treadmill pace vs outdoor pace
Hi all
Although I am not fast, I have found in the past it is extremely difficult to run on treadmill as fast as outside (particularly at 10k race pace and faster) for more than 60-90s at a time. Where I live I *should* be able to complete most running workouts outside until late december or early january, after which it may be too snowy/icy to be safe. Cold temperatures I can deal with. The question is what to do when this happens. I really dont want to do two 5k test runs (one inside and one outside), so I think I may try to use heart rate and perceived exertion as a guide inside and try the intervals at 2% incline or more to get the necessary workload, understanding I could be over (or more likely under) doing it. What have other people done? Although extremely enticing, moving to SoCal is not an option.
Comments
I've found that, over time, I can really tell when I am getting in a great workout. I do look at the numbers, often, but when I am not hitting them I ask myself if I am doing the "spirit" of the workout. As long as I am doing what the plan calls for-slow warmup followed by 3x1 mi fast intervals, resting in between, etc. I know I'm getting the workout it. Basically I don't stress the small stuff as much, b/c I've seen that Work Works. I know that's sort of an annoying answer, but believe in the workouts. You really will see great results, even if you miss some numbers here or there.
TMs are great for mental toughness building too, and that helps a lot in this IM game!!!
I'm with Dottie on this one. My treadmill at home feels especially tough at 0% incline compared to my friends TM and the gym TM at 2%, so I go by feel. I know, like Dottie when I am getting a good workout that is close in perceived exertion to the assigned workout, even if I am not hitting the paces on the mill.
Besides, what happens if your electronic device of choice fails you on race day. You need have your PE dialed in. I also agree with Dottie about the mental game on the mill. I do not use music when running on the mill and that allows me to focus on my form, leg turnover and PE. There are days that 1hr15 seems exceedingly long on the mill, but there are days in a race that the same is true of the run portions. That tought workout on mills without music ends up being the day that I work on my mental dialogue.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Yes treadmill running vs outside running different but many pro's do a majority if not all their speed work on a treadmill vs track work.
Best of luck and concentrate on your form and run cadence and the rest will fall in place
Yeah, here is an instance in run training where HR and RPE can be useful. Like Scott, I have a Garmin foot pod, and like others, I try to use the same treadmill @ the gym, but even with those, I get variation. The foot pod seems to be accurate for only one speed. It gets prgressively off calibration the faster or slower I get from that speed. Maybe it asumes a fixed stride length, and uses stride frequency to determine speed? So doing workouts which involve diferent paces, I have to account for that. And TMs seem to have a natural drift, maybe based on friction or voltage changes, I don't know.
But by wearing an HR strap, I can try to mimic the HR I would get for an interval on the track, as long as I can find a fan to keep me cool enough!
As to incline, I found that doing hard work greater than 0.5% starts to affect my right knee, so I don't go steeper than that. The main reason for the incline is to account for the difference between TM and "real" running. With real running, there is slight wind resistence, progressively more as speed increases. And in real running, instead of the ground rolling beneath you, you are jumping over a stationary ground. Gravity must have differential effects there. Whatever the reasons, I, like most folks, find it easier to go faster on a level TM than with real running. The incline simply slows you down by making you work against gravity. It doesn't matter what the inlcine is, as long as you keep it consistent from one workout to the next.
internal heat build up will always slow you down. No benefit from it that I can see at this time of year, away from any need to acclimate for a hot race.
My problem in the past is that for 800-2000m intervals I would always be so tempted/desperate to *rest* my hand on the bar after the first 4-600m or so. In retrospect, I was likely running these too hard for my ability (should have done a test first!). I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out this winter. Hopefully though, this winter will be like the last and there will be no impediment to getting 'er done outside!