Track Running
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JeepHair77
Posts: 1,291 Member
I've recently started running at my gym's indoor track from time to time - gets me out of the heat and it's perfect for the days that I want to do sprint intervals.
The location of the indoor track being downtown (and, you know, indoor) means that my GPS watch doesn't connect. The gym states that their track is 320 yards around - which is 5.5 laps per mile. I'm using the lap counter on my watch (recording the time of each lap) and finding that I run MUCH faster on this track, sometimes without feeling like I'm working all that hard. For example, I ran two miles today at just about a 9:00 pace. (An "easy" half mile a little slower, a hard mile and a quarter a little faster, and then another the rest of the second mile a little slower.) I did set out to run the "middle" mile hard, it's a tempo run - but I beat my goal pace of 9:15 for that mile by a good bit, and I'd set that 9:15 thinking it was a little optimistic. I walked out feeling like I'd worked hard, but not harder than any other run I've done lately. My usual 5k pace would be just around 10:00, and my pace for a run of 5 miles or more is usually somewhere in the 11:15 range.
Now, I have the kind of brain that refuses to give myself any credit for anything. I'm Eeyore, I guess, with a hint of paranoia mixed in. So rather than think to myself "dang, I freaking ROCK!!!", I'm thinking to myself, "their track is probably measured wrong."
That said, I assume that track conditions DO lend themselves to faster times. Air conditioning, no obstacles, no terrain or hills, no intersections or humidity, etc. Maybe I should just own it.
So for those of you who run on a track, particularly if you run on an indoor, air-conditioned track, do you find yourself running consistently and significantly faster? Are these results for real, or am I right to question the measurement of this track?
The location of the indoor track being downtown (and, you know, indoor) means that my GPS watch doesn't connect. The gym states that their track is 320 yards around - which is 5.5 laps per mile. I'm using the lap counter on my watch (recording the time of each lap) and finding that I run MUCH faster on this track, sometimes without feeling like I'm working all that hard. For example, I ran two miles today at just about a 9:00 pace. (An "easy" half mile a little slower, a hard mile and a quarter a little faster, and then another the rest of the second mile a little slower.) I did set out to run the "middle" mile hard, it's a tempo run - but I beat my goal pace of 9:15 for that mile by a good bit, and I'd set that 9:15 thinking it was a little optimistic. I walked out feeling like I'd worked hard, but not harder than any other run I've done lately. My usual 5k pace would be just around 10:00, and my pace for a run of 5 miles or more is usually somewhere in the 11:15 range.
Now, I have the kind of brain that refuses to give myself any credit for anything. I'm Eeyore, I guess, with a hint of paranoia mixed in. So rather than think to myself "dang, I freaking ROCK!!!", I'm thinking to myself, "their track is probably measured wrong."
That said, I assume that track conditions DO lend themselves to faster times. Air conditioning, no obstacles, no terrain or hills, no intersections or humidity, etc. Maybe I should just own it.
So for those of you who run on a track, particularly if you run on an indoor, air-conditioned track, do you find yourself running consistently and significantly faster? Are these results for real, or am I right to question the measurement of this track?
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Replies
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Yes, you run faster on a track. The surface is even, level, and softer than roads. The first time I noticed this was when I put a couple miles of track circuits into a run from a motel because I didn't want to map more streets. I ran a 7:30 pace on asphalt, and a 7:10 pace on the track, with the same perceived level of effort in the same weather. I had street running both before and after the track running, and the two chunks of street running were comparable to each other but slower than the track running.
Last winter, my running club trained on an indoor track. By this time, I was running planned paces based on the Jack Daniels system. I'd say my T pace (approximately lactate threshold) was about 10 seconds per mile faster on the indoor track than on outdoor roads in perfect running weather. Add in less-than-perfect weather, and the difference will be greater.
So, bottom line . . . you probably *are* running faster, but it's not necessarily because you're better trained. Comparing track to road isn't quite comparing apples and oranges; it's more like comparing Macintosh and Granny Smith. You can learn how to adjust, and what to expect on the roads based on how much you've improve on the track.0 -
I haven't run much on an indoor track, but I agree with the previous poster. You can go faster on the track.0
