due to heat, treadmill

I get tired on a treadmill way faster. I can't go more than 3 miles. It restricts my stride too much

I live in South Texas, and due to my early arrival time to work in the a.m., and frequent evening commitments, I run a huge percentage of my mileage on the t-mill in the summer to avoid the heat in the late afternoon. Probably 60-75%. On the downside, it's dull. On the plus side, I find that the softer t-mill surface REALLY helps to prevent injuries, and I also always race much faster than my t-mill pace would indicate. Running on the treadmill seems to require much more effort, for me, than running the same pace outside. Others may disagree, but for me, treadmill is physically harder.

ditto. i do most of my speed workouts on the treadmill and have dropped my 5k pr by almost a full minute. i don't know why but it is more rigorous.

Treadmill pace versus outside depends on the treadmill. For me, I've found that a 2% incline on the treadmills I use exactly matches outside effort (as measured by perceived effort and HR)

I regularly mix treadmill and outside running for a mix of reasons, including avoiding weather, running some on softer surfaces, and safety if it's dark outside (I'm female and live in the city). I try to keep at least 40% of my weekly mileage on each surface (some weeks it's 40% treadmill, 60% outside; other weeks it's the reverse).

I like to do some of my longer tempos on the treadmill, especially when it's humid -- that way I can keep a water bottle right at hand and drink during the tempo, instead of pulling up at a water fountain.

I do think it's important not to do all of your speedwork on the treadmill though. When you tough out a workout on the treadmill, you do it by enduring until a specific time; when you tough out an outside workout, you do it by pushing to a specific point. The latter habit is more applicable to racing.

I just got one for the same reason and had the same question but I can't get my GPS watch to work on my treadmill to verify pace....

I run about 40 miles a week and do most of that on a treadmill.

You probably don't have the means to calibrate your treadmill, so I wouldn't get too hung up on if you are running exact pace.

To everyone who says it is different from normal running in some way (easier, harder, faster, slower, different stride, etc.), I generally disagree. I believe JTupper posted on here a while ago and said there were some difference in stride mechanics but I got the impression that it was neglible - I doubt much more than one would find over uneven ground, or up hills etc.

As for incline, at regular training speeds, I believe it has been shown that wind resistance is so neglible that no incline is required. That being said some pace charts suggest 0.5 to 2% incline models wind resistance better. I don't like to stretch out my calves too much so I keep it flat.

As for why a treadmill is harder - I hate to say it, but I think people really overestimate how fast they run outside. Many people's 7minute miles are in reality 7:30's, so when faced with an accurate treadmill - they suddenly wonder why they can't run as fast. Anyone that doubts this please go run your runs on a track and check your pacing. I may be wrong, but I find tons of people think they are faster than they are.

The other variable is that on a treadmill there is no unintended pace variation: no stopping for lights, no slowing on a hill, etc. This is more taxing too because there is no downtime.

For those that say treadmills are easier - I say either your treadmill is reading too fast, or you are benefiting from the lack of hills, or wind, or darkness, or heat, and the consistent pacing and soft surface.

So my advice is run for time, on a flat treadmill and use heartrate as your guide.

Bring your ipod (I know), or watch TV and you will get a very solid workout - likely much better than some crappy result due to dehydration or overheating (and yes, I am sure the africans just suck it up, and we are all wusses for not toughing it out - whatever).

Nice trolling

Treadmills are great. I know that Geb uses them a lot (3-4 days per week). They will make you very efficient.

Running 10mph on a treadmill will result in having the equivalent to a 10mph tailwind. It is a training aide, but I doubt it is more than 10 seconds per mile different.

Get a good fan, too - wou wouldn't think tha tit would help. but it does. Heat seems to be traped against your body otherwise.

Hmm..I have access to one but never really use it. this thread is making me consider it

RunningPT12 wrote:

Get a good fan, too - wou wouldn't think tha tit would help. but it does. Heat seems to be traped against your body otherwise.

I keep meaning to do this. I think this is actually a big reason why people think the treadmill is harder (I forgot about this) because they don't cool as well in "stagnant" air.

The fan would also (imprecisely) add some wind resistance and thereby negate the need for an incline (which I think is better for injury prevention).

I do 25-40 percent of my work on the treadmill, mostly speed and short intervals. I get bored if I just jump on it and try to run and "easy" 5 or something. All my long runs are outdoors. On a side note, I know some don't like treadmills, but if it is accurately calibrated you can really nail down your intervals, just speed it up and hold on!

When outside, I run on a VERY hilly course and it's quite hot and humid and I can't make myself go slower than 8:30/mile. I use a Garmin GPS Forerunner, so unless that's inaccurate over the course of 10 miles or so, I'm running what I think I'm running. When I run on the treadmill, the effort is much greater (even with no incline) for 8:30 miles. I am much more comfortable with 9:30 miles on the treadmill. However, I think the treadmill is accurate as well, at least as far as the calibration standards for treadmills. The gym I go to has about 50 treadmills and a special bank of 10 treadmills that are about $10K each. Those are the treadmills I use and they all feel the same.

So, assuming my new Garmin GPS is accurate and the treadmills are accurate, there seems to be some fundamental difference in perceived effort outside vs. on the treadmill.

the rocket. wrote:

Running 10mph on a treadmill will result in having the equivalent to a 10mph tailwind. It is a training aide, but I doubt it is more than 10 seconds per mile different.

Not if you put a fan in front of you!!!!! Actually, if you are training in a hot room on the treadmill, it will take far far far far far far far more energy to dissipate the heat than it would to fight a little headwind.

Yesterday, I did 9:20 pace. Started at 1% incline and increased 1% every 2.5 minutes. I really started feeling it at 32.5 minutes when I hit 14%. According to the watts readout, that is = to 5:40 pace at 0% incline.

Fair enough. I know when I started about 6 years ago, I thought it was murder to maintain the same pace as outside. These days I am pretty close inside and out.

Perhaps there is a greater difference than I suspect and it takes time to adjust one's stride for the treadmill. If that is the case then it might make treadmill training less desirable. I know JTupper said he had not yet had time to publish his findings on the difference between treadmills and over ground running - it would be great to see them.

At least no one has some on yet to claim treadmills are easier because one's feet are being pulled backwards.

Treadmills are harder because it always feels hotter running on a treadmill then running outside and fans don't seem to help. Also there is the mental factor, when I am not going anywhere the same distance always seems a lot farther.

I have been doing evening easy doubles on the treadmill for about 20-30% of mileage. I actually feel like running on the treadmill is much easier than outside. But, as pointed out above, it is probably due to the lack of heat. Outside in the evening for me is 90+ deg.

I also think it is psychological. In the gym, you want to look like you are running effortlessly when all the big muscle heads step on the treadmill and try to stop out two miles at an 8 min mile.

But, if I had a choice, I would run outside. The treadmill is painfully dull. I find myself counting down the minutes/miles from the get go, even with i-pod and tvs at my club.

the rocket. wrote:

Running 10mph on a treadmill will result in having the equivalent to a 10mph tailwind. It is a training aide, but I doubt it is more than 10 seconds per mile different.

I disagree with this comment. Due to heat, I run 3-4 miles on the treadmill every day at about 7.2-7.5mph. In order to get the same sense of speed that I have on the treadmill (8min per mile) I end up running at about 6:50 to 7:min pace on the pavement. The down side is I get winded waayyy faster on the pavement with what seems like a comparable effort to the treadmill.

John Smallberries wrote:

But, if I had a choice, I would run outside. The treadmill is painfully dull. I find myself counting down the minutes/miles from the get go, even with i-pod and tvs at my club.

I think that can actually be helpful. Doing an 8 mile tempo on the treadmill without ipod/TV is a fantastic mental strength exercise.