Question re: Treadmill v. Outside

clariangel

I'm currently on Week 2, Day 2. I normally walk/jog outside. And Week 2 has been hard for me. But today I use the treadmill at work for some exercise. I didn't plan on jogging at all, but the walking was soooo easy. So I sped up the treadmill and starting jogging. Normally, I'm very winded after 90 seconds. but today I jogged 10 minutes! WHAT? Yea, 10 minutes straight. Grant it, it was the world's slowest jog at 3.5 MPH, but it was still jogging for me.

So my question is this. Is it actually easier to jog on a treadmill than outside?

lizo11

For me, I find jogging outside easier than jogging on the treadmill. I get really bored on the treadmill, and I don't push myself nearly as hard as I do outside.

That being said, if you are actually enjoying the treadmill run, do that!! It's all about what works best for you!

kfbayard

From what I've read, yes, for two reasons. 1) The treadmill cushions your landing more making it easier on your feet/legs/joints. 2) Something to do with it pulling you means you aren't doing as much work to propel yourself forward. I've also seen talk about no wind resistance on a treadmill but don't pay attention to that because I jog so slow I can't imagine there's that much resistance lol.

I'm doing an 8 person marathon relay in 2 weeks so I've been doing all my training outside so I don't go into shock the day of the relay by finding it much harder outside. Except yesterday morning when it was raining and I ran at the gym...boy did I have a hard time with my "mental toughness" since nothing was distracting me from how bored I was, and how I was sweating a lot, and oh god its only been 10 min I have a 20 to go, and am I running wrong and look ridiculous, and the kazillion other thoughts that try to sabotage my runs. Being outside helps me with that for sure because I'm distracted by the scenery.

clariangel

I could definitely see how its borning to jog on a treadmill. but I didn't get bored today because I was so amazed that I could jog for so long! My knees and hips definitely feel a ton better after this jogging session than others when i'm outside. So I wonder if I should make the switch permament. What's the point of being able to run a 5k if you destory your knees and hips?

kfbayard

I'd say do what ever works for you and your goals. If I didn't have the goal of running my 3.25 mile leg of the relay I'd probably have been doing a mix of indoor and outdoor (my dog likes the runs). And I'm sure if I was doing more indoor, I'd find ways to distract myself. I also can't imagine what it is going to be like to run outside in the summer...so I may be singing the praises of treadmills in another month or so!

In any case, enjoy C25K. It definitely gets easier to do the longer runs. In the early weeks, it seems like weeks 5 and on will be impossible. I'm on W8D2 tomorrow using the distance goals (2.75 miles). I've deviated from the plan a bit because I'm still walking occasionally, but I try to keep that to under a minute. The marathon relay is on the 13th. I'm pretty sure I'll be 90% running, 10% walking - which is still pretty damn great considering I wasn't running at all at in February. My goal is to finish in less than 45 min.

Starbec

Yep - running on the treadmill is easier than running outside - as the above poster said when you're outside you actually have to propel your body forward and combat different terrain - ie slight hills, dips, gutters, tree roots LOL

I have read that if you set the treadmill to a slight incline it can help in 're-creating' the outside terrain.

Great work tho - if running on the treadmill works better for you then keep at it. Either way your running

clariangel

thanks everyone for the responses! I think I will try running on a treadmill a try for a week or so. Normally I'm a bit stiff and sore the morning after a run, but this morning I feel great! So I really do think the treadmill is better for my joints. This was a happy discovery!

MrsR0SE

I wonder if you were running more slowly than you would outside? I don't know what speed I jog at, but it's difficult to maintain a consistent speed outside. Main plus for me of running outside - it's lovely to see the natural world around me as I run, and it's totally free from the moment I leave my house all the way through the run

As the others said, though, you are running and enjoying it; that's the most important thing!