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I have run for 15 years but only on a treadmill.(Well, tried running at the beach once and paid for it with sore knees.)
How does 10 miles on a treadmill at zero elevation convert to in terms of an asphalt track also with zero elevation with ambient temperature being the same?
I read on another forum that 20% is an acceptable correction factor. As in 10mph on the treadmill is 8mph in on the track,etc.etc.
Any help please? Yes, I could go to the track and run there. But the track is closed by the time I leave work in the PM and weekend use is when my wife and I walking/stroll the circuit. I do not wish to disrupt the pattern.
I'll have to find the link but I've read you need to put the treadmill at .5 incline to simulate outdoor running (obviously not a really windy day or bad elements). I'll update this thread with the link when I find it.
I actually now use the treadmill in different configs such as alpine, firefighter tests, fit testing,etc but thought to ask a basic sea-level type of setup.
I'm not sure the question can be easily answered. First, I think that treadmills can vary quite a bit from one mill to the next. I assume that they can fall out of calibration. Also, I'm not so sure about the incline trick. Seems to me that wind resistance and incline are not equivalent. Both require more effort, but maybe different muscle recruitment. (keep in mind that I am not an expert--I know just enough to be dangerous).
One thing I have done is to try to correlate workouts to race performance. Say I run a 5K in 19 minutes based on workout X. If I want to get down to 18 min, about a 5.2 pct decrease, I have to bump out workout X by a factor of about 5.2 pct.
I'm not sure the question can be easily answered. First, I think that treadmills can vary quite a bit from one mill to the next. I assume that they can fall out of calibration. Also, I'm not so sure about the incline trick. Seems to me that wind resistance and incline are not equivalent. Both require more effort, but maybe different muscle recruitment. (keep in mind that I am not an expert--I know just enough to be dangerous).
One thing I have done is to try to correlate workouts to race performance. Say I run a 5K in 19 minutes based on workout X. If I want to get down to 18 min, about a 5.2 pct decrease, I have to bump out workout X by a factor of about 5.2 pct.
I agree that there's no apples to apples comparison, but you're limited in what a treadmill can do to simulate the outdoors and the incline is probably the closest you'll get.
Personally I prefer to run outdoors. I can go farther and I like being outdoors. I do some speed work on the treadmill with intervals that helps my performance outdoors.
Personally I prefer to run outdoors. I can go farther and I like being outdoors. I do some speed work on the treadmill with intervals that helps my performance outdoors.
Me too, that's exactly my practice. I use the treadmill for intervals, and hill work (incline). Sometimes tempo runs. Everything else is outside.
I've run over 60 marathons in my life. The last 20 of them I have trained almost exclusively on a treadmill. When training, I will run my weekly long run of 20-21 miles on the road. The rest of my mileage has been done exclusively on the treadmill. I have never had any problem running or finishing the marathon despite the fact at least 80% of my training was done on a treadmill.
Grete Waitz, one of the most successful female marathoners in recent memory sometimes did almost all her marathon training on a treadmill in later years.
So based on my own personal experience and the anecdotal evidence of countless other runners I know tells me this: the treadmill replicates road running very well, as long as you're putting the incline at 2-3%. It's a lot easier on the knees as well, a much more forgiving surface than asphalt.
The problem people encounter is that they get incredibly bored running 15 or 20 miles on a treadmill. I have mine in front of the TV and will watch DVD's of tennis matches or movies... stuff that interests me. Air circulation is also a problem for some people. I understand the preference most runners have for running outdoors. But a significant minority can and do run big weekly mileage exclusively indoors.
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