Garmin use: treadmill vs outside? Advice? Who to trust?

RunnerGirl238
RunnerGirl238 Posts: 448 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I do a bulk of my training on a treadmill. Recently, I purchased a Garmin and have been using that to track runs etc.

I have noticed that my Garmin does not match my treadmill speed. I average 9:22 on the treadmill (with a .5 to 3%incline). Garmin reads it as around a 10 minute pace. My perceived exertion is definitely the faster pace.

My most recent race averaged around 9:30 (a 10 miler with a bottle neck to start).

My first half marathon of spring/summer is in 2 weeks and I was hoping to maintain a 930 pace. I guess my question is- would your trust the mill/PRE or the Garmin?

The Garmin is freaking me out a little...

Replies

  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    Have you calibrated the Garmin? You should be able to tell the Garmin how far your treadmill run was.

    Only thing is I would say try to get a lot more outdoor runs in at the pace you want. For most people the treadmill is a lot easier to run on, better than nothing but doesn't stimulate the uneven path, the wind, plus it does some of the work for you. I can easily run 9-10min miles on the treadmill, but outside a 10min mile is my pushing it
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    I'd test it by doing a 10 mile run around the neighborhood. My own treadmill isn't accurate, either - at the same level of exertion, phone GPS confirms that I run at around 10:30 per mile compared to a 11:45 pace per the treadmill.

    Of course, races are different. There's the people to dodge and the excitement of the race environment. Proper corral use will help a bit with the first, and the adrenaline can help improve your pace, if you don't allow it to overtake your good judgement in pacing the early miles. Does your race have pacers? My best half marathon time was the one where I held back with a pace group for the first 10 miles. I don't know if I would have done better with the next faster pace group, but sometimes I wish I had tried it. The group I followed was VERY consistent with the pacing, though. I think that helped A LOT.

    Trust your training. Pace yourself judiciously. Use the Garmin's pace alert! Test it before the race. Nothing new on race day.

    Most importantly, Enjoy the Race!
  • RunnerGirl238
    RunnerGirl238 Posts: 448 Member
    firef1y72 wrote: »
    Have you calibrated the Garmin? You should be able to tell the Garmin how far your treadmill run was.

    Only thing is I would say try to get a lot more outdoor runs in at the pace you want. For most people the treadmill is a lot easier to run on, better than nothing but doesn't stimulate the uneven path, the wind, plus it does some of the work for you. I can easily run 9-10min miles on the treadmill, but outside a 10min mile is my pushing it

    Thanks! I have not calibrated a thing. I'm somewhat mad at all things tech.

    I do some of my runs outside, but I actually find I push myself harder on the treadmill- so weird, I know. It's my 7th half and I've done all right. That's why I plan little races before the halves...keeps me outside too.

  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    firef1y72 wrote: »
    Have you calibrated the Garmin? You should be able to tell the Garmin how far your treadmill run was.

    No. Garmin calibrates itself, and uses the last outdoor runs to calculate stride lenght.


  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    z4oslo wrote: »
    firef1y72 wrote: »
    Have you calibrated the Garmin? You should be able to tell the Garmin how far your treadmill run was.

    No. Garmin calibrates itself, and uses the last outdoor runs to calculate stride lenght.


    I've calibrated each of my garmins to the treadmill I use. My stride length on the treadmill is very different to outside (because I do mainly just use the treadmill when I have a niggle and need to work on form). You go in to the activity on garmin connect and adjust the distance. After a couple of times doing this it seems to have got to know my stride length on that particular treadmill
  • mabearof6
    mabearof6 Posts: 684 Member
    I have always found my Garmins to be more accurate than treadmills.
  • fuzzylop_
    fuzzylop_ Posts: 100 Member
    Usually the slight slowdown of the treadmill when your weight is on it causes the speed to be more and more off over time, so I'd tend to trust garmin. For indoor running, though, a foodpod will generally be a bit more accurate, if you have one.

  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    Here's another thought: Who cares whether your speed is even different outdoors from on the treadmill? You will need to test outdoors to find your outdoor speed if you want to know how fast you can expect to race outdoors. Then go ahead and trust your training. It does carry over, at least a little bit. I also do most of my training on the treadmill, and even though the speeds don't *match* indoors and out, the faster I get on the treadmill over whatever distance I'm training for, I also get faster outdoors. I suspect that's not just me.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    They are probably both wrong. :)

    Unless you calibrate your treadmill you won't know for sure how accurate it is. Not sure what treadmill you are using but keep in mind that even expensive treadmills can be off.

    Your garmin works best with a GPS signal. Without that, the next best thing is a footpod connected to your garmin watch (which also has to be first calibrated).

    Of course the best idea (IMO of course) is to hang your laundry on the dreadmill and go outside. :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Get a Garmin foot pod and use it for a few outdoor runs the, once it's calibrated, use it while you're on the treadmill.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Without a GPS signal, the Garmin is using the data it has collected from your outside runs to estimate how fast your are running on the treadmill. However, it assumes that your stride length and cadence match what you are doing outdoors, which is rarely the case. My Garmin tends to grossly underestimate my pace vs. the treadmill. You are right to trust your PRE, although I would definitely recommend getting in as many outdoor runs as possible before your race. Weather can play a huge factor on PRE.
  • amorfati601070
    amorfati601070 Posts: 2,890 Member
    The garmin watches do some calculation based on, cadence, user height and when your arm swing pasts your torso. I'm not sure with all the variables but if you swing your arms really quick it makes the pace go up. The foot pod would make it more accurate. I think just for distance calculation, the reading on the treadmill would be accurate.
  • RunnerGirl238
    RunnerGirl238 Posts: 448 Member
    Excellent advice everyone. I havent been too techy with my running, but I think the Garmin during races keeps my pace even and focused.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    RunnerGirl238 wrote: »
    Excellent advice everyone. I havent been too techy with my running, but I think the Garmin during races keeps my pace even and focused.

    I'm not great at slowing down when some device on my wrist says I'm going too fast to maintain, but if I can't count on the moving belt to keep my pace down, the Garmin is the next best thing. Mine was marketed as an activity tracker, but is way too stingy with the calorie adjustments. I'm considering the next Fitbit should be a clip-on so I can keep using that for all-day general-purpose stuff, but dig out the Garmin for all it's features during a run. I'm kind of addicted to the silent alarm feature on the Fitbit, though. I wish it didn't feel so strange to strap something onto the "wrong" wrist. Doubling up on the "right" wrist seems like the better option, but I run out of space when I'm really trying to multi-task and wear the Pokemon Gotcha wristband, too. But since I'm mostly on the treadmill, the Fitbit seems like the all-around most useful of the devices - but I digress, as that wasn't really the point of your thread. Sorry.

    Yeah - the feature where you set the Garmin to keep you in a pace range is a really good use of tech. A little easier to ignore than the treadmill's steady motion. You're gonna slay your Half!
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Late to the discussion but did a lot of treadmill running many moons ago and liked it for building impeccable pace management.

    To answer OP’s question, I’d go with treadmill distance stat over Garmin.
  • RunnerGirl238
    RunnerGirl238 Posts: 448 Member
    pierinifitness wrote: »
    Late to the discussion but did a lot of treadmill running many moons ago and liked it for building impeccable pace management.

    To answer OP’s question, I’d go with treadmill distance stat over Garmin.

    So I did a little 5k check in outside, and I am definitely faster than what the Garmin registered in the treadmill. Mile 1 was 9 24, mile 2 was 947(on some trails), mile 3 was back around 9 18. That means I did my entire 13.1 on the mill yesterday and possibly at a little faster than race pace. Very exciting for me.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    z4oslo wrote: »
    firef1y72 wrote: »
    Have you calibrated the Garmin? You should be able to tell the Garmin how far your treadmill run was.

    No. Garmin calibrates itself, and uses the last outdoor runs to calculate stride lenght.


    Curious which Garmin you have that Garmin Connect doesn't give option for setting running stride length but automatically does it?

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