Anyone else feel like running on the treadmill is harder than outside?

Absolutely!! I hate it. If I have to work out indoors, which is very rare, I work out on a stairmaster with a fan pointed at me.

If you're not used to it, I think it definitely feels harder. I used to feel that easy runs felt harder on the treadmill than outside, probably due to the need to concentrate more on a treadmill.

But once you're used to it, doing medium to harder stuff always felt easier on the treadmill than outside to me. Other than a VO2 max test I did once, the fastest treadmill I ever ran only went down to 4:48 pace, so I'd imagine 4:27 pace would be pretty rough on a treadmill.

As far as air circulation, it helps to have a fan.

It should be easier because of the wind resistance factor. On the treadmill you're more or less like a car on a dyno--zero wind resistance.

Maybe the treadmill calibration is off.

I wonder if there is a mental adaptation thing too. It seems to me like I experienced that. Maybe when the brain is just not used to treadmill running, it has to expend some energy just saying WTF to itself, which makes initial treadmill runs inherently tougher.

Stationary air is a major factor. The relative humidity around someone running on a treadmill is going to be much higher than outside (unless you live in a very humid climate), and sweating is not nearly as effective as outdoors. Besides that, I can't cite any studies at the moment, but I would guess O2 would be lower when running on a treadmill if there's no air movement since you continually breath out CO2. It might not seem like much, but the difference between 5000ft and sea level isn't much either yet it still has a significant effect on performance. There probably is a mental factor as well.

I hate running on the treadmill.

Since I'm allergic to about every plant/tree etc., I find running on a treadmill easier than running outside because I'm able to breathe without having an asthma attack.

Get a fan. Problem solved. Treadmill running is pretty alright, although I do admit you need to do it regularly for your body to feel relaxed.

Mr Mountain wrote:

towhee wrote:

It should be easier because of the wind resistance factor.

It is for a brief amount of time. The problem is that it is much much much much harder to dissipate heat than it is to overcome a little wind resistence that can actually help cool you down. If you add in high humidity, it can make for a very difficult workout. If it is 80° and 70% humidity, would you rather run into a 10 mph wind or run with that wind?

I have been on the eliptical since breaking a toe and today was brutal. I dropped 6.5 lbs in an hour last week on a hard workout.

The treadmill at Harvard Psych Hospital only goes up to 7.5mph (for safety reasons) so good job

just some bloke wrote:

Just did the first treadmill run of the season. Felt like shit. It felt like it was about 75 degrees in there, and there is no air circulation. I lost 4.5 pounds of water during a 9 mile run (158.5 to 154.0). Did a short tempo at 10.2mph (roughly 5:53 pace), and it actually felt hard even though I've done several tempo runs outside of equal distance at 5:40 pace. Briefly took it up to 13.5mph (~4:27 pace), and that felt damn near like an all out sprint even though I've run 3k at about the same pace. All in all it was kind of demoralizing...

Anyone else feel like running on the treadmill is harder?

During winters here in Ohio when it's been really snowy, I've done a lot of running on the treadmill. Do a couple months straight of that and then go for a run outside and the day after you will feel it in your quads...I do anyway. Treadmill running is a good alternative to running outside, but it's not as good. If you increase the incline that helps of course, but I'm not really a fan of that.

yes, you have to realize that a treadmill forces you to run an exact rhythm. When you race at 3K race pace, you dont have a rubber belt traveling under your feet threatening to drag you off the treadmill and into a wall the way you do on a treadmill. The effort and rhythm are uneven when racing shorter disances FAST (10K pace or faster). For this reason, treadmills are only good for tempos

I don't by the higher relative humidity, especially if you have a fan. If you have the heat on above say 65 and it is cold outside, it will be pretty low relative humidity inside.

I agree that the constant pacing is the major factor that makes treadmill running harder. I also get vertigo.

I hate treadmills. They are not really running. If I want an indoor workout, I use an elliptical. It is not running either, but it feels more natural and I can keep at it for much longer.

Oh, did I mention that I hate treadmills?

"They are not really running"

There are some very good marathoners who do most of their running on treadmills.

I hate treadmills! I got on one when I was in ninth grade and was staying in a hotel in a northern city and couldn't run because of cold weather. I set it up to six-minute pace. The thing sounded like it was a jet about to take off and started rattling and bouncing. I was terrified! I got off immediately and took the day off. I have never run on a treadmill again. Fortunately I live in an area of the country that has pleasant weather and can avoid them.

Read this article and then tell me running on a treadmill is not really running.

Westover, On a typical school day, Westover is awake by 4:45 a.m. and setting her treadmill to 9 miles per hour (a 6:40 per-mile clip); she does 15 to 20 miles at that pace before work. 2:35:02

Wendi Ray, a 2:38 marathoner, almost exclusively to the treadmill in her house

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21038

Agree completely. I find the treadmill way harder than outside for a given pace.

Then people try to tell me I need to put the incline up to 1 or 2% or whatever just to make it equal outdoors. It's already harder when it's flat!

Why isn't the "go to" explanation that the damn things aren't calibrated well (and they degrade over time with use).

Treadmills are calibrated poorly regardless of how nice or expensive they are. I have a ton of experience on treadmills. I once ran a 31:00 10k on a LifeFitness commercial mill (hard as hell, but now way accurate). My True treadmill is slower than it says. My wife has a Spirit treadmill that says her easy runs are a 12:00 pace and her tempos at 8:30. Mill are neither externally accurate nor internally consistent. If you wear a HRM on treadmills you can verify your subjective impressions.

I have a buddy who has a Landice and 5:30 pace absolutely rolling on it. A StarTrac at a local gym I can run 40 minutes at 5:10 pace on it. They just aren't accurate.

I can count stride rate between mills of a different brand in a given gym and see they aren't consistent. Even different mills in the same brand.

The reason the "go to" explanation doesn't apply for me is I've never encountered a treadmill that felt easier than the outdoors at the same pace. If it's just a miscalibration you'd figure some treadmills would be faster and some would be slower.

But no, I've never run on one and thought to myself, "Wow, I'm crusing, I must be in awesome shape!" It's always, "holy crap, why is this so hard when I'm running so slow".

linguist wrote:

The reason the "go to" explanation doesn't apply for me is I've never encountered a treadmill that felt easier than the outdoors at the same pace. If it's just a miscalibration you'd figure some treadmills would be faster and some would be slower.

But no, I've never run on one and thought to myself, "Wow, I'm crusing, I must be in awesome shape!" It's always, "holy crap, why is this so hard when I'm running so slow".

Same with me - the 'mill ALWAYS feels harder than outside running.

I think it is harder to do easy runs than it is outside, but easier to do tempos. When I run easy, I like to relax and go by feel. Usually I'll pick it up during the run once I warm up. When I try to run an easy run on the treadmill, I have a hard time finding the right pace. First it feels too easy and I get bored, so I speed it up. Before I know it I'm probably going faster than I should and it starts feeling hard. However, if I am running a tempo run, I know what pace I need to hit and it's easier than running outside because I am forced to run at that pace. That said, I'll be treadmilling an easy run tonight to avoid a snow storm. I hate treadmills, but sometimes they are a necessary evil.