Treadmill vs. Outdoors

[I_TLK_DOG]

[moiettoi]

I actually find it physically harder to run on the treadmill than on the road.

[linneamae]

Wow, this thread turned into a very interesting debate!

It really is different for everyone, that's for sure. I think this weekend I'd better get outside and see how I feel running outdoors. Back home in BC I loved running outdoors, but this whole -20 and -30 is just not for me at all!

Thank you all for your input!
_________________
Linnea

Big Goal: San Diego Half Marathon, Team in Training
Pre-Preggers Body Goal: Dauphin Countryfest

Please read my story and help me reach my fundraising goal.
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=589317

[d_rosenblat1]

I find its easier to get on to a treadmill and start a run, but much easier to finish a run outside...

[jwolf]

"Coach Jenny"'s advice is decent, except that air resistance has been shown to have a very minor effect. Most treadmill runners that have trouble when they first transition to outdoor running do so simply because they have trouble pacing themselves and run too fast. The consistent and forgiving surface is also a factor for sure.

Daniels has workouts in his book to use treadmill running in place of speed training. He has "equivalent" speeds for outdoor running (track) wrt incline and pace on the treadmill. Generally people say that treadmll speed is about 0.1-0.2mph easier than outdoor running, but this can vary greatly depending on the treadmill. Others say that you should "set the incline at 1-2% to simulate outdoor running", but there is lots of disgreement over that, too.

Here's another take on treadmill running:
http://mysite.verizon.net/jim2wr/id112.html


Bottom line is that you can adjust speed/incline to simulate the effort of outdoor running, knowing what you want to do for whatever workout it is. If you just enjoy running on it, don't get so caught up in all the numbers.
Just run.

[i_postwaytoomuch]

I went out for an 8K run tonight, on a completely frozen sidewalk that our good city has yet to plough (thanks Mayor Miller, oh how I love you....not). My ankles twisted this way, and then that way, and then this way again, and I had to slow to a stop and walk each 90 degree turn for fear of wiping out. Now, I don't own a treadmill, and I've only been on one a few times when I was away on business and wasn't sure of the neighbourhood I was contemplating running in....but there's NO WAY IN HELL that treadmill running even comes close to what I went through tonight. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

But that's just my experience and everyone is different.
_________________
Jim

"Never again .... until the next time."

[jwolf]

[icanspel]

[Mike7890]

[Impet]

Here's another thought experiment which is a little "closer to home", although Ian's illustrated the point perfectly well.

Suppose, for the sake of the thought experiment, that we had an infinitely long treadmill (so we won't have to worry about falling off the end). Say you and I stepped onto it together, and it being my rest day, I sat down, and you started running. Say you were running at a 10:00/mi pace, and so, after 10 minutes, you would be exactly one mile away from me, as we both move past the scenery on our infinite treadmill. At this point, we both step off the treadmill. You run back to me at the same pace, covering the one mile in 10 minutes.

Both runs covered 1 mile. Both were run in 10 minutes. Your speed relative to me was identical in both cases, and yet, claiming that a treadmill is easier than running overground is equivalent to claiming that the second mile was tougher than the first.

To my mind, the only way this can be true is if there are other, second-order factors. To be sure, these factors exist (wind, terrain, temperature, fluctuations in treadmill speed etc), but that's not what i_blokland or jwolf are arguing. They're saying that the notion that the treadmill "pulls your leg" is an illusion created by the fact that you're not on the treadmill with the runner. [I'll have you know it took all my effort to avoid the obvious pun!]

If you're still reading, i'm going to get technical. This conclusion is a requirement of the laws of relativity; the physics must be invariant in all inertial frames. This is clear from our thought experiment by replaying it with the treadmill running at any speed you like. You will always be 1 mile away from me when we get off the treadmill!

Thus, if a runner expends a certain amount of energy covering a certain distance in one frame, simply translating that frame at a constant velocity does not change her energy expenditure.

Correct me if I'm wrong!
_________________
My 2009:

Chilly Chase (33:57 - PB)
First Half (1:15:54 - PB)
UBC Olympic Triathlon (my first!) (2:25:01)
Boston (2:50:11)
Underwear Affair ($915 fundraising PB)
Ironman Canada (11:18:35)

[FishHog]

[jlang]

I'm not sure what conclusions we can draw from this but here goes...

Let's try another experiment on this infinitely long treadmill. Say you are alone and sit down on the treadmill, then set the pace to a 10 minute mile. After 10 minutes, you are 1 mile away from where you started. You get off the treadmill and run back to the starting point.

During each 10 minute interval, you covered a distance of 1 mile. Which mile was easier - the one wher you actually ran, or the one where you were sitting down?

Curioser and curioser......

[ottawa76]

I find it harder to run on a treadmill than on the road for 90% of the time, since I have no distraction and have to keep a more than steady pace. Anyway on days like this week, it is accoring to me easier to run on a treadmill than outside...I would say the same if it is really stormy or really hot outside.
_________________
5k:20:22
10k: 42:50
1/2 m: 1h33:43
marathon: 3:26:53

[n_m.]

Keep it simple guys A treadmill is a great alternative on days where you can't get out for a run. If you CAN run outdoors, get out there. Nothing beats the feeling of an outdoor run. A treadmill can't simulate that.
_________________
http://lacingup.wordpress.com/
"If God has a master plan, That only He understands, I hope it's your eyes He's seeing through..." ~ D.M.

[purdy65]