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Anyone run a 5k all out on a treadmill?

davemunger
davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
edited February 22 in Social Groups
I'm participating in a running study that will involve me doing two 5k time trials on treadmill. I try to avoid the treadmill as much as possible so I've never done anything like this. When I do use a treadmill it is usually for hill work or just an easy warm-up or cool-down. I'm just wondering if anyone has done this kind of thing before and if you have any pointers.

Do you go straight to your planned race pace and then just hang on at that pace for the whole race?

Or do you vary the pace based on your perceived effort at that time?

I know that during a real race, my pace can vary considerably -- I guess what I am wondering is if the fact that a treadmill allows you to maintain a precise pace is helpful or harmful.

Also, any sense of how a road 5K time would compare to a treadmill 5k? On a treadmill you don't get the cooling effect of the wind, so I thought that might slow you down a bit. But on the other hand, there's no wind resistance, so that should speed you up -- is the net effect that the times should be similar?

Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer about hard treadmill running!

Replies

  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    I'd never attempt this, lol

    But, a study that was in RT a couple years ago showed that there was no wind resistance variance until you reached a 6:00 pace or so. I figure you'll be right at the end of where that would come into play.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I'd never attempt this, lol

    But, a study that was in RT a couple years ago showed that there was no wind resistance variance until you reached a 6:00 pace or so. I figure you'll be right at the end of where that would come into play.

    Yeah, my PR pace is 5:45 but I was thinking of starting out at a 6:00 pace and then bumping up or down based on how I'm feeling. The other weird / stupid thing about treadmills is that they are in MPH instead of MPM. By my calculations, at a 6:00 pace, every 1/10th MPH increase / decrease should be the equivalent of about 3.5 seconds per mile.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I'm getting lots more responses to this on my profile page than here but I thought I'd summarize them here:

    Victoria: 22:20 track 5k vs 21:45 mill
    V's brother: 18:54 road vs 17:54 mill
    Ray: 24:26 road vs 23:30 mill

    Carson: This could be due to poorly calibrated treadmills

    I would hope this is not the case for a scientific study but you never know. Assuming the treadmills were accurate, this suggests that a 6:00 start would be rather slow for me. I might need to reconsider that.
  • iwannabinnarnia
    iwannabinnarnia Posts: 179 Member
    Because i do not live in a 'safe' neighborhood.. I use my treadmill for training/running all the time. But I do think different treadmills/brands/styles do have different paces as my home treadmill doesn't seem 'as fast' as the one at the gym I go to. I am not at a place yet where i can keep a constant fast pace (though I'm working with a Personal trainer to get there).. so I will do anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes at a 'fast pace' (for me right now that's between a 5 and a 5.5).. then a minute or two at a 4 to catch my breath. I did manage a 10 minute mile one time on my home treadmill, it just about killed me.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I'm now two weeks out from the dreaded time trial. I think I'm going to try doing some 1/2 mile intervals on the treadmill to see how they feel -- I have never run this fast on a treadmill! Any other fast treadmill running tips would be greatly appreciated.
  • iwannabinnarnia
    iwannabinnarnia Posts: 179 Member
    don't go so fast that you go flying off the back of it! :laugh:
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I did 6* 1/2 mile intervals on the treadmill today. It felt surprisingly easy. My 5k PR is 17:49, which works out to a 5:44 pace. I'm not sure I'm in quite as good shape right now so I took the intervals a bit easier at first -- 10mph, which is 6:00/mile. Then I gradually increased the pace each time until the last one was at 10.5 mph, 5:42 pace. Still didn't feel bad, even after 6 repeats (and jogging 1/4 mile recoveries).

    I think I will start the 5K time trial at the 10 mph pace, then bring it up to 10.5 for mile 2 if I'm feeling good. Then adjust accordingly for mile 3.
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