Most of the week i am force to use my treadmill due weather and babysitting.
I wonder if I am getting the same benefits as running in the road? The most ive gone is 15k and playing around with incline and speed.
What are the cons of using the treadmill all the time for Ironman training when above factor is in effect?
Thanks ST
One drawback to the treadmill, especially for long runs, is the mental aspect is changed/removed. The treadmill keeps you on pace so you don’t have to “force” yourself to keep going at your originally desired pace which is the case when you are doing long runs outside.
Personally, I like to go shorter and harder on the TM. Lots of pros do a fair amount of work on TM.
I would not worry. You have to do what you have to do.
I HATE the TM. It’s a mind numbing experience.
The bad- you find yourself constantly checking “how much longer”. You feel like a pig dropping sweat all over the TM. You’re stuck between grandmom doing her PM walk and 3kidMommy doing her powerwalk. You’re caught watching CNN/Fox News/MSNBC/Soapnet. The good- it does keep you on pace. It does allow you to peep the hottie next to you.
My best running year was 5-6 runs a week on the treadmill with 1-2 runs a week on the road. And it was intentional. The treadmill made me hold a certain pace, was easier to do speed work and intervals.
i doubt you run enough on it to really worry about it. long term use then i would worry but if you were able to get out once or twice a week and hit the roads then its ok. i once made the mistake of doing just dirt road and TM and come marathon time the pavement killed me by mile 8. i pulled out at mile 22-23 and was on pace for a pr. but if you have a lot of miles under your legs dont worry about developing an inability to judge pace or anything. now if you are a novice and have never broken 30miles a week and these are your indoctrination miles… well then maybe i would get out on the roads a bit more.
For me, the TM sucks. I too am relegated to TM most days due to weather. Lately I had been going great. Long runs (for me) and very comfortable. Did this for a month. Went outside last weekend and within 15 min I was hurting. Heavy breathing, knees felt like a sledgehammer was taken to them, calves tightened, ankle pain. I know the TM works for most, and maybe I’m just not using it correctly, but I just feel like since the TM belt is moving my legs don’t need to ‘push off’ as much…and it feels great. Then without that i.e. on the road, my legs have to work harder.
In all fairness though, las weeks run outside was first in a month so…My roadwork in spring summer is better because most running is done outside.
But I wish I could just dial the TM in a bit to get me a more similar feel to the road.
Are you inclining the TM to at least 1%? I find that if I run with no incline that I feel like I am running downhill. I hate the thing but I’d rather be indoors where it is safe than to go outside and slip on a patch of ice and be out of commission.
Funny you say this. I had been going at 1.5% then one day in Dec I forgot to set incline and my run was like heaven. I thought I was making progress…until I saw the incline at 0%. I figured I’ll do this for a bit so I can run longer. Guess that didn’t pay off! I will need to HTFU and dial it back up a bit.
you might want to bookmark this: http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php I find there’s alot of accuracy with the adjusted pace and running outdoors.
cheers
S.
you might want to bookmark this: http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php I find there’s alot of accuracy with the adjusted pace and running outdoors.
cheers
S.
Ohh… I like this. Thank you.
I run on the TM a lot. Like a ton. It is a great place to work on speed, rhythm, cadence etc. I always keep the incline at zero, you dont have to run at an incline to “mimic” the effect of running outside. As I see it, there are two major differences b/t TM and outdoors. TM there is NO wind resistance to overcome, which is likely why people like the 1% incline. The second, which is a feel thing for me, your legs dont get “hard” from the pounding of outdoor pavement running. An earlier poster said he noticed this during a marathon when his legs shut down.
I used to hate it, now that I am older and have old joints, the TM is awesome. Totally disagree w the earlier post that its easy bc you dont have to force yourself to keep a certain pace, that is, the TM does it for you. That’s the point, outdoors, people naturally slow down when fatigued mentally or physically. On the TM, the speed is what it is, keep up or fall off.