Treadmill running actually good?

If you do it in front of a mirror it's an excellent way to improve your form. I started doing it twice a month about two years ago and have had significant improvement in my marathon time since then thanks to the better form I've been able to develop.

LOngrunner wrote:

gebreselassie runs on the treadmill 5 times a week... and he holds the wr for the marathon. So is treadmill running actually an efficient way to train?

I see no reason a treadmill should not be a tool for training. Far better to run on a treadmill than go out on icy roads and getting an injury for instance. Or going out when it is >100 degrees F outside and getting heat illness.

It can also be useful for heat acclimation.

However, if you are going to race outside, then I think you need get used to running outside.

geo wrote:

If you do it in front of a mirror it's an excellent way to improve your form. I started doing it twice a month about two years ago and have had significant improvement in my marathon time since then thanks to the better form I've been able to develop.

I agree doing it in front of a mirror is great, but what about running on a treadmill?

why not? chritine clark of Anchorage, AK, won the women's US OG marathon trial in 2000 on treadmill training. and she was acclimatized to the warm conditons that year in SC by running indoors.

Personally, I think solely running on treadmills gives me weak ankles and I am more prone to ankle injuries once I transition to outdoor running.

I've had to run on the TM a lot this winter because of weather/my schedule and I am WAY slower on the TM. Just cant do intervals on it and I hope all this slow running is not going to translate to a slow Boston time.

My guess is that he is using the treadmill to help lengthen his stride.

Setting the treadmill to one or two degrees of incline so simlulate running outside is just stupid, why lose the advantage of being able to practice a longer stride?

It's all about techniqe, you can never be too skilled at distance running. Haile is smart enough to understand this and that's why he believes he can still run faster even after all these years, when he should be getting slower.

Just think what US coaches could achieve with young runners if they understood this simple principle?

I started doing doubles with shorter run on the treadmill. I hate doing it but have found that it is pretty easy on my legs. And I find that I run faster on the treadmill, but that is just doing easy pace. So, the treadmill may be of some limited use in a running program to help with higher mileage.

running on an incline, artificial or natural, builds pushoff strength, and thus, increases stride length.

djäveln wrote:

running on an incline, artificial or natural, builds pushoff strength, and thus, increases stride length.

Running on an incline is helpful in maitaining power output but it won't help you keep a long stride for long distances.

Downhill running is much much more effective in helping you to maintain a long stride for long distances as well as giving you fatigue resistance that you can't get from resistance work.

Look, you gotta improve your skill (stride length)for long distances if you want to make big improvements, and in that respect, uphill running just doesn't cut it, neither does so called VO2 max or Lactate threshold or whatever pseudo-intellectualy termed training type that you may read about or discuss. Skill is the number one concern, and it is this approach that Haile is applying, that is why he believes he can still improve at the age of 36.

This book is really good:

http://www.amazon.com/Treadmill-Training-Runners-Rick-Morris/dp/1931088039/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238778529&sr=8-1

Also, I have PF and recently started to use the treadmill to stretch the gastroc, soleus and achilles. I put the incline to 15 degrees and walk at a pace of about 2.5-3 MPH. I picked that tip up from the book Injury Afoot by Patrick Hafner.

uh, i believe most runners do hill work charging UP, then jogging down. downhill running is good practice for boston, or other such courses.

wellnow wrote:

Downhill running is much much more effective in helping you to maintain a long stride for long distances as well as giving you fatigue resistance that you can't get from resistance work.

Uphill running is better for stride length.

Running is a series of short jumps, not a series of stretches.

Running downhill may help other things but not stride length.

LOngrunner wrote:

gebreselassie runs on the treadmill 5 times a week... and he holds the wr for the marathon. So is treadmill running actually an efficient way to train?

just curious as to where you heard or got this from...

Things I love about treadmill training:

1. You can monitor exactly your distance and pace for entire runs and for any interval within a run.

2. Stride rate and length are kept at a constant. There are no hills, roots, or even turns that would make you break up your cadence.

3. Softer surfaces so less chance of injury (even though as previously stated you have to be careful when transitioning from treadmill to roads).

4. As for stride length, I have found that more often than not I am shortening my stride when I am on a treadmill. This is mostly because I am afraid to land to far up on the treadmill and slip on the track. However, this usually results in a faster turnover (180+ rpm). When I get on solid ground and run with my normal long stride and keep the treadmill turnover, it's very nice.

Basically I would recommend treadmill running in the winter months and runs on the track in warmer months, primarily for the reason stated in #1. Maybe not as your primary mileage, but I certainly don't think that having it account for 40% of weekly mileage is unreasonable.

I have worked out in Haile's gym in Addis and have seen him run there several times. He only does a light run of a few kilometers before doing some abdominal and light weight work. He does the serious stuff at the track and in the hills. BTW, he is a very nice person and very approachable.

[/quote]

Uphill running is better for stride length.

Running is a series of short jumps, not a series of stretches.

Running downhill may help other things but not stride length.[/quote]

Body control plays a large role in running fast. Sure running up hills helps build a powerful stride, but it doesn't teach you to open up and use that powerful stride like downhill running does. IMO, you need both. Uphill running to develop the legs and downhill running to teach your body to relax while running fast.

one thing to note and be careful of is people still often get hurt on treadmills especially if you're doing some aspect of interval work.

when you out on a track or on the roads and when you get tired your pace will slow; however, on a treadmill because the pace is kept constant people often overdue it because they don't slow down. most people get hurt on a treadmill in like the last 10min of their run for the same reason...

808 wrote:

Uphill running is better for stride length.

Running is a series of short jumps, not a series of stretches.

Running downhill may help other things but not stride length.[/quote]

Body control plays a large role in running fast. Sure running up hills helps build a powerful stride, but it doesn't teach you to open up and use that powerful stride like downhill running does. IMO, you need both. Uphill running to develop the legs and downhill running to teach your body to relax while running fast.[/quote]

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Exactly, well said.