I chipped the ball to his right and put it in off the post. Finally, the assist came off a corner that I took which one of our forwards buried near-post.

We then switched to a full-field game and combined the four teams into two. I came on to play midfield, but it was an awful mess and I felt out of place. There was little communication and a lot of disorganization. In one of the better plays, I put a teasing ball into the box over the heads of the defenders and our forward just missed redirecting the ball past the goalkeeper. In the second half I came in and played center back. I was pleased with my play in that position. I shut down their through-ball several times, cleared two shots off the goal line and effectively directed the outside backs. I received a lot of praise for my efforts. The keeper also thanked me for saving him twice.

The final tryout is next Friday. I'm hoping to log some miles running before then.

May 24, 2012

Running:

Ran 3 miles in 26:01
Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 9:00
Mile 3: 8:54

Lifting:

Dumbbell Bench Press
1x8 @ 130
2x8 @ 160
1x5 @ 160

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
1x3 @ 130
1x4 @ 140

Machine Fly
1x8 @ 115
1x8 @ 130
1x6 @ 130

Triceps Pushdown

1x10 @ 40
1x8 @ 50
1x5 @ 50

May 25, 2012

Running:

Ran 2.07 miles in 18:55
Mile 1: 9:29
Mile 2: 8:46