Running outside vs. on a treadmill?

mortuseon

I've been an intermittent runner for a while now, but I started taking it really seriously when I got a gym membership. I've been running on a treadmill for about 2 months (still a beginner, really!), and I tend to run for around 20mins at 10.5kph (average- I slowly increase my speed during my run).
However, despite my best efforts I find it exceptionally difficult to run when I'm outside, even on a relatively flat track: where I can generally make 3.2-3.5k on the treadmill, I'd make a paltry 2k when running outside (and become tired after a very short amount of time). Is there any reason for this? How can I improve? I'd like to be able to beat this demon, as I can't access the gym on weekends...so outside is my only option :')

BeautifulScarsWECHANGED

bump!

AZTrailRunner

Treadmills cushion your landing, propel you forward, don't involve the terrain or elements. Those are the biggest reasons you are seeing a difference.

Start your treadmill between 1.5-2% incline, every time, and use some of the "hilly" workout programs on the treadmill to build more strength.

Runs4Wine

I'm the total opposite... I primarily run outdoors and can't run for anything on the treadmill. It all boils down to what your used to.

My personal experience is the difference is mostly mental, but it could be other factors such as elevation/incline differences or speed.

donnam40

Hi There,

I am an experienced runner and do both treadmill and road running. The main difference between road running and treadmill running is that on a treadmill you do not have to propel yourself forwards and this requires energy. The other difference is that your leg is returned for you via the belt, again requiring less energy. Often treadmills are inaccurate in their speed and therefore distance.

If you can run outside more frequently this is better. When you run outside, tell yourself as you are running 'breath, relax' and make sure you are not leaning forward so enough oxygen can get into those lungs. On the treadmill the rythym is set for you, outside you need to find your own rythym and slowly work at increasing the distance. On the treadmill, add an incline of 0.5% to 1.0% to try and simulate outside conditions a little better. You can also do a run/walk outside until you are more comfortable with outside running.

Good luck with it and keep persisting. I went from barely being able to run 3km's outside to now having 3 marathons under my belt.

Donna

sexygenius

I can barely walk on a tread mill.. I always feel like im going to fall off, outside is the way to go for me

wolfchild59

You might be running much faster outside than you are in the treadmill, so you're tiring more quickly. I ran exclusively on the treadmill for months and months and my first outside run I felt like I was dying. Then I checked my RunKeeper app on my phone and saw that I was running at a pace that was way faster than what I typically ran on the treadmill.

Once I learned what my normal running pace felt like for outdoor running it actually became easier to maintain and improve my pace/time when running outside.

Also, I second the comment about running at an incline whenever you're on a treadmill. I never run at less than 1.5 while on a treadmill. That's mostly because most treadmills have stupidly annoying shocks in them to cushion your running. Thankfully the one I mostly used was one that you could adjust that down to nothing (sadly, that one is broken and I've been stuck on the uber bouncy gym ones) so that plus the 1.5 incline made my transition to outdoor running pretty easy.

On the extra bouncy gym ones, I typically find myself having to up the speed to .3-.5 mph faster than my normal pace and set the incline to 2-2.5 for it to feel similar to the non-bouncy treadmill or outside.

The best part about finding your pace for outdoor running is that I find it's easier to self regulate your body up and down slightly within that pace rather than having to adjust it on a digital interface. I always have better overall pace times when I run outside vs the treadmill because I have to set speeds I think I want to move up and down between rather than being able to just push and ease up in a natural rhythm.

So stick with trying to get to outdoor running, I think you'll be happier overall once you find your pace.

Natalie49

Maybe you should increase the incline on the treadmill every now and then..? & the more you get used to running outside the easier it'll get.
Honestly, I prefer running outside.. I also read about a study proving that working out outside in general can help you burn at leat an extra 200 cals than working out inside for the same period of time . which is awesome right!

Good Luck. I hope I helped...