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Running on an Indoor Track - Pace is Faster then outdoors (and book recommendation?) (Read 245 times)

ckerr1999


    I have been running on an indoor track since it is winter here in Canada, and I notice my pace is faster then outdoors. Now I have calibrated my Footpod twice using the outdoor GPS signal. For the last couple of weeks I have been averaging 8:30ish per mile, and yesterday when I went outside I was struggling to hold 8:58 per mile. Now I was sick on Friday, and I don't think my energy level was 100% yesterday. So when running indoors should I target a faster pace then I would running outdoors? Or not worry about the difference.

     

    Would you recommend reading "Lore of Running." Looks like a good book but 900 pages is a lot to get through

     

     

     

     


    Latent Runner

      I have been running on an indoor track since it is winter here in Canada, and I notice my pace is faster then outdoors. Now I have calibrated my Footpod twice using the outdoor GPS signal. For the last couple of weeks I have been averaging 8:30ish per mile, and yesterday when I went outside I was struggling to hold 8:58 per mile. Now I was sick on Friday, and I don't think my energy level was 100% yesterday. So when running indoors should I target a faster pace then I would running outdoors? Or not worry about the difference.

       

      Would you recommend reading "Lore of Running." Looks like a good book but 900 pages is a lot to get through

       

      Hmmm, back in the days when I raced on both indoor and outdoor tracks, my outdoor times (run on 440 yard tracks) were always faster than my indoor times (run on 220 yard tracks).  I cannot for the life of me figure out how, all else being equal, running on an indoor track would be faster than the same distance outside.

      Fat old man PRs:

      • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
      • 2-mile: 13:49
      • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
      • 5-Mile: 37:24
      • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
      • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
      • Half Marathon: 1:42:13
      duckman


      The Irreverent Reverend

        I don't know about those Footpod things - are they reliable? I can't imagine why you'd be faster - and that much faster - indoors than out, except for the variations in conditions you could have on any given day (diet, sleep, health, stomach issues, etc.).

        I've been running at least once/week on a 1/8 mile indoor track this winter and I hold my Garmin in my hand and click the lap button with my thumb every time I complete a lap - that was 70+ clicks on last week's tempo run.

        Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.

        CARunningGirl


        Bad Ass Mother Runner

          I don't find my footpod super reliable.  Running on a track is definitely easier though, springier surface, no wind, hills, etc.  I'd count laps indoors instead of trusting the footpod to get an accurate pace.

          5k - 22:56        10k - 46:13          HM - 1:45:39          FM - 3:57:03

          Blog: http://terryruns.wordpress.com/

            Or not worry about the difference.

             

            This.

             

            Al else is never equal. Sure, to shipo's point, race times are generally always faster in outdoor track races than indoor track races, but that's irrelevant in this situation.

             

            I would always expect an easy run done on an indoor track to be faster than an easy run done outdoors on the roads in Toronto in the winter time.  On the roads you have weather, hills, traffic, and more layers of clothes to name a few of the differences.

            Runners run

            Wing


            Joggaholic

              Al else is never equal. Sure, to shipo's point, race times are generally always faster in outdoor track races than indoor track races, but that's irrelevant in this situation.

               

              Why? I'm curious....

              DaBurger


                 

                Why? I'm curious....

                 

                because there are fewer, gentler turns on outdoor tracks.

                Know thyself.

                 


                Walk-Jogger

                  I run almost exclusively on an indoor track in the winter, and it's much faster than running outdoors on roads and trails, for me. Probably 30-45 seconds per mile for my easy pace. The temperature is a nice even 68 degrees indoors, compared to freezing range outdoors, so I'm running in shorts and a singlet - less clothes weight and less restriction of movement. There's no wind, and no hills, so no speed losses there (our outdoor winds today are blowing 25, gusting to 45 mph). Running on a 200M track gives me exact feedback about my pace as often as I want it. And last but not least, I pass a lot of much younger college-age runners on every lap, and that feeds my running ego, since I'm almost old enough to be their grandfather. 

                   

                  In much warmer weather, when I run on the outdoor 400M track, I find it to be slightly faster than the indoor track, due to the much easier turns. The one big downside of the indoor track that I run on are the sharp 90-degree corners - at sub-6:00 per mile pace, it takes noticeable leg energy to resist the centrifugal forces running through these turns, and for an all-out 200 meter run I have to slow down 4 times - I can't quite maintain full forward power in these corners at a sub-4:30 pace.

                   

                  "Lore of Running". I read it cover to cover and enjoyed all of it for what it is, lots of talk, ideas, history and stories about running and runners. Highly recommended if you like reading about running. It's not a training manual however. So if you're looking for a how-to manual with training plans for your next marathon or 5K, look elsewhere.

                  Retired &  Loving It

                  TripleBock


                    Unless the OP is running on a longer indoor track.  Some are 400 meters, some a bit longer ... Petit ice center is 443 meters and always in the low 50s, no wind.  But you do have to yield to the Zamboni.

                     

                    http://www.thepettit.com/runwalk/run-walk-track.htm

                     

                     

                     

                    because there are fewer, gentler turns on outdoor tracks.

                    I am fuller bodied than Dopplebock

                    ckerr1999


                      Thanks everyone. The indoor track I run on is in the top of an ice rink (only in Canada), so its not that warm. I still need to wear all my winter gear as it can getting pretty cold in there sometimes. But it is well lit, has no ice or severe wind-chills. The sign at the track says 5.5 laps/km or 9 laps/miles. So I calculated one lap as 0.111 miles. But it is so boring. Last week when we had -45F wind-chills I was still able to do my runs. We are in the middle of a January thaw at the moment, so was able to run outside yesterday and today. Hoping to run outside most of this week. I wished I could run outside all winter. The cold doesn't bother me, but unfortunately it gets too treacherous with the ice.

                       

                       

                       

                       


                      Feeling the growl again

                        Just run by effort and don't over-analyze it.

                         

                        And Lore is an okay read as long as you don't take it as all gospel.  Noakes has a way of mixing in unsupported conjecture (i.e. "people only have X number of good marathons in them) with decent information.

                        "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

                         

                        ulikunkel


                          Lore of Running is way too long.  I don't see how 900 pages of "stuff" about running is fun to read.  Besides, I flipped through it at Chapters and some of it is dated.   Frankly, people way overestimate the importance of Noakes and his opinions....

                           

                          As someone else once told me, "For the love of god, just RUN."

                           

                          I have been running on an indoor track since it is winter here in Canada, and I notice my pace is faster then outdoors. Now I have calibrated my Footpod twice using the outdoor GPS signal. For the last couple of weeks I have been averaging 8:30ish per mile, and yesterday when I went outside I was struggling to hold 8:58 per mile. Now I was sick on Friday, and I don't think my energy level was 100% yesterday. So when running indoors should I target a faster pace then I would running outdoors? Or not worry about the difference.

                           

                          Would you recommend reading "Lore of Running." Looks like a good book but 900 pages is a lot to get through


                          Feeling the growl again

                              Frankly, people way overestimate the importance of Noakes and his opinions....

                             

                             

                             

                            I was trying to be nice, but yes.  Smile

                            "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

                             

                            ckerr1999


                              Thanks. I will maybe skip buying the Lore of Running then. Save myself from going through 900 pages. I have read both Hansons Marathon Method, and Advanced Marathoning. Both very good books.

                               

                               

                               

                               

                              spinach


                                I frequently run on an indoor track here in Minnesota when it is too nasty to run outside in winter.  I notice that my runs indoors are usually about the same pace as my outdoors training runs during the rest of the year and much faster than my outdoors in winter training runs.  The poor footing and the extra clothing slow me down outdoors.

                                 

                                However this weekend I did run the Zoom Yah Yah Indoor Marathon here and my time was 8 to 10 minutes slower than my outdoors times in the fall.  This may have been partly due to less distance run the last couple months but probably more so because of all the turns (150 laps on a basically rectangular track) and I ran just about the entire in lanes two or three as the slower runners were in the inside lanes.

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