Transitioning from outside running to treadmill
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GrindingSalt
Posts: 68 Member
I'm finding a wealth of information about going from inside to outside, but I have the opposite situation happening.
I've been running outside for the past few months (just finished W7D3) with one run on an indoor track that I don't consistently have available. After another round of snow & negative temperatures, I finally went to a city funded rec center and signed up. I tried to run on the treadmill and found it much more challenging than running outside.
Mainly what I found challenging was going slow enough. My pace outside is pretty slow, between 11 and 12 minutes/mile. However, when I set it to that speed on the treadmill it felt awkward and like I couldn't run properly, while around 9:40/mile felt comfortable. However, I couldn't keep up that pace consistently and kept having to drop back to a much lower speed to catch my breath and recoup.
Essentially, with more snow on the way, I'm looking for advice on how to get comfortable on a treadmill. I have a 5K coming up in 35 days and definitely want to be prepared, no matter what the weather does to my outdoor running schedule. So far, I've been choosing to just leave larger gaps between runs when there's snow on the ground or the temp is below 0, but as I'm pushing towards accomplishing the 3.1 mile difference, I know I need to focus on consistency and building up strength and endurance.
I've been running outside for the past few months (just finished W7D3) with one run on an indoor track that I don't consistently have available. After another round of snow & negative temperatures, I finally went to a city funded rec center and signed up. I tried to run on the treadmill and found it much more challenging than running outside.
Mainly what I found challenging was going slow enough. My pace outside is pretty slow, between 11 and 12 minutes/mile. However, when I set it to that speed on the treadmill it felt awkward and like I couldn't run properly, while around 9:40/mile felt comfortable. However, I couldn't keep up that pace consistently and kept having to drop back to a much lower speed to catch my breath and recoup.
Essentially, with more snow on the way, I'm looking for advice on how to get comfortable on a treadmill. I have a 5K coming up in 35 days and definitely want to be prepared, no matter what the weather does to my outdoor running schedule. So far, I've been choosing to just leave larger gaps between runs when there's snow on the ground or the temp is below 0, but as I'm pushing towards accomplishing the 3.1 mile difference, I know I need to focus on consistency and building up strength and endurance.
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Replies
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I run slower on the treadmill than outdoors. I'm not sure why that is but it is.
Don't worry about speed. As long as you go for your run, you'll do fine when you go back outdoors. Find a speed where you can run comfortably without tripping over the belt and that keeps your breathing in a comfortable range and don't worry about what the numbers are. They don't really correlate to outdoor speed. (another thing I found is that a kilometer is a lot longer distance on the treadmill than outdoors :ohwell: ; I know it's not but it sure feels longer and requires more effort to run. It's just part of the treadmill experience)
Try setting the incline to 1, even if this means that you'll run even slower. It apparently helps mimic running outdoors. I don't know if this is true but it doesn't hurt to add the incline. I try to keep the incline at 1 throughout my workout. I don't always succeed.
Keep running outdoors whenever you can. You'll get some confidence in seeing that you're not falling behind your goals. And an outdoor run is so much nicer.
You'll be ready for your 5K. Just keep running and training. You rock!0 -
The same principles are at work no matter what change you make in your running: cut back your running by 20%, do one minute walking intervals every half mile or so. Build back your endurance over the next couple of weeks.0
