How much treadmill is too much treadmill?
Unlike 99.9% of the people out there, I actually really enjoy the treadmill. Like will do 20 milers enjoy. Which leads me to think I may have a training style problem. Or maybe I don't. I did the Dec Out Season and 95% of my runs were on my treadmill. But I crushed my half marathon with a 1:29:38 (3 min PR). So it seemed to work. I am currently in week 13 (I started in week 9 I believe) of the EN Advanced Half program, with my race being IM Raleigh 70.3 on June 4th. Sometimes driving somewhere to get in a good run vs the mind numbing boredom of looping my neighborhood adds 40 minutes or more to the workout time, and my brain shuts down and says, just get on the treadmill. Is there a point at which using the treadmill becomes counter productive and will negatively impact my performance on race day and I should try to shun it as much as possible except when weather dictates I have to use it?
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For me, the biggest differences are:
-cooling/overheating, much easier to overheat in one place. Fans and moving air are your friends!
-those lovely little stabilizer muscles that get worked out when you run on uneven terrain. I'll compare treadmill/road to road/trail in the comparisons. Those are the little suckers that will always tire out first and hurt most later on!
-in road foot training and races, drafting can be important. If not for the aerodynamic benefit, but for the chain/whip aspect. You don't have anyone to chase on a treadmill (although I hear Zwift is making strides with that aspect of virtual running).
-Although I'm not a doc, PT, physiologist, kinesiologist or any other kind of -ist, I believe you use your hamstrings a lot more on the treadmill, by "pulling" more with each stride, so give them extra care, stretching, massage/roller, etc.
-Socialability (is that even a word?) and accountability. Those aspects of getting out and running, for me, is huge. I am finding I'm severely lagging in that department lately, because I don't really have a group to keep me going out so early in the morning to get my runs in.
More power to you! I wish I had space in my apartment to have a treadmill of my own!
The Shocker
Unexpected, unbelievable, improbable, extraordinary — use them all to describe Chris Clark’s victory in the 2000 Olympic women’s marathon trials, and you still might be searching for words to adequately recount the achievement.
The win was so shocking for so many reasons, it’s hard to know where to start. But the treadmill is as good a place as any.
Day after day, mile after mile, Clark ran in place in her Anchorage home to prepare for the race.
The trials were in late February in South Carolina, and so to acclimate herself to heat— and because it’s cold, dark and icy that time of year in Alaska — Clark cranked up the thermostat and ran on a treadmill. That’s like a skier training for the Olympics on a NordicTrack.
All the while, she was raising a family and working — she was a mom to two boys under the age of 10 and a pathologist who worked three days a week at the hospital.
She was a true amateur in a professional sport. Some of the women Clark beat in Columbia, S.C., were full-time runners with shoe sponsors and gaudy resumes. Clark pulled off the upset while wearing a singlet from an Anchorage running store, Skinny Raven.
Four years earlier, Clark finished 76th at the Olympic marathon trials. By 2000, at age 37, she was recording personal-bests with startling regularity.
Even so, Clark was ranked 22nd that day in Columbia. After 26.2 miles, having shaved seven minutes from her personal best to win in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 31 seconds, she was No. 1 and headed to the Sydney Olympics. The pros, stunned by the unknown from Alaska, stayed home.
The aftershocks reverberated for months. Even outside Alaska, Clark’s victory was big news, and recreational runners from all over the country wrote to tell her how she had inspired them. “Knowing that success within your sport is possible while having a life is encouraging & reassuring,” wrote a nurse from Massachusetts.
Alaska runners in particular got a boost of energy and motivation from the woman who ran all the way to the Olympics on a treadmill.
“That inspired the hell out of me,” Anchorage runner Will Kimball said. “She’s making it easy for me to get out that door on nights when I’m very tired.”
- Staying on the same one from day to day was re-assuring - they all seem to have slightly different speeds
- Fans were my friend. I had no concerns about trying to be as cool as possible - massive sweating was not part of the program
- It seemed easier to injure myself on a treadmill, particularly if trying to go hard "uphill", or getting faster than 11 mph when doing strides.
I think in the last 1-2 months before a long race, like a 70.3 or IM, you'd want to start getting a "feel" for running on outdoor surfaces, rollers, hills, variable weather, etc. Doing at least the long runs during those final 8 weeks would probably enhance your mental preparation.I'll say that I have changed my own attitude about treadmills. not that I hate them or anything, but currently I consider it a badge of honor that I am running everyday even in drizzle and low temps, a reversal from my earlier attitude of "just getting it done".
While I love the story about Chris Clarke, I would caution against doing all your runs on the treadmill since I believe there are pros AND cons.
The PROS are: you're more likely to do it since you prefer it; you're more likely to hang on for just another mile or go just a little faster; and you're more likely to properly fuel.
The CONS are: it's easier physically & it's easier mentally (for those of us who actually like it). I've found that running outside taxes my legs a lot more than the treadmill. If I've done a couple weeks of long runs (12-16 miles) on the treadmill and then go outside for a long run, my legs don't quite have the strength (come mile 10-12 or so) to hold my desired pace. Aerobically I'm great, but the strength isn't fully there. @Scott Alexander touches on this in mentioning the stabilizer muscles. As you build into longer runs, I really think you have to get outside for a few longer sessions to get the strength in these stabilizers/ other muscles that help you absorb the impact of running outside. On the mental side, it's easy to keep pushing on the treadmill. I'll do a lot of my early-season running on the treadmill because it helps me deep dig and stay on top of pacing when I haven't yet built up the mental strength. As I get closer to key races, I make sure to get outside to build not only my leg strength but also my mental strength (what @Al Truscott highlights above). It's important to learn how to stay on top of pacing when a machine isn't doing it for you.
I recently listened to Pro Cody Beals talk about his treadmill use. He used to do all his running on one. He still uses the treadmill a lot, but now makes sure to get outside for many longer, more challenging sessions to build that muscle and mental strength.
Hope this helps. Best of luck w training.
I do virtually all of my training solo as my schedule doesn't mesh up well with my other athletic friends, be they Tri or straight runners schedules. And even when I do join my run clubs runs, I do my structured run while they are all off just running as it is more social for them a lot of the time where for me its straight up pure training with a purpose.
Plus when I'm on the mill, I do make sure that I play with the incline a lot. Never keep it at the same % for very long.
I agree with the commentary above.
I have decided to mix both TM and outdoors runs in my weekly volume.
The TM @ 1% helps me with cadence and provides me with a controlled environment in terms of fueling, temp, terrain. It allows me to focus better and push harder on the intensity intervals.
Like Rob mentioned, outside running pounds my legs and beats me up more. The TM does not build that kind of leg strength.
For these reasons, I am choosing to employ a healthy balance of the two in each week's run volumes.
SS
For those keeping score... I tend toward advocacy of being an indoor training sled dog. Get up, get the work done, get on with the rest of your life. Vasa, Trainer, TM. Rinse, repeat.
Scott, less watts on the mill makes sense. The 'ground' is moving under you where as outside you have to propel yourself over the ground.
One aspect of the mill that I really like is how it forces one to maintain a minimum pace during intervals and the such. On the road, I can nail pretty much any pace given to me over various distances. Want me to run 6 miles with all of them at 7:35? No problem. I will be within a few second window on all of them. However, during the mile(s), my pace looks like a Richter scale. Its all over the place. But I will hit the mile time.
So during a 3 minute sprint 2 minute rest repeat session with the sprint at X:XX, I like how it makes me hold that pace.
A couple years ago to drop weight and get my body fat way down I was doing 5 miles of 1 minute fast, 1 minute slow 2 or 3 times a week. On the road I'd of really struggled with this. But on the mill, with the clock staring me in the face I didn't have to worry about missing an interval start/stop, and I just had to hit a button to go sprint speed and another to drop to recovery speed.
Oh, and you want to talk about pure evil, try that some time. 1 minute faster than 5K pace and picking up the pace each mile, then 1 minute recovery (not walking, but around Z1) over and over for 5 miles. You'll wish for death.
I run 36 - 45 miles per week. I use both TM and outdoor in my weekly runs. TM let's me control my environment and the machine pushes me to stay at pace and drive higher cadence which is tough to do on my own mentally on the back half of a long run outside. The TM absorbs more impact and doesn't beat my legs up as much as outdoor running.
I run outside ~3 or more times a week and employ at least one run with Z4 work on rolling hills. This drives more leg strength than the mill and makes me practice pushing the pace mentally vs. letting the machine do it for me. I find a good mix of both methods are essential.
SS
- Treadmill running might look biomechanically the same, but the work is different. You are running on top of a moving surface vs pushing yourself over a fixed surface.
- That ^above^ is why your HR is lower inside and why treadmill users often don't run hills well. You aren't using your glutes like you do outside.
- You are using your hamstrings A LOT MORE and so super incline or speed at incline (as @Al Truscott mentioned) can only be done with caution.
That said, it's great when the weather is dangerous or unsuitable for training. If you must spend time on the treadmill, try:- to get one run done outside (long run is best);
- to really warm up we'll first..and easy first mile is best, building up to your mile 2 desired pace;
- Stretch and roll those hamstrings to keep them happy;
- Do some extra work on strengthening those glutes with cords, bridges or bands!
Good luck!~ Coach P