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Treadmill vs. Outdoor Running
lcvaughn520
Posts: 219 Member
Hi everyone,
I am a new ("wannabe") distance runner. I am training for my first half marathon which will be in October. Now I understand that in a perfect world, I would do every single run outside. For various reasons, however, it is impractical (but not necessarily impossible) for me to do my weekday runs outside so I was planning to rely on the treadmill for those. For my long training runs, I will be able to be outside.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom about doing it this way? I have run a half marathon before that I was completely unprepared for, and I do NOT want to be in that position again. I'm basically wondering how detrimental it will be for me to do the bulk of my shorter runs on a treadmill?
Thanks!
Laura
I am a new ("wannabe") distance runner. I am training for my first half marathon which will be in October. Now I understand that in a perfect world, I would do every single run outside. For various reasons, however, it is impractical (but not necessarily impossible) for me to do my weekday runs outside so I was planning to rely on the treadmill for those. For my long training runs, I will be able to be outside.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom about doing it this way? I have run a half marathon before that I was completely unprepared for, and I do NOT want to be in that position again. I'm basically wondering how detrimental it will be for me to do the bulk of my shorter runs on a treadmill?
Thanks!
Laura
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Replies
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If you absolutely must use the dreadmill, I hear that setting up an incline is about the only way you can somewhat simulate running on Earth.0
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Ditto Sonic, if I am on the treadmill I set it to 1% incline. I have read somewhere that 1% incline is a good simulation of an outdoor flat running surface. Obviously if you know the half marathon you are running will be more hilly than not, you may want to vary from there. I actaully try to do one run per week on the treadmill, a shorter one, but still I feel like it helps with my pacing since it forces me to go my goal pace for a distance better than I sometimes push myself outside.0
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For me, while I use the treadmill if I must, my stride is different on the mill. The impact forces are also lessened. You really can't truly replicate wind resistance though (unless you've got a kickass fan set up or something). That being said, they can be useful for things like tempo runs or if the weather truly is dreadful.0
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I agree with the above about the incline on the treadmill. My coach always puts it at 1 just to increase the difficulty a bit. I always do my speed and tempo runs on the treadmill. Try to get outside as much as you can for the easy and long runs though
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Adding my voice for treadmill!
Not my preference. But, with some incline, you can get a very good workout.
Some even have pre-set runs to make it interesting.
And, a treadmill is a great place to get some barefoot running in!0 -
Is the race being run on the treadmill?
Even if it's impractical to run outside, you should make it happen if you can. There is no substitute for being on the roads and trails. The treadmill should only be used in extreme circumstances, like hail storms, a foot of ice on the ground, raging wildfires or the apocalypse. Any other time, get outside and run.0 -
You really can't truly replicate wind resistance though (unless you've got a kickass fan set up or something).
There was a study done within the last couple of years that determined that (lack of) wind resistance does not come into play on the treadmill until you reach 6:00 miles and faster.0 -
Is the race being run on the treadmill?
Even if it's impractical to run outside, you should make it happen if you can. There is no substitute for being on the roads and trails. The treadmill should only be used in extreme circumstances, like hail storms, a foot of ice on the ground, raging wildfires or the apocalypse. Any other time, get outside and run.
Agreed! Most of my mid week training runs start at around 4:30 am and finish before it's light out. I don't know that there would be any weather that I'd get in the California Bay Area that would keep me indoors (we don't typically get snow, hail, hurricanes, tornadoes - the bad weather I'd have to combat would be rain/wind & some cold temperatures, but nothing extreme). Basically the only time I use a treadmill for a training run is when my husband is traveling out of town and, therefore, I can't leave my kids alone in the house.0 -
I saw this too. I ran all last winter on the treadmill. 55-65 miles a week. Even the long 25 mile runs at a tiny incline. I did ok during the marathon but pounding the pavement...literally...could have prepared my body for the shock of it the second half. Pavement is much harder of a surface. For a half marathon I would have done great but a longer race than that I needed to be outside.You really can't truly replicate wind resistance though (unless you've got a kickass fan set up or something).
There was a study done within the last couple of years that determined that (lack of) wind resistance does not come into play on the treadmill until you reach 6:00 miles and faster.
If I did all my weekly short runs on tmill then long one outside I would have fared better im sure!
Right now I run tmilll a couple of times a week for 5 miles or less. We shall see if it works in Sept for my next marathon.
good luck.0 -
Thanks everyone! I will be sure to make more of an effort to get outside for some of my short runs as well, but I am encouraged that people overall do not seem as down on the treadmill as I expected. I really appreciate everyone's input!0
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You really can't truly replicate wind resistance though (unless you've got a kickass fan set up or something).
There was a study done within the last couple of years that determined that (lack of) wind resistance does not come into play on the treadmill until you reach 6:00 miles and faster.
That I did not know. That said, I still find the sensations different enough to me, to try to avoid running on the mill for the most part. Of course I have done a 15 miler on a mill before. It was my first experience with cabin fever.0 -
Is the race being run on the treadmill?
Even if it's impractical to run outside, you should make it happen if you can. There is no substitute for being on the roads and trails. The treadmill should only be used in extreme circumstances, like hail storms, a foot of ice on the ground, raging wildfires or the apocalypse. Any other time, get outside and run.
^^^^ Sounds about right......the only thing guaranteed to keep me indoors is freezing rain. A zombie apocalypse might too :laugh:
When I made the decision to run outside all year 'round my running enjoyment quotient went up exponentially.0 -
Is the race being run on the treadmill?
Even if it's impractical to run outside, you should make it happen if you can. There is no substitute for being on the roads and trails. The treadmill should only be used in extreme circumstances, like hail storms, a foot of ice on the ground, raging wildfires or the apocalypse. Any other time, get outside and run.
*Anything larger than pea size hail0 -
My first half marathon was in March, and I live in Colorado, so all of my weekday runs were on a treadmill (due to lack of light in my off-work hours). I didn't have any problem. I think, as long as you're doing a majority of your long runs outside you will be fine! Put the treadmill on a bit of inline (1-2) to simulate being outside and you should be fine!0
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Is the race being run on the treadmill?
Even if it's impractical to run outside, you should make it happen if you can. There is no substitute for being on the roads and trails. The treadmill should only be used in extreme circumstances, like hail storms, a foot of ice on the ground, raging wildfires or the apocalypse. Any other time, get outside and run.
*Anything larger than pea size hail 0 -
...(due to lack of light in my off-work hours)...0
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...(due to lack of light in my off-work hours)...
Yes, I know I could get a headlamp (actually I have one)...but running alone in the dark in the freezing cold of winter just isn't that enjoyably to me. I do run outside on the weekends and in the summer though.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...I'm just letting the OP know that I did very well on my first half marathon without running outside for EVERY run. I even beat my goal time by almost 10 minutes (goal time was 2:10, and I ran it in 2:00:51).
EDIT - just to add I did 6 mile Treadmill runs (often interval runs) every Tuesday and Thursday morning, and then shorter easy TM runs on Wednesdays as well, Crosstraining (Spin) on Monday and Friday, then my Long runs outside on Saturdays, and either rest or a short outdoor recovery run on Sundays.0 -
...(due to lack of light in my off-work hours)...
Yes, I know I could get a headlamp (actually I have one)...but running alone in the dark in the freezing cold of winter just isn't that enjoyably to me. I do run outside on the weekends and in the summer though.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...I'm just letting the OP know that I did very well on my first half marathon without running outside for EVERY run. I even beat my goal time by almost 10 minutes (goal time was 2:10, and I ran it in 2:00:51).
EDIT - just to add I did 6 mile Treadmill runs (often interval runs) every Tuesday and Thursday morning, and then shorter easy TM runs on Wednesdays as well, Crosstraining (Spin) on Monday and Friday, then my Long runs outside on Saturdays, and either rest or a short outdoor recovery run on Sundays.
Thank you! I really appreciate this input. Since I'm relatively new to running, I don't quite have the fervor for outdoor running that some people tend to have, and I'm also fairly paranoid about being outside alone in the dark. And it's not because of lack of light - it's more because of rapists. Again, paranoid, I realize, but that's just me!
Based on a lot of these responses, I will definitely try to do as many of my runs outdoors as possible, but it is good to know that it won't be the end of the world if I have to do some of my shorter runs inside. Again, thank you EVERYONE, this has been super informative for me!0 -
and•Chris Clark, the United States' lone woman at the Sydney Olympics, who set PRs at both the Trials and the Olympic Games, did half of her training on a treadmill. "I work out in the morning on the days I go to work," says Clark, 39. "There's no way I'm going out in the cold when it's 5:30 in the morning, five degrees and pitch black."
andBack in 1991, Jones did 80% of her training leading up to the Boston Marathon on a treadmill. During one stretch, she trained 10 straight days indoors. She went on to finish second at Boston in a personal best 2:26:40.
source: http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/content/content.jsp?contentId=300125Miller trained strictly on a treadmill for the 1999 San Diego Marathon. His average marathon time before that race was 3:24. At San Diego, he posted a 3:07 personal best.
So, it can be done. However, if you are a newer runner AND you do all your running inside and never run outside you may not get the same positive results if your first time on asphalt is in the race..0 -
Why choose one or the other when you can have both? Take an extension cord and bring your treadmill outside. Then you can enjoy the outdoors and running on your treadmill at the same time!0
