HM Training on a treadmill
MamaVeys
Posts: 12
Hi all! I am in week 2 of training for my first half marathon in May and I have a question. I live in Nebraska and do my running at 5 am so it's currently indoors and on the treadmill. My question is this: should I do my runs on the Manual flat surface or run on hills? I hope that the weather will finally be warm and safe enough (no icy sidewalks and streets) that I can move my long runs outside on the weekends but until it's light enough that early my short runs will continue to be inside for safety. Currently I've been running on the Rolling Hills Level 1 on the treadmill and then planing my long runs that are on the treadmill to be the flat surface so I can focus on distance. I decided on Tuesday this week to try level 2 on the hills but then on level 1 this morning my legs felt exhausted and the 3 miles felt really long. I'm told that the half marathon I am doing is hilly so I want to make sure that I'm preparing for that along with distance and I know it's crucial to get outside as much as possible for training. So what's the best thing to do?
Also, do you wear your running shoes on your strength/cross training days or do you wear different shoes? I wear my running shoes for both and I wonder if that's going to make them wear out faster?
Thank you in advance for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!
Also, do you wear your running shoes on your strength/cross training days or do you wear different shoes? I wear my running shoes for both and I wonder if that's going to make them wear out faster?
Thank you in advance for your advice, I greatly appreciate it!
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Replies
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I'm training for a full in June, with a half in May, and so far most of my training has been done on the treadmill.
My long runs I do at level 1 incline, to mimic what I might encounter outdoors, and I keep my pace nice and easy ~10:30/mile. I don't throw hills into the mix on my long run.
I do however do a treadmill hill training run once a week - it works out to be between 3 and 4 miles and it is a pyramid type run. My legs certainly feel it.
I don't have enough experience to answer your question about incorporating hills into your long run...but for me, I like to keep them separate and when I hit a hill on my outdoor runs, my body responds well thanks to my hill training.
As for your shoes question - I always give my shoes a "rest day" after my long run. So, if I do any kind of strength or walking that day I wear my older shoes which are still in great shape, but don't quite offer me the support I want for long runs anymore. Then I will alternate between my good runners and the older ones for shorter runs during the week, making sure that my long run shoes get a "rest day" before my long run too. I don't know if it really helps longevity of the shoe, but the person at the running store mentioned that you shouldn't wear them right after a long run to give the cushioning a better chance at decompressing.0 -
I do all of my training on my treadmill because I do not want my running obession to effect family time. I do hills, sprints, as needed depending on what I am training for. I have done up to 24 miles on the treadmill.
I have different shoes for non running activities, trail shoes, and if I was not on a budget would have outdoor shoes also.
You may want to start with some incline walking, it has worked wonders for my running.0 -
Thank you both for your responses! It does help! I think the level 2 Rolling Hills might have been too much, but if I stick to maybe one day of the hills, a day on a slight incline, and then my long runs either flat or outside that should hopefully help. As long as I get my long runs in on Saturday then my shoes get until Monday morning for rest. I would love to get some cross trainers when my budget allows so I'm not wearing my running shoes everyday!0
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I only wear my running shoes for running. I don't do any other exercise in them and I don't wear them to the store or anything like that. They are just for running. Once they're worn out they become my knocking around/yardwork/whatever shoes. I've heard that anything you do that isn't running can change the wear pattern or something and affect how the shoes handle when you're running in them.
I don't run on a treadmill but I do throw several hills into my long runs. And if I know the race I'm training for is hilly I'll seek out extra hills on several long runs. The more you run on hills the flatter they get. But I'm of the school of thought that my training runs should be difficult so that I'm better prepared on race day.0 -
General rule of thumb is that a 2% incline is the equivelant of running on the flat outside. Running on a treadmill is very different from running outside particulalry if on the trails or with hills. No amount of treadmill work will comepnsate for real hills, there's a world of difference between a rolling surface and physically pushing your self up a hill.
Living in the UK i don't get the same extreme weather conditions as you but can't you consider using Yaktrax or Kahtoola's to run in?
Running shoes should be used just for that, if you can afford more than one pair and alternate them than all the better.
Good luck0 -
I do all of my training on my treadmill because I do not want my running obession to effect family time. I do hills, sprints, as needed depending on what I am training for. I have done up to 24 miles on the treadmill.
I have different shoes for non running activities, trail shoes, and if I was not on a budget would have outdoor shoes also.
You may want to start with some incline walking, it has worked wonders for my running.
I could have written this pretty much word for word. I work night shift and have a 2 year old so a decent amount of my running is spent on the treadmill after my daughter is in bed. Too much mommy guilt to work and run during her waking hours. I did all my marathon training on a treadmill. Long runs were at a 2 incline and i while training for the georgia 1/2 in atlanta i made sure to do one day a week of hill training. It worked very well for me.0 -
Thank you all for your posts! It's good to hear that others have had good experiences with the treadmill training. 95% of my training is done at 5am while my family is asleep so that I do not have to put my girls in the daycare, especially now while the cold/flu season is still rampant and there's so many things to do with the kids during the day. I'm going to try to get my long runs in outside when I can, hopefully starting this week, it's still pitch black outside until after 7:30 am!
I wear my running shoes only for running and strength training, hopefully someday I'll have a pair for each!0
