Outside vs treadmill (Read 1804 times)

Do you find it harder to put in miles on the treadmill? I ran 1 hour today on the treadmill and only did 7km, usually outside in 1hour I can do about 10km. It is just me or is it slower. I ran on no incline, just flat.

Definitely always faster outside.

I find it much harder to run on the treadmill and it seems Im running slower also. I know my training times on a treadmill are normally 15 to 20% slower then they are when I run outside....not to mention that its tedious, boring and loud......(sometimes at the health club, there are some babes running or working out so there 'can' be some scenery, but thats about the only real benefit I can think of for running on a TM). I definatrly prefer going out side for my runs (even in very cold weather)... But there are times when the conditions are just too tough and so the treadmill becomes the only real option (occassionally its run on the TM or take the night off) so I do run on the threadmill, but it makes me appreciate running outside all the more.....

I am definitely faster outside. I average almost 2 minutes per mile faster, at the same perceived effort, while running outside. One more reason I dread doing runs inside!

I used a training program with cruise intervals to get ready for a 5k. I liked the treadmill (TM) for this since I could control the pace better. I followed more or less the general consensus and set the TM at the gym to 1.0 on the incline. The target 5k pace I used on the TM for the last 3 weeks of the program was 23:30. And the workouts seemed tough but I felt fresh after and everyone told me that's how you want to feel... tired but like you could do another 10 minutes of that workout if you needed to. It was really windy and the course was hilly. But I ran about 45 seconds faster than I was training for. So I came to the conclusion that the TM at 1.0 incline was probably a bit harder than running outside.

I've done a lot of training on the TM. Run many 20+ milers on it. I also train with a heart rate monitor. I find there's not much difference at all between outdoors and the TM at the same heart rate, IF the temperatures and humidity are equal, and keeping the incline no higher than 1% (recommended to make up for the "help" the TM gives you). There will be a difference if I am doing a lot of training outside in sub 50ºF , then go inside where it almost 70º. But the same is true for a a 50º and 70º outside. A 70º day suddenly hits, and it's very stressful compared to the 50º one. Another thing about running on the TM at home. The room can get hot quickly as the fan blows your body heat into the room. Ventilation is a must to keep the temp even, or to lower it. I don't see why someone would be slower on the TM if they were truly running at the same effort and in the same temperatures as outside. Especially two minutes slower per mile. You should be able to run (e.g) 5 mph for the same amount of time as outdoors or (e.g.) run 10 miles between 65-70% MHR and end up with pretty much the same pace (on the average--days will vary depending on fatigue, stress, progress, etc.). --Jimmy

Thank goodness--now I know I'm not the only one who is slower on the treadmill. I feel semi normal now.

my old gym I was faster on the TM than outside, my new gym I am slower. lets seee what could have changed here...oh yeah. calibration. MTA: actually my favorite is at my new gym they have 4 very nice machines and then 2 ANCIENT machines where the speed changes as you run on it. It cant hold a speed.