Beginners and Beyond

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Making the treadmill tolerable (Read 179 times)


Trail Monster

     

    Have you run "R" or "I" pace outside?  I find that the paces and distances I can run on the mill, are not the same as what I can run on the ground.

     

    It could be just in my head but I prefer to do speed work outside because it is harder for me...I think.

     

    Your treadmill is probably not running at the actual pace it says it is. I recently checked mine and found that 6MPH is actually 6.25MPH. Here's the process to find out if yours is off: http://www.endorphinmom.com/2013/01/calibration-celebration.html

    2013 races:

    3/17 Shamrock Marathon

    4/20 North Coast 24 Hour

    7/27 Burning RIver 100M

    8/24 Baker 50M

    10/5 Oil Creek (distance to be determined)

     

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      I recognize that a treadmill's indicated speed may not be completely accurate.  Still, it's close enough not to worry about and I have a pretty good sense of how fast I'm running based on the effort I'm exerting.  These are commercial grade treadmills in the fitness center at the university where I teach so I imagine they're fairly close.  I was in a hotel once and the speed indicated something like 4.5 m.p.h. - which is a fast walk - and I was most certainly running.

       

      In something of a contradiction, I find that I have to set the speed a good big slower on the mill to run at the same effort as an easy run outside (8:15 vs. 7:45) yet I'll end up setting the speed faster for "I" or "R" work (5-10 seconds per mile faster).  I have no logical explanation for that discrepancy.  I'm probably not on the mill more than 10-15 days per year but I'm glad it's there on those days.

      Short term goal: 17:59 5K

      Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

      Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).


      Trail Monster

        The difference between 6 MPH and 6.25MPH is 25 seconds per mile difference. It can definitely be a big deal, especially if someone is almost exclusively running on the mill.

        2013 races:

        3/17 Shamrock Marathon

        4/20 North Coast 24 Hour

        7/27 Burning RIver 100M

        8/24 Baker 50M

        10/5 Oil Creek (distance to be determined)

         

        My Blog

         

        Brands I Heart:

        FitFluential

        INKnBURN

        Altra Zero Drop

        Zentastic


        Chasing Rainbows

           

          Your treadmill is probably not running at the actual pace it says it is. I recently checked mine and found that 6MPH is actually 6.25MPH. Here's the process to find out if yours is off: http://www.endorphinmom.com/2013/01/calibration-celebration.html

           

          Thanks for the very useful tip.  When I switched over to my TM this fall, I suspected that it was going faster than the reported speed and now I know that's true - it's about 3% faster.  So when my TM says I'm doing a 10:00 mile, I'm really running at a 9:42 pace.

          The obstacle is the path. - Zen proverb

          sunfastrose


          Fatty McFatFat

            I usually put on 1% incline to compensate.

             

            I've found that 1.5% tends to feel more like outside, not sure why.

             

            I am not a fan of the 'mill, but can make it through these days.  I think ~5 miles is my limit, and I usually start with a slow half mile, then up the pace every mile to mile and a half.  Unfortunately the ones I use at the gym limit to an hour (yes, I am a turtle), so sometimes it's either cut it short or do it in two bursts.  I tend towards the first, unfortunately.

            slowrunningjulie


              For a long time, I loathed the treadmill. However, now that my kids are getting older they are staying up later and, long story short, it was either the treadmill or be running around outside at midnight. Which is not the smartest thing to do by yourself, so I joined a gym. It has a Cardio Cinema, which is a movie theater with all the cardio machines in it - ellipticals, bikes, treadmills, etc. It is dark like a movie theater and they show the movies with the closed captioning. I can enjoy myself on the treadmill for about three miles in the cardio cinema and can force myself to do up to five. My DH LOVES the Cardio Cinema and did an hour and a half on the elliptical the other night when they were showing some Batman movie.

               

              So I guess for me, it is about the distraction. If I am sufficiently entertained, I fnd the treadmill to be tolerable for short distances.

              Upcoming:

               

              July 27 - San Francisco marathon

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