RunningAHEAD - Topic: Is running on a treadmill acceptable for a long run?

JDF

Non-Stroller-Still Crazy

posted: 1/16/2009 at 11:29 AM

Is running on a treadmill acceptable for a long run? Ok, I know I am a weenie but I just can’t bring myself to do my long run tomorrow morning. It will be 13 degrees F and will feel like 7 F with the wind. My other option is to go and do 3+ hours on the treadmill at my local gym. So is that a bad practice to do a long run on a treadmill? Keep in mind that my marathon(in 4 weeks) is Myrtle. It is one of the flattest courses I know of and it will probably be warmer rather than colder. It got to almost 70 degrees last year. So is running on a treadmill a good way to train for this race? If I do my long run outside it will be on an extremely hilly course(3000+ feet of elevation gain and descent) and it will be absolutely freezing. The outdoor conditions will probably not be anywhere near what I will see in Myrtle. However, the heated gym with the flat treadmill should be closer to Myrtle. Do you think I should just suck it up and suffer outside or try to get a nice steady 20-22 miles in on the treadmill?

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PowerOfQ

Think Whirled Peas

posted: 1/16/2009 at 11:35 AM

Damn, if you can handle being on a treadmill for that long, I can't see any reason why it would be a problem. The temp indoors will most likely be closer to what you'll get at Myrtle too. Go for it, and good luck!

Just because running is simple does not mean it is easy.

Relentless. Forward. Motion. <repeat>

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 1/16/2009 at 11:38 AM

The treadmill should be fine, if you can stand the boredom. I just did 6 (it's cold here too) and that's about all I can stand. The only problem might be if people are waiting to use it and you're on there for that long (some gyms have a time limit). You might explain your situation to the manager just in case. Just don't push the stroller on there! Big grin

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

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MrH

posted: 1/16/2009 at 11:48 AM
modified: 1/16/2009 at 12:23 PM

Why not? Lots of very capable runners do it. I'd be surprised if your gym will let you occupy a single piece of equipment for that long unless the place is empty. And if the treadmill will take it. Smile

When Michael Wardian did his 2:23:58 treadmill marathon it shut down after an hour. http://www.runwashington.com/news/dec04wardiantreadmill.html

The process is the goal.

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.

JDF

Non-Stroller-Still Crazy

posted: 1/16/2009 at 11:53 AM

Quote from perfesserr on 1/16/2009 at 11:38 AM:

The treadmill should be fine, if you can stand the boredom. I just did 6 (it's cold here too) and that's about all I can stand. The only problem might be if people are waiting to use it and you're on there for that long (some gyms have a time limit). You might explain your situation to the manager just in case. Just don't push the stroller on there!

Yea I just joined a lifetime fitness gym that is huge and open 24 hours a day. They have so many treadmills that they couldn’t possibly all fill up. The Monday evening after New Year’s they still had 3-6 tread mills open and they never have any time limits. They also have about 12 plasma TV’s in front of the tread mills and you can get the audio from any of them. I have a few podcasts queued up as well. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep my attention? I heard that someone in our area was going for a treadmill world record soon. Maybe it would be fun to run along with them? Oh by the way the gym’s treadmills go down to at least a 4:30 per mile pace(Yes I tried it). Nothing like getting in some speed work in doors! Yea the stroller on the treadmill would probably be good for 1 million hits on youtube. However, it would probably land you about 15 years in prison for child abuse. Not too mention the damage it would do to the stroller. Those things are not cheap(~$450).

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Slo

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:09 PM

When I run on a treadmill I tend to run at a pace faster than I should 'cause I want off the damn thing. Last week I did do a 12 miler. It really helped to break it up. I ran 5, took a water break.......ran 3, took a water break, ran 3, took a water break then did my final mile. Each time I got on it was always a "managable" distance. It's a little easier for me that way. Personally I don't think you'd suffer to badly with the temps you listed. Our bodies are great furnaces. At 13 deg I would wear a balaclave if you have one. Or at least a scarf......something for the chin. Pic in my profile was taken on a -6 deg day. Just shy of a 7 mile run. No wind at all so I was running into my own breath the whole time. That's whats frozen all over me. Anyway......I had a long sleeve tech shirt on under a cotton pullover. Running tights under a non-lined nylon pant. A very thin pair of wicking socks under my regular socks. Fingers were a little cold for the 1st 15 mins but came around. I know it's important to condition yourself for the actually enviroment.....but the hills are never going to hurt........and it's not like you have to train to run in 90 deg temps with 85% humidity..........70 deg is pretty reasonable. Just don't look at my log........you may notice advice from a guy who spent the last week on a treadmill.....LOL

Jill_B

I fly.

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:13 PM

I did my long run last weekend on my treadmill (I'm not training for a marathon though, so it was just 8). Good luck! And be careful getting off after 20 miles, your legs may be wobbly!

Bring it on.

Doug B

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:35 PM

http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/content/content.jsp?contentId=300125

jeffreyvollum

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:39 PM

Go for it. No problems that I can see except for the mind-numbing boredom. The longest run I've ever done on a TM is 18. Even with the iPod, I was certifiable by the time I was done. If you're a sweathog like me, have towels handy. One thing about the TM and the indoor, windless temps... sweat has nowhere to go but to drain down your arms and legs and onto the platform. Yech...

"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" - Steven Wright

spaniel

Feeling the growl again

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:45 PM

I give you more HTFU points for staying on the treadmill that long than for running outside...

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

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rectumdamnnearkilledem

posted: 1/16/2009 at 12:55 PM

Quote from spaniel on 1/16/2009 at 12:45 PM:

I give you more HTFU points for staying on the treadmill that long than for running outside...

Yeah. I can't do much more than 4 miles on a TM before I want to stab myself in the brain to make the torture stop. I'd rather run 20 miles outdoors than 5 on a TM.

Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

~ Sarah Kay

lap

posted: 1/16/2009 at 1:16 PM

I run most of my runs and almost all of my long runs on the treadmill. As to boredom, the treadmill + Netflix combination works very well for me. In his book on racing, Alberto Salazar described taking 30+ mile runs on the treadmill when training for a marathon.

JDF

Non-Stroller-Still Crazy

posted: 1/16/2009 at 1:21 PM

Yea I did a 10k on the treadmill this morning and I did start to get a little Antsy near the end. However, I didn’t have my head phones for the TVs so that probably would have helped. I will probably shoot for about a 2:25 20 miles tomorrow. I probably won’t stop either. I hate stopping and starting on a treadmill. If only there was a way to take a nap on a treadmill! Now that would be a neat trick!

http://runningahead.com/profiles/69d214e40d824ad0b0a73c925d655a13

lap

posted: 1/16/2009 at 1:24 PM

If you bungee the stroller to the treadmill frame, your kids could nap on the treadmill. Might not be room left for you, though.

Jeff

Why is it sideways?

posted: 1/16/2009 at 1:57 PM

OH MY SWEET JESUS DONT RUN ON THE TREADMILL!!!!! YOUR POOR LEGS MIGHT EXPLODE ALL OVER THE GYM WALLS!!!! And remember: if you wear an ipod the terrorists have won.

Is running on a treadmill acceptable for a long run? (Read 1406 times)