I lift and run and have been unable to find a balance. I've cut my lifting back from 5 days to 3. I've just added another day of running so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. I've run in the morning and lifted in the afternoon. That's ok if the next day is a day of rest. But I don't seem to have any exercise free days anymore. I've cut back on a lot of my leg work. If I do very much leg work, my legs fatigue early in my run.
I need to talk to a trainer to see how much I can eliminate from my lifting and yet still keep my current muscle mass. I really don't want to lose my upper body definition.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I do understand your situation.
Karen

What are your goals really? Lifting to get big and running is like trying to diet while being a competetive eater. By that I mean they go in complete opposite directions. One can completely counteract the other if you don't do it correct.

You can follow a basic weight training plan 3 days per week and maintain decent cardiovascular fitness by running for 1 hour 3 days per week and you will be all around in good health.

However if you are looking to tap into your running potentail it gets a bit complicated. I contest that I do believe strength training does in fact help running. The trick is "how" to go about doing it. I wish I could tell you how but the truth is, it is such an indiviual thing. Some runners swear by hills while others are spending a few days in a gym setting doing powerlifting type regime's. The truth is their is no correct way.

In general for weight training to help you run it should be specific to running. Search the term "functional training".However some basic exercises can be helpful to maintain muscle balance if you are vonurable to an imbalance.How much of it you can do and what workload depends on your strengs and weakneses. Some people lack basic strength yet have great muscular endurance while others are strong naturally but can not for the life of them sustain a muscular contraction to save their life.

Don't think you need that MUCH weight work though for it to help your running. I do better in fact using a 2 day per week complex split and core work 3 x per week. A little strenght work goes a long way if your doing it right. I see more runners than I care to admit wasting hours and hours doing nonsense because they are simply misinformed. Think even elite full time runners are only in the gym 3 days per week.

The best book I have ever read on this is-
http://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Running-Science-Kinesiology-Performance/dp/0809298996/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0612705-4359045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189201260&sr=8-1[/URL" target="_blank">

Still don't expect a spoon fed program. Weight training is even less "cookie cutter" than running. By that I mean you need to learn the different methods of building strength,stamina, and power and you need to find out what works for you. This book provides all that imformation but, yes, you must read it.

As a women runner I use weight training to just stay toned up. I do 4 days of weight training (split) leaving legs 1 day on there own. I run 4-6 days per week. Since increasing my mileage for marathon training I usually do legs on an off day or in between two low mileage days!