Miles per hr on the threadmill & getting creative to get the miles in!

valentine4

I have to be creative in how I get training, while I love my new status as a lone parent it has meant not so much road running and a new addition to the household - a threadmill.

I had a half marathon last week, needed to get my long run in so did a another couple of miles after it. This weekend I'm even more tight on time, so I got up this morning at silly o clock and did 7 miles on the threadmill, I will have to do the remainder tonight after work. However I was a bit worried at how slow I seemed to be going so turned to trusty google to convert the miles per hr on the threadmill to the minutes per mile which is what I go by on my Garmin( I think)

I felt like I was going at a steady clip on the threadmill, it was set at 4.8 miles per hr, but that translates to around 13 minute miles, my long run pace is 9.45 min miles!

What am I doing wrong? am I going to completely mess up my training plan by going what seems steady but is obviously very slow on the threadmill.

Am I cheating by splitting my long run, will it still count?

Aim of the plan is Derry city marathon June bank hol weekend.

Wendy98

I do many treadmill runs, when training for a race or not. I credit it for making me a better runner despite the hate the treadmill gets! My go-to workout is a 10 mile progression run and do it a couple of times each week. I will start out slow (for me) and use that as a warm up. I speed up every minute .1 mph for the first 10 minutes. I then increase the speed every 2.5 minutes. Once I hit my marathon pace, I increase the speed every 5 minutes, again by .1 mph. I find if I build the speed gradually, I don't notice the increase as much. I would think if you are running 9:45 miles outside, you should definitely be able to do a comparable pace on the treadmill.

Somedays life gets in the way and it is near impossible to get the long run done at once. I do believe in it being done at one chunk more beneficial. You are practicing being on your feet that long and running on tired legs. I get it though and kudos to you for getting your miles in. I have been running at unspeakable hours because of my kids' schedules and work schedule.

dsg2000

I do a bunch of treadmill running in winter. It's fine and gets the job done, but it is a bit different from running on the roads, so I think the best thing is to try to mix in at least some road running with your treadmill running. I also find that my normal pace is a bit slower on the treadmill; I wouldn't necessarily worry about it unless you also find that your runs outside are getting slower too, in which case something else may be a problem. It may also depend on the type of treadmill you have - I once was using a friend's home treadmill and I swear it was calibrated off because I couldn't for the life of me run the same paces on that thing as I could on the treadmill at the gym I normally go to.

Best treadmill workouts are ones where you're varying up the pace in some way or another, that makes the time go by a lot quicker. I like to do timed interval workouts (like 2 min fast pace 3 min recovery, or vary the incline, etc.) - not focusing on distance means that it just seems to fly by.

I don't have experience splitting up long runs, but my sense of it is that it's ok once in a while but definitely not ideal - the point is to work on your endurance, and if you're taking long breaks in between that's not working your endurance as well as if you went out for the whole thing. But if it's something that you just have to do once in a while then it's better to get the miles in somehow than not at all.

RockTex

I have the same issue. A standard weekday training run outside for me is a 10 min mile. Which is 6mph. There is no way I get to 6mph on my treadmill. It feels like I am sprinting. Just by "feel" it seems I am good at about 5mph on the treadmill. It just feels the same as my pace on the road. I keep my treadmill at an incline of 1.5 to kind of make up for the treadmill/road difference. Odd, but I am not having any issues as I increase my long runs on the weekend or getting in 3 or four 9:40 min miles on my week day runs when I feel like going little faster.

trswallow

If you are training for a marathon it is important that long runs be done in a single session. After 90 - 120 minutes of running you have used up your glycogen reserves and force your body to turn to fat for fuel. This will cause your muscles to use fuel more efficiently and to increase the percentage of fatty acids used for fuel, thus allowing your glycogen reserve to last longer.

It is important to try to get your muscles to develop this adaptation, because you can only consume about 25-35% of your glucose needs using gels and sports drinks while racing. It is possible to consume between 30 and 60 grams of carbs (120-240 calories) per hour while running. If you go over what your body can tolerate, then you will be looking for a restroom or a bush to go behind. Running at 10 minute/mile pace burns from 500 to over 1,000 calories/hour, depending on your weight and running efficiency. So it is impossible to keep your tanks full during a race, so you need to train your body to adapt.

MobyCarp

RockTex wrote: »

I have the same issue. A standard weekday training run outside for me is a 10 min mile. Which is 6mph. There is no way I get to 6mph on my treadmill. It feels like I am sprinting. Just by "feel" it seems I am good at about 5mph on the treadmill. It just feels the same as my pace on the road. I keep my treadmill at an incline of 1.5 to kind of make up for the treadmill/road difference. Odd, but I am not having any issues as I increase my long runs on the weekend or getting in 3 or four 9:40 min miles on my week day runs when I feel like going little faster.

One of the things about a treadmill is that it forces you to run very consistently at the same pace. I know people who train themselves to pace at a specific rate with treadmills because of that; it can be helpful for someone who knows what his/her long run pace should be, but has trouble getting himself/herself to slow down enough running on the roads. (I think a good human pacer would be better, but I freely admit that I'm prejudiced against treadmills.)

My speculation is that your 10 minute mile outside has segments that are faster and segments that are slower, and that holding a steady pace on the average is what's getting to you. On the road, chances are you run faster, then run slower to recover, and perhaps aren't even consciously aware of what you're doing. If your road running includes hills, there is an excellent chance you're working hard (and running slower) going uphill while recovering (and running faster) going downhill. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just a different environment than the treadmill.

RockTex

@MobyCarp . Sounds logical to me. Even though I try hard to maintain a steady pace, without doubt there are fluctuations throughout the run even on a relatively flat route, which I do not have many. I run a lot of hills as I have no choice were I live. I actually enjoy them as it makes running a flat course a little easier.