Treadmill vs outside - Page 3 - General running

Wil-der-beast

31/07/2007 at 16:59

Compared to running outside; cross country, through the woods, on the beach or even your 2 - 3 hour long road run on a Sunday morning, how can a treadmill not be boring?

E :-)

31/07/2007 at 17:32

I ALWAYS ran on the road, then joined a gym and used the treadmill a bit. The result? it's shortened my long loping 11-min/mile stride into a shorter nippier 9min/mile running style (worried about falling off the back!). Its also made me run more upright rather than looking like i'm stumbling along.
Treadies are great for doing speed sessions, but NOTHING can replace the fresh air endorphin rush that I get after a really good run.
Mix and match, but use them as 2 separate entities rather than comparing
Enjoy!

Jim_Bob

31/07/2007 at 17:53

I have to agree with you, moonferret. I don't get bored at all on the treadmill.
And when I'm running out in the real world, I don't notice the scenery - too much to think about just keeping going!

The Rob

31/07/2007 at 18:46

i can't run on a treadmill. the longest i have managed was 30 min and then i had motion sickness and nearly fell over.
The seafront at brighton is really nice for running so long as its not a nice weekend and then its full of out of town people.

Jason Wilson

31/07/2007 at 19:37

I'm working in Houston at the moment where the summer climate of +30C and 80% humidity forces me to do most of my sessions on the treadmill. However, that is a situation I am forced into.

Back home in Scotland I have a treadmill at the house but prefer to run outside. I just find sessions on the treadmill so boring that I start messing with the speed to pass the time. If you have any interest in racing I would advise that you spend most of your time training outside. Save the treadmill for intervals or threshold sessions. This will allow you to simulate race conditions i.e. hills, wet, cold, uneven ground, etc. and also discover what your actual pace is, rather than a treadmill pace.

It may help to find a partner to run with or to join a local club. I found the latter was the best boost for my training as I found some new routes, could train all year round and got to put in a longer mid-week session.

katy_aka_bob

31/07/2007 at 21:11

i've been wondering about this recently! since my school days when i'd happily do 2, 1hr long sessions sessions a day on the treadmill (keeping weight down for coxing) i've always been happy to get on and stay on for a long time...like some others have mentioned i like the mindlessness of it, not having to worry about tripping on paving slabs (i do that a lot!), avoiding people riding at breakneck speed along the thames path and sticking to a route when i could easily cut it short and go home!

but... i do also love running outside if the mood takes me. i'm rubbish at it, but enjoy it when it goes well! i'm slow (got over taken by a man with one leg once) find it really lonely (no one to run with and the new club i went to was rubbish compared to my old one and it put me off!) and have the mental staying power of a goldfish! have started to believe it must be because the treadmill is 'easier' even though i know i'm working really hard when i'm on there!

RKM

31/07/2007 at 21:27

Not too sure of it's accuracy, but thought this was quite useful/interesting.

Woffy

01/08/2007 at 08:51

Hi to All,
Found this Forum interesting. I love running outdoors and unlike some of you that get into the 'zone' and don't even notice the surroundings, that to me is the whole fun of it, I don't even like to wear an MP3 player or anything as I like to see and hear all the surroundings.
However I have a treadmill in my house also, and I use that (don't like the gym habit of sticking a treadmill in front of a mirror, I do not need to watch myself) - usually set up so that I can see the tele or at least listen to music. I have used it to get ready for a couple of marathons also - the Shakespeare marathon in Stratford-Upon-Avon has a long dull path called the Greenway for the last number of miles which does the head in of many runners, however I say if you can run for an hour or more on a treadmill, you are mentally strong and prepared for anything.
As for the initial question raised, I also am a person who can always run faster outdoors than on a treadmill, I have always put it down to the the 'harder' ground outside giving greater impetus to the speed.

Little Lizard

01/08/2007 at 10:04

Just stick at it and slow down.

I started running 5 years ago and it was on a treadmill, and I got up to about 20 mins. First time outside, 2 mins and I was absolutely dying, it was so much harder!

I simply slowed it right down on a 2 mile run and would have a 2 min walking break half way through. As the months went by I slowly started picking up the pace and eventually the walking breaks went. A few years on, I'm now a marathon runner and gone from a size 14 to between and 8-10. So stick at it, it's worth it in the end.

Oh, and by the way, you'll burn a lot more calories outside, what an incentive!

Comet 2

01/08/2007 at 11:44

Hi Everyone,

Definately agree with Lil Lizard - keep going and slow down a little.

I do both tread and outside. Outside I find harder and it is completely different, I have to run slightly slower outside than in the gym. I enjoy both as well, and both are really helpful during training.

Finished a 5km run on Sunday in around 33 mins, not spectacular but I managed not to have a small walk in the middle. So I was really chuffed.

Build up slowly and enjoy!

Ben Gillam

01/08/2007 at 11:55

Little Lizzard - many congratulations, and I'll be aiming to emulate you one day!

Since i started this thread, i've had a few more runs outside and i am building my confidence. I've stopped comparing my times to treadmill times as i've realised it is not a fair comparison to make. Although i think i still prefer to "switch off" on a treadmill, rather than worrying whats round the next corner!

The main reason i want to persevere with outside is so i can run back from work (8 miles) and so not have my daily run eat into my evening so much!

I've really enjoyed reading everyones different views and experiences, so thank you all!

Roz

01/08/2007 at 12:07

I have an added incentive to run outdoors as opposed to indoors.... he has four legs and a very waggy tail and those big brown eyes just BEG me to take him out for a run!

Don't think the gym would like me tying my dog on a tready and he wouldn't like it either...no wonderful doggy smells to chase!!!

Snapstinget

01/08/2007 at 12:11

Little Lizard is not only a marathon runner, she is a good marathon runner too :)

The treadies at our gym have got a great programming function so you can enter an entire speed session, however many reps you want to do, complete with recoveries, pace changes, warm-up and cool down. You can do them by distance or time. I am dreading the day when they replace them by treadies with fixed programmes only.

b-oing

01/08/2007 at 14:58

Whilst I love my treadmill running on those cold wet days it is down right boring and even if you have TV/music to listen to psychologically I find it a lot harder. I use a treadmill for speed sessions because unlike the road it does not let you slow down or else you make a loverly mess on the floor behind. And yes I do run a lot faster on treadmills than road ... probably something to do with nosying over garden hedges and gates at what the neighbours are doing when I'm outside running ... too many distractions.

Treadmills in my humble opinion have a place in the training schedule ... takes the strain off hips and knees.

Swerve

01/08/2007 at 16:08

Snapstinget, that link is absolutely false and, if the Web had any kind of quality control, it would never have made it on. Please, please, pleeeease delete your link to it and don't give it the "oxygen of publicity" (c) M Thatcher.

Other than psychological effects, the only physical difference between the outside world and the treadmill is in wind resistance. It's a trivial exercise in Newtonian mechanics to disprove the purely intuitive idea that you don't need to push forward when you run on a treadmill. You do, or you'd be impaled on the weights machine behind you.

Pammie*

01/08/2007 at 16:35

I have to admit, i have always preferred running outside. Always found the treadmill much harder.
BUT
The treadmill has its uses, i've been using it for my once a week speedwork found it very useful.
I've read in one of Bob Glovers Books, he says treadmill running teaches you mental toughness so its a case of peserverence.

I have to bring my own music, as i find gym music even worse than the treadmill at times.
Snaps you are so lucky, i asked inn my gym but if i want a definite programme i have to change the speed etc, manually

Ingrid Kristainsen from Norway did most of her running on her treadmill, esp in the winter as the winters were so harsh, it didn't do her any harm.

But luckily in our gym theres tons of treadmills you can spend as often as you like on them

i hate hills

01/08/2007 at 16:36

i work as a full time personal trainer and so i have a foot in both camps. i would always say run outside if you can, but if not ie just after an injury or you are new to running then set the incline to 1.5 or 2%. i find running inside both a little boring and also easier so unless i am doing speed work or a client fails to turn up i not run on a treadmill. But well done for starting and keep it up.

Woffy

01/08/2007 at 16:39

As I think all the responses are saying, its a question of what suits best for each person, and I think most are agreeing that there is a place for both the treadmill and the roads.
Last night I did an hour on the treadmill, tonight when I leave work in a few minutes it will be a 10 - 11 mile run on the roads with a couple of wicked hills thrown into the middle.
Whichever you do, enjoy!!

cazmo78

01/08/2007 at 20:45

Hi All,

I am a member of my local running club and this one has often come up at the club as most people HATE the Treadmill. I run both outside on road and trails and also train on the Treadmill to. I find that I run faster outside and slower on the Treadmill. I find that doig Hill Intervals on the Tready are great and have helped me outside when running up hills. For me I feel safe running on the treadmill especially in the winter time when its dark out.

A Cox

02/08/2007 at 07:31

I like to do both, and I believe they are both of merit. I always do a random programme on the treadmill and consider it a good way to up my mileage and protect the body on the way. I am a fair weather runner so it also helps there as well, but yes treadmill can seem easier at times, but other times I get lost in the running thing outside and it speeds by. To be honest though I don't really push myself hard but hard enough, I want to enjoy the exerience and improve on distance rather than time. I think as long as you achieve thats all its about and having fun of course. Life is too short for minor worries. ENJOY. I don't have anything other than heart rate monitor to assist so can also get lost in thought and run slower. but ENJOY it.