Forums > Running 101 > Treadmill (Dreadmill) running...
Runner Girl...
I just got a pretty good treadmill (Sole f 80) for Christmas from my hubby. His work schedule doesn't allow for much outside running for me in the winter....soooooo, I've been logging my miles on the treadmill, which is great because I've got three small children and at least I'm getting 2 -3 miles daily.
so...the pace I'm running on the treadmill seems to be slower than what I would normally run outside...I'm DYING by mile 2...where outside I'm able to run 3-4 with no problems...
is this normal? Am I just mentally psyching myself out?
I'm 'thinking' of running my first marathon in June...so a lot of training will be on treadmill and have my long runs outside on the weekends....I'll begin my training in March...I may chicken out and just do the Half!
I loved my half last year!
Thanks!
I have been doing a lot of treadmill running too. We have gotten five feet of snow since Wednesday. My pace on the treadmill is slightly faster than outside, but I don't set the 1-2% grade some people do to compensate for wind resistance. It could be the calibration on your treadmill. Just set it slower and don't worry about the pace, go by effort and time. There was a thread on here recently about how to measure the calibration of your treadmill, but I haven't done that yet. I put a fan in front of the treadmill to cool me off and listen to my iPod while I have the TV on muted to keep from getting too bored.
MTA: I got the footpod for my Garmin 305 for Christmas. That allows the Garmin to automatically record my time and distance and it can be calibrated independantly from your treadmill. However, it has been very frustrating for me to get the calibration right. I think my stride changes as I get warmed up, so the first few miles it reads a shorter distance than the treadmill and then makes it up in the last miles. But it is not consistent. Some days it is more off than others.
I find that run faster outside than I do on the treadmill as well, though I usually set at least a 1% incline.
I usually attribute the variation in pace due to boredom, and that the treadmill mandates that certain pace without variation, leading me to either zone out or play pace games with myself to keep myself engaged. Or I wear a headsock and reflectors and run outside.
So you're not alone! Like the previous poster said, going by effort is better than being a numbers junkie (as I used to be, and got myself burned out... still recovering!).
A Saucy Wench
I tend to run faster on the treadmill just to get it over with. Plus to combat boredom I often do speedwork on the TM. If I run too many runs in a row on the TM I can tell that I have been running too hard too often. It is pretty much the same if I run at the treadmill at home or at the treadmill at the gym.
And I do the 1% grade not for any "wind resistance" b.s. but because 2 physical therapists have recommended it as a way to combat a common problem of overstriding on a treadmill as the standing leg gets pulled behind you by the belt. That may be b.s. as well but it has gotten to the point where 0 grade feels funny to me.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer
"I don't care how old I live! I just want to be LIVING while I am living - Jack LaLanne. "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7I failed the 12 minute run at 15...BQ'd at 38
mileage hound
Most likely is probably just calibration. I had a gym at my old office I used to use, and the effort at a given speed on that treadmill way WAY less than my home treadtmill. I run on a lot of hotel treadmills and it's easy to tell they are all over the place.
2012 goals: Fastest race times since 2006.
Amy - the answer to your question is yes. i run a lot in the winter time on the TM and find my normal TM pace to be 30 to 60 seconds per mile slower then outside (not sure why, but thats seems to be the way that it is).
I find if I vary my paces around a lttle ever1/4 to1/2 mile it help with the treadmill boredom.....
Champions are made when no one is watching
lace 'em up!
2- The lack of wind, which initially makes running on the TM easier, will cause you to heat up more once you get going, and then make it harder than running outside.
Anyway I don't worry about it I just run slower on the treadmill.
hmmm...apparently I am weird. What a shocker.
if you don't want to be weird, just change that incline from 1 to, say, 10. That will make you slow down for sure...
Here in Sacramento, I don't have to worry about the weather much...and then there was this week. Rain all week and pretty much non-stop forced me to run on the treadmll at the gym. Yeah, talk about being way off. I kicked ass on that thing running at a much faster pace than my normal 8:30-9:00 min/mi outside, but it had me only running between an 8:00-8:34 pace. I ran an hour, felt like a much faster pace than outside, for only 6.38 miles. I usually log at least 7 miles in an hour when I run outside at a slower pace. Anyway, I was just happy to get some type of run in.
When I use to run on the treadmill at least 2 days a week before strictly outside running only, I'd always run intervals. It was the only way to make the treadmill somewhat bearable.
Here in Sacramento, I don't have to worry about the weather much...
I lived in Sacramento for ten years. I melt in the heat and didn't enjoy running outside in triple digits. I used the treadmill more in the summer than the winter back then.
That's why I get out no later than 5:30 a.m. for my runs in the summer.
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