Running Clique

[Jacko]

That time of year where I look at myself and think 'fat bastard' so I've got back on the treadmill. 2.32 miles in 20 minutes. Reasonably happy with that.

Can anyone recommend any good training plan website/apps that guide you through building up stamina, mainly so I can build fitness when playing football? I understand running on a treadmill at a steady pace isn't really going to help with the varying pace of playing football. I know I need to sprint for x time, slow jog for x time and alternate between the two, but I've no idea what times or distances I should be doing.

I'd also love to get to a point where I can attempt to run a 10k race.

I really struggle with the boredom when running, too. I've tried music, podcasts, watching shows on my tablet, I really don't enjoy the activity of running, but I do like the buzz you get when you've finished the run (endorphins?).

Finally, does anyone have experience with suffering with anxiety and exercising? There are days when I feel like my anxiety is flaring up and I really don't want to leave the house, let alone go for a run, swim or play football. At its peak I overly worry about my heart rate, so any activity that increases my heart rate generally fills me with fear. I appreciate that a ridiculous sentence, but that's how my anxiety works . It sucks. But you learn to manage and deal with it. A vicious cycle given that exercise is proven to be beneficial for mental health.

(I didn't post the above for sympathy or attention, btw - not that I think anyone thinks that! I'm intrigued to know how people manage exercise and mental health.)

Collymore (the Villa prick) puts some excellent treadmill programmes up on his X (Twitter) account. Easy to adapt to any skill level.