Lately it's been too cold to get my butt outside on weekends for my run, so I've been going to the gym and running there.
Great, except I'm finding I'm running at a much slower pace! According to the treadmill, I'm getting worn out from a 40 minutes at a 10 minute mile pace... without any incline!!
Fine, except when I run those four miles on an outside course (whether it be through the neighborhood OR track, so I know my distance is pretty accurate) I can maintain the same intensity, but at an 8-9 minute mile pace. Running a 10 minute mile outside is not even a TINY problem- it's quite easy for me.
I know it's not that I've been getting progressively slower, as I have track practice every day after school, and run fast there, and track times (in races in meets) reflect that I'm NOT running that slow!
Either way, I listen to the same music, but seem to go so much slower on the treadmill. I guess it doesn't really matter, as the intensity is the same, and the 10 minute mile pace isn't showing up on any of my race times... but, it's still kind of perplexing.
Any thoughts as to why the pace is so different?!?
Because your feet aren't not pushing off a stationary surface, they're being pulled backwards while you're trying to go forward. I hate treadmills because I always feel like I'm going to fly off the back. I'm sticking to the stairmaster and the elliptical.
^^That makes sense, the movement (though similar) isn't 100% the same.
it does change your speed & stuff compared to real runnin, but its still a work out.
i've heard it's not good to run on one everyday, like its bad for your knees or somethin..
idk if that's true but i run on one quite often.. and if it's just the impact that could be hard on your joints i dont see how runnin on a track would be diff..
any ideas?
I run on the treadmill everyday. When I need to run outside for whatever reason, I think that it's a lot easier. Therefore, the opposite is happening to you: you're used to running outside, so the treadmill seems harder. As stated above, it's due to the different motion. You're not propelling yourself forward.
Original Post by thejabronisayz:
I run on the treadmill everyday. When I need to run outside for whatever reason, I think that it's a lot easier. Therefore, the opposite is happening to you: you're used to running outside, so the treadmill seems harder. As stated above, it's due to the different motion. You're not propelling yourself forward.
I agree with this. It's all in what you're used to. I run on the treadmill every day as well but find it very difficult to run outside. For one thing I have a hard time keeping a steady pace, and find myself getting a leg cramp pretty fast. I don't have that problem with the treadmill. I got into treadmill running using the Couch to 5K program so my plan is to repeat the program outside when it starts getting warmer, maybe April or so, so that I can run when we go to the beach in September. We get a beach house in the Outer Banks so I don't have access to a treadmill during that week. Hopefully that will fix my problems with running outdoors.
Running on a treadmill is easier because the treadmill is doing some of the work for you. You are not having to expend any energy to go forward, just stay in one place. In order to get an equivelent effort on a treadmill, you have to set the incline to at least one percent.
You could be experiencing one of two things:
1. The treadmill forces you to do a consistent effort. You cannot speed up/slow down, take advantage of downhills etc. You go, and you go at one speed. This monotony may seem harder.
2. The calibration on your treadmill may be off. LOL... It's fairly common.
That's why training by heart rate is just better. The heart does not lie and you get a consistent effort no matter where you run.
I much prefer running outside. I like the scenery, the air, the sunshine....
But that's my summer activity. LOL When it's too cold I stick to the treadmill. Otherwise I wouldn't last 10 minutes. 
this is a very interesting topic. I have wondered this myself. Seems to me that running outdoors is harder, but I think it's because of the uneven surfaces and adding in hills however slight they may be. It's interesting that the treadmill seems tougher for you. Maybe because you're not distracted by scenery and outdoor sounds?? I actually much prefer running outside, but it does seem more difficult - even in the summer when I am almost always running outside. Hmmm...
I'm thinking scenery is making the run more interesting- therefore I go faster.
On the treadmill I stare. at. the. damn. buttons.
Also, I have a tendency to speed up/slow down a lot during the run (to adapt to course changes) so running at a constant pace may wear me out because of that.
I go to a gym and have rotated among the many, many treadmills. It's the same on all of them- I highly doubt all of them would be off on the calibration.
I also have this same experience. I am a fairweather runner, lungs can't seem to handle -22 degrees C.....or even -10......so I do interval training on the treadmill and indoor track running for my long run.
And I have often wondered howcome 10 minute miles are so horribly harder on a treadmill than around the indoor track. Maybe it is the freedom to speed up and slow down as my body needs it when I am off the treadmill. Its not a getting used to thing, spread throughout the year I'm am equally outside, inside track, and inside treadmill. Since my heart rate is definately up there in trying to attain a 10 minute mile when I am on the treadmill perhaps it is because the t-mill isn't properly calibrated. On the track I can easily maintain 10 minute mile.
???
With so many of my peers saying they can't run outside but can on the treadmill its comforting to know that there are some of us who find the opposite.
