The last time I used a treadmill I was injured and I only ran one mile. I remember that to run one 6 minute mile I had to run faster than that for a part because it takes it time to speed up. Also, I don't think most treadmills can even go at 4minute pace.
It is much easier to run a 4 minute mile on the treadmill.
End of story.
The treadmill is doing mechanical work for you (paw-back) not to mention the fact that there is no air resistance. Think about it, every time you leap (flight phase of running stride)the belt is spinning beneath you covering more distance than you would outdoors with each stride. No air resistance is one part of improved distance with each stride, but as one poster joked, you can also send yourself airborne (vertical motion) and the displacement of the belt horizontally will still be greater.
I would imagine any runner who can break 4:20 outdoors can run a 4:00 on the treadmill. Probably even runners under 4:30.
2 examples: I have a teammate that ran an hour hard on the treadmill, he ended up running 12.1 miles in an hour. His last 10k was something like 30:15 because he started out slower (around 11 to 11.5 miles an hour. His last 0.5 miles was at 15 mph. He cannot break 2:00 in the 800, his best is about 2:03, and his 10k PR that spring was 32:25.
I once ran a 5k after running 5 miles in 30 minutes (to make my legs tired) in 14:31 on the treadmill. My outdoor PR for a race is 15:28.
The difference is possibly ~10%. I will conclude that a 4:24 miler could run 4:00 on the treadmill.
Your treadmill is calibrated wrong
it has definitely been done before. I remember as a young lad watching Tony Whiteman running a treadmill mile WR on TV. I seem to remember it was well into the 3.40's, I'll see if I can find anything on it. He was obviously an outstanding athlete though, ran a 3.32 1500m I think
What a load of rubbish
never seen so much rubbish written by none runners !
It is easier to run a 4min mile on a treadmill.
YES it has been done by lots of runners, including Haile Gebrselassie
In fact if you check out youtube, I am sure you will find it.
Well to be honest, you sound that stupid, you will not find it.
Indeed it is far easier....the programme was "Record Breakers" on BBC. We had a modified Powerjog treadmill which went as fast as we wanted. Derek Redmond was watching the distance on the read out looking for 1609 metres so it was not really held under official conditions. A couple of other Athletes had a go prior to me, Mick Hawkins and Darius Burrows who I do not believe had ever broken 4 mins. They both ran 3.49/50. I just set the pace at a bit quicker that they did and accelerated through the mile to end up with 3.45. I always felt I could have gone quicker if I had gone out hard bit harder. I have it on videotape somewhere as it was back in the late 90s!
Cheers,
TW
Anyone who is talking about mechanics of treadmill running is an idiot. The treadmill much is easier because there is no wind resistance and you can have perfect pacing. That's it. I ran sub 4 on a treadmill and my track PR is 4:11.
3200guy wrote:
Has anyone on here ran an all-out mile on a treadmill? If so, how does it compare to your track pr?
From a handful of attempts, I've found my 'race effort' track mile is roughly 12-15 seconds slower than my treadmill mile with the treadmill set at 1% incline. When setting the treadmill to a lower incline, I assume the difference would be larger. By way of comparison, I have found my 5k road times to be ~15-20 sec slower than a treadmill @ 1% incline (assuming a relatively flat course).
As a single data point (i.e. I am one person and others may respond differently to the same scenario), for me it's easier being able to close my eyes and concentrate on moving my legs forward when they come off the back of the treadmill than it is to actively make pacing decisions. The treadmill also offers the benefits of a 'perfect' climate and 0 wind. While boredom on the treadmill is certainly an issue for me, the feeling of wanting to be finished overrides the boredom at 1 mile.
FWIW,
80% of my runs a few years ago were on the treadmill. Everything but long runs and few weekend trail runs. Mileage was at 40mpw and I was doing mile repeats on the treadmill at 6:00 pace with a 90 second recovery with no incline. When it came to race, my pace for the 5K was actually 6:04. So really, not that far off from my treadmill reps.
The conversation is over wrote:
It is much easier to run a 4 minute mile on the treadmill.
End of story.
The treadmill is doing mechanical work for you (paw-back) not to mention the fact that there is no air resistance. Think about it, every time you leap (flight phase of running stride)the belt is spinning beneath you covering more distance than you would outdoors with each stride. No air resistance is one part of improved distance with each stride, but as one poster joked, you can also send yourself airborne (vertical motion) and the displacement of the belt horizontally will still be greater.
I would imagine any runner who can break 4:20 outdoors can run a 4:00 on the treadmill. Probably even runners under 4:30.
2 examples: I have a teammate that ran an hour hard on the treadmill, he ended up running 12.1 miles in an hour. His last 10k was something like 30:15 because he started out slower (around 11 to 11.5 miles an hour. His last 0.5 miles was at 15 mph. He cannot break 2:00 in the 800, his best is about 2:03, and his 10k PR that spring was 32:25.
I once ran a 5k after running 5 miles in 30 minutes (to make my legs tired) in 14:31 on the treadmill. My outdoor PR for a race is 15:28.
The difference is possibly ~10%. I will conclude that a 4:24 miler could run 4:00 on the treadmill.
another treadmill thread...and another sad example of the pathetic american education system. please educate yourself on "frames of reference"
3200guy wrote:
What kind of interval workouts do you do on the treadmill? Are the times you run anywhere close to times you run on the track?
Gee...you are trolling right?
Working out on a treadmill is easier. Its quite normal to do workouts there, especially for runners in colder places. A mile on a treadmill is easier than outside.
treadmill scientist wrote:
another treadmill thread...and another sad example of the pathetic american education system. please educate yourself on "frames of reference"
With how fast the treadmill pulls my foot back in the paw-back motion, I could probably just stand there and let the treadmill do the whole 4:00 mile for me. I don't even have to jump straight up vertically to gain distance. I'll just get pulled backwards all the way through the finish line.
Only if the treadmill is on an airplane
run definition move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all the feet on the ground at the same time.
on treadmill you dont move at all
Maybe it's just me, but an 8 minute pace on a treadmill feels a lot more difficult to me than it is outside. I have trouble getting my forward lean correct on a treadmill to practice good form, whereas outside it is much easier.
My 10 mile runs on the treadmill have been an exercise in keeping with it mentally, because it occurs to me that I haven't really moved anywhere and stared at the same scenery for roughly an hour and twenty minutes. That alone makes it harder to keep with it.
If you actually set the treadmill to 2%, you will eliminate all the advantages the mill gives you...
At 2% incline:
5k PB is 16'47" and my road PB is 16'34"
10k PB is 35'32" and road PB is 35'10"
On both occasions I was slightly in a better shape during the road races, as the treadmill sessions were part of my build up towards my goals.
I love the treadmill, have done a number of different workouts up to 25 & 30k. My t/mill goes up to 24km/hr speed hence is one of those durable n suitable pieces of equipment any long distance runner who doesn't mind running on a mill would appreciate in having.
My 2 debts obviously.
It costs 7.1% more energy to run outside (with zero wind factor) than on a treadmill. Having the TM correctly calibrated so you are actually running at 4:00 pace is fairly important as many treadmills are not running at the speed that the display shows. In addition, when calibrating the TM it needs to be done with someone running on it as that factor slows things down a bit.
My track PR is 4:20 from about 15 years ago. But I did start training a bunch on treadmills about 5 years ago. Unfortunately, my opinion has been that running outdoors is pretty equivalent. Also depends on if your running on a woodway treadmill. For comparison, I recently I ran 2:20-2:30 for the half mile outdoors consistently over the course of 8 weeks. My best max effort on a treadmill at the same time was in the neighborhood of 2:30. I've had similar experience for the mile, 4:59-5:10 for both treadmill and track about 5 years ago. I however think I naturally push myself harder when I am on an outdoor track cause I know it's "for real"
pokey the horse wrote:
Is it easier than what, running it on the track? Yes, as it's like running with a 15 mph tailwind.
Unless you are running behind other runners on the track. Add the fact that if there is some wind and nobody is behind you, part of the lap will be EASIER than on a treadmill as the wind is pushing you.
It's possible the treadmill is MORE difficult.