Every now and then I'll just feel like staying inside and running on a treadmill. However everyone tells me it's a bad idea and that they should be stayed away from. Are treadmills really that bad? What is the longest run you should do on one?
Every now and then I'll just feel like staying inside and running on a treadmill. However everyone tells me it's a bad idea and that they should be stayed away from. Are treadmills really that bad? What is the longest run you should do on one?
I live in the snow belt. I try to run outside as much as possible, and when I was younger, I'd run outside no matter what the weather. And it can get pretty bad where I live.
A number of years ago I decided the right question to ask each day was "where will I get the better workout?" On many days, the answer is the treadmill. If I am not sure, I go outside.
They are not a bad idea at all. Perhaps the best thing about them is you can control the pace, so you can be sure to run whatever pace you plan to run. I have found the treadmill to be great for long slow runs and also tempo runs. It doesn't work too well for speed workouts or at really fast paces for me.
For me personally, I tend to use it 1-2 days a week in the wintertime.
Longest run? I have actually done 20 miles on it before, but I don't think that was such a good idea.
My longest run on a treadmill was 11 miles, my second longest was 5 miles. I don't think it's bad for you and I don't think there's any physical limit. I just get bored easily.
I usually stick to the treadmill if it's colder than 35 or so. Call me a wuss if you want, but ask yourself, for whom do you feel obligated to prove your manliness?
its just that its less difficult than outside because think about it, the surface you run on is being FED to you, so I would consider it roughly 10% easier than outside for distances, so 10 miles on the treadmill is like 9ish outside
Since you sweat so much on the treadmill due to a lack of wind resistance I think 10 miles on a treadmill is like 11ish outside.
blackbeltmarathoner wrote:
its just that its less difficult than outside because think about it, the surface you run on is being FED to you, so I would consider it roughly 10% easier than outside for distances, so 10 miles on the treadmill is like 9ish outside
Not true, Einstein. Absence of wind resistance is the only performance advantage on a treadmill.
I'm not sure why the the temperature you run in equates to manliness. If you dress appropriately it's not a problem.
Daniels and others, suggest a 2% incline to compensate. He cites a Scandinavian marathoner who trained only on a treadmill, so it can be done. In the back of his book there is a chart for pace at incline.
I have ran most all of my runs this winter on the treadmill. Almost all workouts and long runs. I ran a 1:15:43 half setting a 5:32 minute PR. So I think it works if you can do it.
Actually most charts show that a 1% incline compensates and will equate to the pace the treadmill is showing. I have done up to 10 miles. Currently I run 6 every morning on the treadmill. Also do tempos and speed work. Although the treadmill might not be perfectly calibrated, I feel like I get a good workout. If fact a pace 1 minute slower per mile for my easy runs seems just as hard as if I ran 1 minute per mile faster outside, and my stride rate is still at about 180.