treadmills?

what about when you get off the treadmill, and walk like 5 metres, and you feel like you are walking at twice the speed, and you feel like a freakin robot.

Now thats rad

Accuracy is hit or miss, but I'd guess that all but the cheapest models are relatively accurate -- not THAT far off.

One thing about treadmill running is that you don't encounter wind resistance the way you do in normal running. To compensate for this, set the incline to 1.0 or 1.5 degrees. That should give you about equivalent pace.

http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.html

When I was at University doing a Sport Science degree we would always set the treadmill at 1-2% incline when testing runners.

However, I would still regularly run under 3:45 for 1,500m when my best outdoors was 4:05. Other runners noticed a similar difference.

The problem comes on faster treadmills at high speeds. On a track you may push off the ground and cover around 2.5m in one stride but on a treadmill you stay airborne for the same time but the ground passes by faster. Therefore you appear to have a much longer stride than you can manage on a track.

If you try to lift your legs higher than normal you keep off the ground for longer - this can lead to some scary times (I once warmed up at <9:00 for 3,000m with a tracksuit on!).

3:45 on a treadmill?!? What kind of treadmill is THAT?

You're full of crap.

Training to race (to race on the roads or on the track) through the use of a treadmill is akin to practicing for sex by jerking off.

Not the same.

winterunr wrote:

Because of the ice and snow I have done a few runs lately on the treadmill. The pace seemed pretty easy, so I bumped it up. Does anyone know if those things are accurate? Or do I just train a bit faster than I think? Does your stride make a difference?

This week I used a treadmill twice. Both times went 5 miles.I start slow and increase the pace until it gets very hard. On the first run got to 5:45 pace and it was too easy. On the 2nd run done on a different treadmill, getting down to 6:30 pace was tough! So I think you should run for time and effort on treadmills as you would on an unmeasured course. You can get a great workout on treadmills but I don't feel that you should try to compare it with running outside. It may be just as good but different.

Joke wrote:

Training to race (to race on the roads or on the track) through the use of a treadmill is akin to practicing for sex by jerking off.

Not the same.

Tell that to Ingrid Kristiansen.

Jon_in_Guernsey wrote:

The problem comes on faster treadmills at high speeds. On a track you may push off the ground and cover around 2.5m in one stride but on a treadmill you stay airborne for the same time but the ground passes by faster. Therefore you appear to have a much longer stride than you can manage on a track.

The ground does not pass by faster. The belt is either traveling at the speed listed on the treadmill or it is not. One is either traveling at x miles-per-hour or one is not. The only difference is that the wind resistance is not there for a treadmill. Hence the incline.

However, if you were on a treadmill with a bad motor that seriously slowed down with every footstrike (and then sped up, afterwards) that would be something else. Or one that was very innaccurate in speed measurement, that would be another. I find that my LT pace on a treadmill at 1.5 degrees elevation feels just about as hard as my LT pace on a track.

Are you talking about the fluke --- one time pull a race out of your ass chick? Lucky--I don't need to talk to her about her luck.

Average_Joe wrote:

Joke wrote:

Training to race (to race on the roads or on the track) through the use of a treadmill is akin to practicing for sex by jerking off.

Not the same.

Tell that to Ingrid Kristiansen.

Joke wrote:

Are you talking about the fluke --- one time pull a race out of your ass chick? Lucky--I don't need to talk to her about her luck.

Was that another joke, or are you honestly ignorant of who she was? It's actually tough to tell from this board. Let's assume you're just ignorant.

She's the only runner, male or female to ever concurrently hold the world records in the following events:

5,000m track

10,000m track

15 km on road

half marathon

marathon

She won the Boston marathon (twice), London (4 times) New York, Chicago etc.

And she did a ton of training on her treadmill

She sure was lucky alright. Just about every time she raced.

(On the other hand if it was a joke -- well then, joke's on me. Good one. You got me. Chuckle chuckle, guffaw guffaw.)

Here's something to consider. I don't believe that treadmills are quite the same as running on the roads but they're as close as you're ever going to get. The real question should be "Where will I get the better workout, overall?" Slipping and sliding does not constitute a good workout. The other day I was feeling a little apprehensive because I'd been doing mostly treadmill workouts for the last 10 days (some seriously large snowstorms). Then I got an e-mail from a running buddy of mine who decided to brave it outside (as usual). He slipped on some ice and now has a bruised/cracked rib. No running for at least 2 weeks. Overall, that wasn't a good workout.

All of you guys are a bunch of pansies.

There are two, if not more, sides to distance running. The first is fitness (I'll lump strength and speed into this one category), and the other is mental toughness.

Running on a very cold snowy day will increase your mental toughness. Doing what you can to avoid it further weakens your mental toughness.

Get your asses outside and run, regardless of the conditions (just be cautious). You'll be tougher for it and when the weather thaws and the spring comes, you will have an edge over the other pansies who chose the sissy route.

so I guess it is not tough for a runner of your seriousness to do 20k at marathon pace on the treadmill? much tougher to jog for an hour or two in the ice and snow, eh?

Jon_in_Guernsey wrote:

The problem comes on faster treadmills at high speeds. On a track you may push off the ground and cover around 2.5m in one stride but on a treadmill you stay airborne for the same time but the ground passes by faster. Therefore you appear to have a much longer stride than you can manage on a track.

Interesting.

A few years ago we measured and calibrated the speeds of a half dozen different brands of treadmill. Results, only one of them (Trotter) was accurate.

I recently got the "Cadence 450" treadmill ($300) from Walmart, which is rated the best treadmll for under $1200, and it is not accurate either. But that's ok cause you can't beat the price for what it does, roomy track, digital display, automatic incline, and 10 mph top speed.

To check the accuracy, put tape in 3 places on the belt and measure the distance around, then leave 1 of the pieces on and time it for a 1/4 mile or mile at different paces. It is very easy to tell the actual speeds and they most definitely do differ.

Putting the treadmill accuracy issue aside here's another treadmill question. The gym I belong to has treadmills that only go to 10 MPH/6 minute pace. I currently set the incline to 1.5%. Does anyone know what the equivalent pace per mile would be if I am running 6 min. pace but increase the incline by .5 to 2.0% And would that amount of increase in equivalent pace be the same when going from 2.0 to 2.5?

I feel the need to mention I live in Minneapolis where the temp. this morning was -3. By running indoors I may not gain the mental toughness as previously mentioned but I do gain the enjoyment of running in only shorts & a t-shirt.

There are many conversion charts on the internet...do a search for "treadmill and chart and conversion". You'll get hits that will take you to what you want to see.As for the cold, -3 sucks. I ran this morning--it was in the negative temp range as well. I do believe that you will be mentally tougher if you go outside.Remember, pace is irrelevant when you train in piss poor weather. It is your effort that matters.Buy some good gear and enjoy the outdoors.

Tom T wrote:

Putting the treadmill accuracy issue aside here's another treadmill question. The gym I belong to has treadmills that only go to 10 MPH/6 minute pace. I currently set the incline to 1.5%. Does anyone know what the equivalent pace per mile would be if I am running 6 min. pace but increase the incline by .5 to 2.0% And would that amount of increase in equivalent pace be the same when going from 2.0 to 2.5?

I feel the need to mention I live in Minneapolis where the temp. this morning was -3. By running indoors I may not gain the mental toughness as previously mentioned but I do gain the enjoyment of running in only shorts & a t-shirt.

I'm with you AJ...don't forget Chris Clark either. Did quite a bit of her pre-'00-Trials training on the endless belt.

It's clear, sun shining, and 68 degrees here today.

Nice weather to sun bathe and have a nap on the patio.