Ok, it's about 7 degrees outside and very icy everywhere, but I have to do 15 miles today, would it be better for me to just go on a treadmill and run it or deal with the weather outside and run it??? And is it bad to run that much on a treadmill???????? Thanks
Treadmill running has been brought up many times on this board. And the conclusion is ... it is all right to run on the treadmill as long as you put the incline on 1% or 2% to compensate for the lack of air resistance. Once you have accomplished that, you are getting the same workout as running outside. Make sure to add hills too!
If you add 1-2% incline, you already have added hills. The problem is that this puts a greater strain on your achilles. If you are going to do 15 miles, the heat factor will more than compensate for the lack of air resistence. Actually, because of this lack of air resistence, it is even harder for the body to dissipate heat making the latter part of a treadmill run far harder than running outside.
Since you have not been on the treadmill before, you have no idea how accurate it is calibrated. Disregard the readout and set the speed by feel just as you would run outside. Then just run for the appropriate time.
The 1-2% incline is really more to help use more of your leg muscles than it is to compensate for less air resistance. Just put a big fan in front of you and you will get air resistance. I have never broken 15 minutes for a 5k but I did run 2:18 in my first marathon and I did 50% of my training on a treadmill. Including a 26 miler on it 3 1/2 weeks before my marathon.
Putting a big fan in front of the treadmill will only help you with cooling, it won't add wind resistance. Your body is staying in one place and not having to cut through the air at XX miles per hour as it would if you were to run outside.
Yes the incline will add some lower leg stress, but if you don't compensate this way you would have to run at a faster pace to get the same cardio effect. This would put much more stress on your body than raising the incline just a bit.
DaveC wrote:
Treadmill running has been brought up many times on this board. And the conclusion is ... it is all right to run on the treadmill as long as you put the incline on 1% or 2% to compensate for the lack of air resistance.
while i agree that is a common opinion, i am not sure it is the consensus. i disagree with it, but concede many take that position as well. i have found that lack of wind/moving air and heat build up is the reason i think it is HARDER to run on a treadmill. again, others say it is easier.
ymmv, and probably will.
a recent thread on this with every opinion about treadmill running is at:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=625121&thread=625093
Wronge putting a fan in front of a treadmill will add wind resistance. You are still but the wind air is moving. What matters is your velocity relative to the air.
However I think the 1-2% incline simulates wind just fine.
Wind will cause you to have to lean forward more to counteract the horizontal force of the wind, just as a 1-2% incline will cause you to lean forward more (relative the to the belt surface). In the end I believe you are streching your achilles about the same.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Message:
Putting a big fan in front of the treadmill will only help you with cooling, it won't add wind resistance. Your body is staying in one place and not having to cut through the air at XX miles per hour as it would if you were to run outside.
Yes the incline will add some lower leg stress, but if you don't compensate this way you would have to run at a faster pace to get the same cardio effect. This would put much more stress on your body than raising the incline just a bit.
------------------------------------------------------------
Forget all the technical jargon, look for some practical examples. Ingrid Kristiansen, being Norwegian, did the bulk of her training in the winter on treadmills. She was world marathon record holder for many years and also ran a 30.13 10,000mts - so running on a treadmill didn’t do her much harm.
How many months did you do %50 of your training for the marathon on the mill before your 2:18? I have a minor knee injury that is not aggravated as much when I run on the mill and think it has kept me pretty close to condition.
What kind of workouts did you do, besides your long runs, before your marathon? Do you know any other elite runners who do as much or more of their traing on the mill?
Cheers
Q
Several good coments. From various studies we have done -- it is easier to run on the treadmill than over ground (in terms of energy expenditure). Heart rate may be as high on the TM as OG because of the increased heat factor on the TM. We had a group of marathon runners go 2 hours at marathon pace and no fan on a TM and found no change in energy demand over the entire 2 hours (somewhat unexpected as we thought maybe there would be some fatigue effect on running economy). Each % increase in grade is similar to increasing run velocity 10-15 sec per mile ( 6:00 pace at 5% would be similar to the cost of 5:00 pace). Great place to do hill work as you don't have to come down between uphill runs. Two of my athletes did some great TM training and ran well, without speed work. One a woman who did 36 sessions on the TM at 20% grade and 6-7MPH intervals -- ran her first race for 3k in 9:17 and 2 weeks later a 9:00 (2:01 800 and 4:08 1500 that season). Another was a guy who did every weekly long run (20 miles) on the TM with 2% grade and ran under 2:10 at NY Marathon -- his PB.
Rod DeHaven used to do much of his training on a treadmill when the weather conditions weren't great for running outdoors or his schedule made it difficult.
Rod should have gutted it through the Arboreteum, he is a big pussy.
From his posted logs, he ran his morning 5 miler on the treadmill, but the rest was outside.
i know for a fact he ran many mid range and long runs on a treadmill.any he is anything but a pussy.
rip van racer wrote:
From his posted logs, he ran his morning 5 miler on the treadmill, but the rest was outside.
Its 4 below zero and we just got 2 feet of snow.
No way in hell would I think of running anywhere but on my treadmill. Sure, running outside might make me "tough"
but it could leave me with pulled muscles, frostbite or run over by a sliding car. If I want tough I drop the pace to 6 min pace and start jacking up the incline. Comparable to anything I could do outside.
No, I don't have a treadmill question, but thanks for checking!
Sorry wrote:
Putting a big fan in front of the treadmill will only help you with cooling, it won't add wind resistance. Your body is staying in one place and not having to cut through the air at XX miles per hour as it would if you were to run outside.
Hey Sorry, this is absolutely wrong. Have you ever seen a prop-plane stay virtually in place against a strong wind. Tell me, is it working or not?
Or take a feather and put it against the fan. Doesn't it blow back?
Think about it.