Battling treadmill boredom

I use the treadmill for a variety of sessions, including that after every track session I cool down outside then go inside and run a couple of miles on the treadmill at a very slow pace. I do this because I'm old, and I find that I get blood pooling in my feet after hard workouts unless I do a really long cool down, but I find it very, very hard, to do this on my own so I use the treadmill as a kind of training partner to help me out here. and it works.

however, the part of your post I find interesting is where you say that treadmill workouts "teach pace control."

I have not found that to be the case.

my experience has been that, precisely because you are not in control of the pace, the one thing treadmills do not do, is teach pace control. as far as pace is concerned, you are in some respects just a passenger on a treadmill, but on a track you have to consciously control the pace and in this way you, and more importantly, your neuro-muscular system, learns to control the pace. I don't even understand how a treadmill could achieve that effect.

you could use a treadmill to experience a different pace, but that is not the same thing as controlling it.

cheers.

Thanks, and interesting that you pick up on that. I hadn't actually payed any notice to that part. The pace control aspect was from Bakkens own explanation. But you are right. I some respects I also feel a bit like "a passenger".

For me the boredom comes if I try to run at continuous paces on the treadmill. I can't stay focussed but also can't find way to entertain thoughts in any other way... a part from glancing down at the clock thinking "jeez a long way to go still."

So my question was rather if ongoing pace changes in the style of Bakkens workout is somehow not optimal or even counter productive. Perhaps I should state my aim with incorporating this workout, which to supplement easy running outside with some tempo-style running on the treadmill during base building.

Ever heard of 45/15 or 40/20 or 30/60?

You could try Zwift running. It's free (for now). At least gives you something to look at and people to run with.

Gym butts.

Listen to "My Favorite Murder" podcast.

Seems like a solid workout to keep your mind busy. I log many treadmill miles within the winter months and I use changes of pace and incline often to help with the boredom of being in one place for so long. Similar to Bakken's workout you could try a Moneghetti Fartlek (You can read about it on Nate Jenkin's blog: http://nateruns.blogspot.com/2015/01/monaghetti-fartlek.html). For regular mid-long runs I'll usually try to add in a 1-3min incline on each 5min for something to look forward to aside from the end of the session. Obviously treadmill pace calibrations could be all over the place so running by effort and time seems to get the best results. Also, music and podcasts can help by pumping you up and/or distracting your mind in a nice way. Good Luck!

Treadmills are terrible enough without actually doing a hard workout on them

Try starting from jogging pace, usually 8 min/mile, and then crank up the speed by 0.5 miles/hour every 5 minutes until 5K pace and then go in reverse.

You can also get to 10K pace, run 5 minutes, then down 0.5 miles/hour (which should be about half marathon pace) for 5 minutes, then up again to 10K pace for 3-4 times, then go down the ladder to your jogging pace.

Not great, but you can get a good tempo out of it and the constant change in pace helps a bit with the boredom.

Mikdixon wrote:

Seems like a solid workout to keep your mind busy. I log many treadmill miles within the winter months and I use changes of pace and incline often to help with the boredom of being in one place for so long. Similar to Bakken's workout you could try a Moneghetti Fartlek (You can read about it on Nate Jenkin's blog:

http://nateruns.blogspot.com/2015/01/monaghetti-fartlek.html

). For regular mid-long runs I'll usually try to add in a 1-3min incline on each 5min for something to look forward to aside from the end of the session. Obviously treadmill pace calibrations could be all over the place so running by effort and time seems to get the best results. Also, music and podcasts can help by pumping you up and/or distracting your mind in a nice way. Good Luck!

This was going to my suggestion as well.

Emaciated Hobby Jogger wrote:

You could try Zwift running. It's free (for now). At least gives you something to look at and people to run with.

It is not free. You have to buy a Stryd footpod. You have to have access to a bluetooth treadmill.

It does not give you "people to run with." You are still indoors, alone....running on a belt like a loser.

Get outside and actually DO SOMETHING.

I have done some miles on a treadmill during a trip to China, watching TV. Went fast during all the commercials. Nothing scientific about it, but just something different, and enjoyed the TV.

man up and go outside

Put the headphones on and Netflix it wrote:

Treadmills are terrible enough without actually doing a hard workout on them

Hard workouts are easier to do than steady pace. There are an unlimited number of workouts you can do on the treadmill. I make up different runs all the time varying both pace and incline.

When I do longer runs (27 and 34 this year) I make sure there are enough good shows on tv to watch. I also listen to music. It's also great willpower training that will help you toward the end of a race when you feel like quitting.

This!

Where in Scandinavia do you live? I'm in the geographic middle point of Sweden and we've had the highest recorded snowdepth since they started measuring back in 1944 or something, can't recall exactly. We still have 100cm+ all over here and spring is still a month away.

That said there haven't been many days where i haven't been able to find a somewhat decent stretch of plowed roads so it shouldn' be an issue to run outside. Cold hasnt't been the issue actually.

mike666 wrote:

This!

Where in Scandinavia do you live? I'm in the geographic middle point of Sweden and we've had the highest recorded snowdepth since they started measuring back in 1944 or something, can't recall exactly. We still have 100cm+ all over here and spring is still a month away.

That said there haven't been many days where i haven't been able to find a somewhat decent stretch of plowed roads so it shouldn' be an issue to run outside. Cold hasnt't been the issue actually.

Congrats to you sir. A true Viking you are.

Perhaps you didn't read the part where I wrote that I do easy and easy tempo runs outside. However in Denmark temperature has been hovering around 0c all winter with lots of snow/rain. This makes streets icy all the time. By the sea where I live there are only major roads with lots of trafic that's given salt etc. The strong winds takes the wind chill down to -10 or so. Bottom line: I don't like to do faster sessions outside in these conditions.

So the treadmill is where I aim to get faster tempo or 10-15K pace stuff in as part of base building.

Mikdixon wrote:

Seems like a solid workout to keep your mind busy. I log many treadmill miles within the winter months and I use changes of pace and incline often to help with the boredom of being in one place for so long. Similar to Bakken's workout you could try a Moneghetti Fartlek (You can read about it on Nate Jenkin's blog:

http://nateruns.blogspot.com/2015/01/monaghetti-fartlek.html

). For regular mid-long runs I'll usually try to add in a 1-3min incline on each 5min for something to look forward to aside from the end of the session. Obviously treadmill pace calibrations could be all over the place so running by effort and time seems to get the best results. Also, music and podcasts can help by pumping you up and/or distracting your mind in a nice way. Good Luck!

Thanks. Good inspiration.

One addition. Occasionally count your steps for 15 seconds. 45 steps is a 180 tempo. Experiment with changing your steps tempo at a consistent speed, increasing your steps as you prepare to go faster, and also why you're going faster work on your power delivery inefficiency to keep your steps Tempo and your heart rate down. And of course also at the higher speeds work on the fastest Tempo that you can go. On my treadmill workouts my steps Tempo varies between 168 and 220 (42 and 55).

Correction:

Work on your power delivery efficiency to keep your steps Tempo and your heart rate down ...