16:30 5k on the treadmill to sub 16 on the track

Treadmill is 5 to 10% easier so, you ran like 17:15 or 18:00 depending on which number you choose. Train with a group and you will get there is they are all faster then you are. race a few times between now and May to give yourself a chance to get in rhythm and feel the pace for at least two miles. It would be easier if you have also run sub 16 as well. good luck

That effort is probably closer to 18 flat outside if you use Jack Daniels treadmill conversion chart. I think you should start with a goal of sub 17, probably more realistic for someone with your personal best.

OP - wouldn’t buy :30sec a mile slower effort for treadmill conversion...:

My guess would be about 17:15 though. The closer you get to 5min pace on a treadmill the easier it is compared to the same pace outside.

Keep putting in the work and set some goals for progress. Be consistent and don’t get injured

Also, trying to break 16 before you get a “real job” seems like a cop out. Running 40mpw with a real job isn’t too difficult. Also assuming you aren’t married and have kids

I do a lot of workouts on the treadmill around 5 flat pace. Workouts outside are much easier. I would say you are already close to sub 16 shape.

Ahhh, it's not really a cop out. I actually had a bet with a friend right after I broke my ankle that I'd be able to come back and run sub 16 before graduation. I would like to do it by then, but if not, I'll still keep trying to break it. My friend's been sh*t talking me since we made it in October and I just wanted to see what Let's run opinion was.

Treadmills are so much easier then outside. This whole post is a joke. You don’t train and these times aren’t even worth posting about. Set small goals and train to get those small goals.

The real cop out is doing training on a treadmill and trying to convert that to outdoor times. Why not just run outdoors instead of workoing out on treadmills and speculating? Also, it sounds like you need more internal motivation instead of external motivation.

Why is this a thread wrote:

Treadmills are so much easier then outside. This whole post is a joke. You don’t train and these times aren’t even worth posting about. Set small goals and train to get those small goals.

Go do a 6 mile tempo at 5:20 pace and compare to doing it outside and comeback and let us know how much easier the treadmill is. You know who else does most of their workouts on the treadmill, Brogan Austin. Seems to work fine for him.

First, a lot of scientific reasearch has been done to prove it is much easier to run on a treadmill. To create an equal environment a 1% incline minimum must be used but most scientists state 1.5-2% is closer to equivalent. Second, I have no doubt elite runners use treadmills but they use them in a specific training plan for a specific purpose. The original poster is not elite, is not using an incline, and is asking a simple question. No, you are not close to 16 flat currently, you effort is close to 17:45. That’s not to say you can’t do it, but why not man up and face your fears and tempo outside to get an honest answer?

Lol I'm too much of a wimp to try and crank out a 5k in 3 inches of snow, ice, and 15 degree weather. I'll definitely try it when the snow/ice goes away though!

Also, I know I'm not close to 16 flat, and I personally think that the effort was around 17:15 like some of the other commenters said. I created this thread to see if people thought it was a semi decent start to getting to sub 16 by mid may. As I said earlier, I know I need to increase mileage and start doing workouts, I was just wondering if it was possible, or a lost cause.

Your time line is pretty short but doing 40 miles per week, you have a shot by the end of May.

The treadmill can be a great tool to figure out if you are ready. Can you do a workout like

3 x 1 mile@11.7mph with 60 sec rest between reps?

Why is this a thread wrote:

First, a lot of scientific reasearch has been done to prove it is much easier to run on a treadmill. To create an equal environment a 1% incline minimum must be used but most scientists state 1.5-2% is closer to equivalent. ?

At 5 minute pace the lack of wind resistence is worth 10 seconds. The cost of 1% elevation is 12 seconds. The cost of heat dissipation is unknown as the temperature and humidity can vary widely.

All that being said, you have no idea how the treadmill is calibrated so there is no possible way to know if a certain treadmill is easier or harder than running outside.

Running economy is significantly lower on a treadmill:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4447762/

Interesting paper, some thoughts:

* The test subjects were "high-level" distance runners. Are these results directly applicable to weekend warriors?

* I'd guess the athletes have done a lot more workouts on a track than on a treadmill, at race pace. This would mean that they should be more economical on the track; they have developed their track running biomechanics more than their treadmill running biomechanics.

* The running economy figures look suspect! They are undoubtedly better athletes than me yet have quite bad RE (my RE is 201 at 16kph, on a treadmill)! But to be fair they did note that MetaMax 3B they were using tends to overestimate VO2 max by up to 10%.

* I wonder why they held the speed and increased the incline on the treadmill VO2 max test beyond 17kph? This is probably why their VO2 max was higher on the treadmill.

* There's error in the VO2 max test readings. It appears that only one track and one treadmill test was carried out, for each of the 13 test subjects. This measurement error is likely to be significant compared to the findings.

But then the above critique could be me trying to reason why I find running on the treadmill easier than running on a track!

As long as we're talking a well maintained and calibrated at least 4HP commercial quality mill at 1% grade, I've found my races to be in line with what I can do on the mill. I do almost all my workouts on mills and trained for Boston with at least 75% of my miles on a mill. Everything lined up. (high 16s runner if it matters).

The first flaw of the test was using 1% incline. The second was increasing incline at greater effort instead of speed.

While 1% incline might be fairly close to track at 5 minute pace or faster, 1% incline makes running on treadmill harder at slower paces than track. It is not linear.

My experience has also been that heartrate goes up much faster when increasing incline than increasing speed at what should be an equal effort.

It will also obviously be harder for runners to be economical on inclines when they are used to running on flat surfaces.

In other words, the only thing this study proved is that it is impossible to compare treadmill running at a certain pace with outside running.

You are not in 17:15 shape. Let’s run opinion is your wasting your time.