BManners,
As a coach who does not usually use the treadmill for my running,in 40 years of running I can count on one hand how many times I ran on the treadmill. It is funny I can ride the trainer/rollers for a few hours but can't handle treadmill for more than 5 minutes. I am curious how you are making out by adjusting the elevation to 1%. According to what I have read that 1% compensates for the resistance of outside as well as the forced motion of the belt. I know you were trying to increase the elevation. I do have athletes who like the treadmill and I encourage the 1% but they are not putting in 10 mile runs on the treadmill.

1% is minimum, and most of the time I use this except when I want specifically to work 'hills'.

First time I went running on a treadmill was one cold wet evening in England. I was just fed up of being wet and cold, and a treadmill looked appealing. At the time I was training for a marathon and was used to some long runs, but after about 10 minutes I had to take off my T shirt to mask the displays as I was soooo bored! Nowadays at work I have access to a top of the range treadmill with a nice big TV just in front of it, so I can last a lot longer. It is in fact a good way to empty your mind off and run pretty automatically, or on the other hand to concentrate on your form foot landing etc. The longest I have ever run in time was 2h as a subject in an experiment (several times this) and on distance half marathon for 'fun' (just got carried away).

To start running barefoot in the winter treadmill is a good option. Just start very short periods, e.g. 5 minutes, then carry on with shoes. Build up gently or you will suffer the consequences: you need to a) thicken your sole and b) strenghen your calfs. I am not convinced that I will run a lot outside barefoot ever (I usually run a bit on grass and on track) but if nothing else it is a good drill to land softly. The sound of the impact when landing heavily on the treadmill (e.g. on your heel) is so loud it gives you a very good feedback. I run at the moment 2 to 3 times a week barefoot, from 6km (just pass the critical 30' mark ;-) up to 12km.

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I rotate almost like intervals, I will do 8-10 minutes no incline and then 2-4 minutes at a 1 % incline. It is not every run I do this though around every two to three runs .I will do this mainly when I do longer runs as a tool to break up some of the monotony of the treadmill. Like a moron I will also run a "S" pattern getting close to the end's of the treadmill strip. My thinking is it might strengthen different muscles in the legs a bit. I played indoor soccer a couple times last year and knees felt week with all the stop, go and turning. Seems to have helped out a bit as I feel a bit stronger and safer injury ( if you can.) wise playing soccer when I do play. I did start doing the s patternat a slow pace thoufg and after I was warmed up and only a minute at a time. Sometimes with the incline sometimes not.

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I knew this chick that could dislocate her jaw. Usually took a couple of drinks, no Vicodin ;)

Ran the 30 min minimum today on tired legs. My "real" training plan kicked in on Monday and it is frickin killing me. 24 weeks of pain and suffering before IMLP!!!!

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I heard about the 1% thing here on ST years ago and dial it in before punching in a speed. Just do it from the beginning and you will not think anything of it. I do a lot of treadmilling and have done up to 20 miles on it. I have an active imagination and being on a treadmill doesn't bother me. On the plus side, it's very hard to cheat an interval once you punch it in;-)

OMG you did what to your jaw?????>

.......buy something for me while your out there.......it's snowing like 3 " per hour here in Central Jersey and I aint goin nowhere till it stops.

Time to crank up the computrainer.

5k in 19:55 at about 80% effort coming off full week of training and still in the heavy miles/yards of triathlon base training. First half in 10:10 and back in 9:45. I really ramped the intensity of my cycling this week so I was about where I expected especially in the second half.I approched the challenge a bit more aggressivley to the 50-60 day mark than last year. I noticed last year that my fitness peaked in May about 6 weeks after the challenge ended. One of my main races this year is St. Anthony's which is 4 weeks after the challenge. By approaching the bigger miles a bit earlier should allow me to be freshand peaked a bit earlier.

Scot, good job!

I'm fat....20:14 5K run split today in the local winterlude triathlon (8K speedskate, 5K XC ski, 5 K run). I finished 5th overall, but my run sucked....back in 17th overall for my run split...I got bailed out by a good ski a tactically well raced speedskate, and good transitions....oh well...gotta lose 6 lbs before Wildflower...

http://www.sportstats.ca/...g&racecode=45774

After next weekend it is 4 races in 4 weekends (50K ski, 45K ski, 40K ski and last one is a 10K)...should be fun

Dev

I did a 15K this morning in 52:25. Good enough for 13th place (not including handcyclists). Some fast dudes and women ahead of me. First place was like 44:xx --yikes! I'm happy. It looks like the steady miles of the 100/100 are paying off. BTW, huge tailwind the whole way, which helped a lot.

Dev,
Now is not the time to worry about how fast we go.It is the time for building base for the season ahead. My run time today will be a close indicator of triathlon run pace when race ready. This is the reason we do full weeks of training with normal volume and intensity and then race anyway( I did a six mile tempo on Tuesday at just under 40 minutes). The challenge runners have to realize that it will show about 4-6 weeks after it ends because it takes that long for the mileage to absorb. Even though I am in my 41 st year as a runner and my best times are long gone in the rear view mirror, I still enjoy testing my self and the feeling of going as fast as my 55 year old body will allow me to go.
We have to remember the Mark Allen quote at this time of year.
"Flying in January,Frying in October"

I was hoping to run closer to 19 minutes as I just did 38:02 for 10K a few weeks ago. Agreed that I'm doing this while doing 15-19 hours per week of training, but in a sprint tri for 5K, you should be able to hold 10K race pace....of course, I guess it did not help that it was minus 15C, but other guys were able to run quicker....then again, they did not go as fast as me in the ski leg, and I what really matters is how you quickly you get to the finish, so I guess it really does not matter. I went faster on parts of the course where I had more relative strength....it would have been silly to lame up on my strength and get to the finish slower.

Dev

Dev and scot congrats on greatly run races. Was looking at a few local 5k's coming up. One has a nice downhill with a equally nice uphill also. Looks like fun , I know you are not supposed to give yourself time goals but who cares I am looking to go in the 19 teens.

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Dev,
With me, my times have always been significantly slower this time of year. Last year I ran a 15k at the end of February with a brief taper of a few days and my run time was about 16 seconds per mile slower than my run split time at St. Anthony's about 8 weeks later. I am not sure if my my mind set changes or after all these years i know when the time to push is. My run today is nowhere near as fast a pace I would even be able to run a 10k 8 weeks from now. It is close to what my 10k run split will be at St. Anthony's. a bit slower but close.I am a huge believer in periodization to training and each phase has it's own. It is a bit different for you because you race all year and your fitness will stay a bit closer to the same times without as much flucuations as my training will effect my racing. I try to not look at my race times from my teens, 20's 30's,and even my 40's I also try not to compete against those times because in order to continue to run well in my late 50's I need to look forward not backward. The big difference is a lot more tempo's and some brief strides 15-20 seconds x 6-8 on some easy runs. That is the thing I have been trying to convey during the challenge because I fought injuries through most of my 40's due to not changing my training philosophy and my races were horrible, because it was 2 steps back and 1 step forward. with a multisport race our splits are often skewed due to focus on certain aspects of the other sports involved.

I hear what you are saying about pushing except the Winterlude tri is one of the more important winter events for triathletes around here....so I should be able to push....I did, but I guess my legs were not moving that fast. I did have a pretty heavy week at work from a stress perspective and had work related stuff till ~ 10 pm 3 nites this week, so not really that relaxing! Anyway, no worries....the race itself was good.....when you can take 5th overall, with the 17th fastest run, you had to do something OK for the rest of the day :-)

Dev,
We have both been at this multisport thing for a long time and at times we can get numb from the way we analize our performances. This being said we can also look at how well we can do sometimes when we have a bad effort in one event of a multisport race. Even though I am a strong swimmer, and a pretty decent cyclist, I judge my race more often by my run split.
Life sometimes gets in the way of decent performances. You still had a strong day so that is all that matters.

I have the "KDW triathlon season kickoff classic", otherwise known as the Hyannis Half marathon coming up in a few weeks. This is my winter goal race, hoping to break 1:20 this year (1:20:48 last year). More importantly, this race ends up being a virtual smackdown with Murphy's Law, who does a different half the weekend after. Last year I crushed his dreams by 8 seconds.

Anyone else have a race they are shooting for?

Are you in MA? I was going to do Hyannis, but got a great deal on a house in NH that weekend to do some snowboarding with some friends so I am going to run the New Bedford Half 3 weeks later, also hoping to break 1:20.

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I am looking to PB at EVERY race i do this year. For the record I am not setting myself up for faliure but rather a good kick in the ass :) I really want to do a hour or under @ the N.J. State triathlon. For some dumb reason I have it in my mind I am not going to do the Oly there till I go a hour or under. But really I would just like to shave some times off of races I did last year since I have basically the same schedule as last year. It is going tough with the N.J. State as it is a week after NYC. I think I did 1 hour 8 or 9 minutes last year at the N.J. sprint. I figure i can take 3 minutes off my bike 3 minutes of my run. Maybe 2 minutes off my swim. Not much time to be made up in the t1-t2 area butif I get there early and secure a close spot at end of rack near one side of the enter exit area it will be doable. i have on schedule Long branch half, N.J. Devilman half lite, Philly, NYC, N.J. State sprint, War at the shore, Hightstown sprint and maybe some more thrown in here and there Tri's and Run races. Plus a few freinds and I want to try some TTT's this year. Can you say entrance fee's :)

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You really oughta hop in a 5K one of these weekends. In addition to being a great workout, it will give you some clarity regarding what your current fitness level is and what training paces you should be shooting for over various workouts if you use McMillans.

I have been looking I think there is a 5k few towns over in two weeks. Has a nice downhill and uphill. it is also at 2:00 in the afternoon so I can get the run in (twice) and make it count for the 100/100. I have been looking for more races, just seems they are alway's 45 minutes away and when the kids have a sports event or I am working.

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I will hop in a running race during thsi time of year knowing that even in a 5 k I will be about 60-75 seconds slower due to full volume. I also can train through it before and after. Today 1 hour on trainer after 1 hour( 8+ mile with 12x90 seconds).
Rest of day ready for travk meet on ESPN 2 and then Super Bowl. Not as interested in game as I would if Jets would have gotten in but looks to be high scoring.

Mark out a 5K route with the finish line at your house and the start line 5K away. Run out to the start line for a warmup and then "race" back to the finish to get your time, then keep running easy for your cooldown till you hit 60 min worth of running. Not exactly the same as a race, but a reasonable replacement option that you can fit in more easily around family committments if that is what is stopping ya from going to races.

There is actually a 5k road course mapped out about a half mile away from my house. Was actually the course I ran last after a week of running and a 16 mile run the day before the race. Opps wait a second........ had to make my Moloka'i coffee. Thats better. Where was I yes I managed to put out I think was a 20 minute 6 sec 5k. Your idea is good maybe I will run out to that start line then do that race as it is a measured course. Thanks for the idea. One thing though is I can never get myself to run at the same intensity by myself then if I was in a actual race with other people around. .headed out now to get a 10k or 8 miler in depending how I am feeling. Must have slept a bit wrong last night as my lower back and right shoulder is aching a bit.

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Hey, I agree 100% about not being able to run as hard solo vs having other people around. Aside from the "pacing" aspect of competition, let's not forget that even at 15 kph (4 min per K), there is a huge drafting effect because we're not all tucked in and aero like on a bike. We're running "straight up" like parachutes catching wind, so there is an impact on your solo times vs in a group. I know I suffered from that in my race this weekend. I ran the entire 5K solo as I was ahead of some runners my speed after the XC ski section and the two guys who passed me went by like I was standing still (well, I guess I was at 20:14 pace when they were running sub 19 pace). That being said, depending on what races you plan to do, it's not uncommon for me to end up doing large sections of tri run courses completely solo with no one in the vicinity going my pace. It does not take much for this to materialize. Let's say in a half Ironman if you get off the bike and a couple of guys are running 1:28 pace 100m in front and you're running 1:29, you're never catching them. Meanwhile, you're pulling away from the guys running >1:30 and perhaps you get passed by a few guys running 1:26 which on the surface might seem to be "in the vicinity", but that's 180 second over 21K, or ~9 second per K faster. You might try to latch on but this guy is putting 1 second on your for every 100 m and after 200m, the gap has formed and this guy just gradually pulls away....you're back to running solo....so its not such a bad idea to do some 5K TT's solo so you are ready to endure the pain on race day.

I had a really nice run this morning. Legs felt "on" even though there was soreness from the weekend of racing and training.

I hope everyone is training injury free....by now it should feel pretty automagic to go out and put down some reasonable mileage compared to doing it in week 3 when everything might have felt a bit sore and achy if you started "with a burst".

I just looked at the standings and interestingly enough, there are only 20 guys or so averaging 10K per day (70 K per week).....the number was way higher over the first few weeks....that's "only" 44 miles per week. On paper it sounds easy, but only 5% of the guys can sustain that into the second half :-)

Dev