|
|
|
|
Home » Q & A » Treadmill
Question: Treadmill versus road race?
Question Description:
I lament the Nor'easter is preventing me from practicing on the road or track so I have been doing several workouts on the treadmill lately. Are treadmill times known to be off from road race times? For example, 3 weeks ago I ran a 20:31 5k on the road. Yesterday I ran a 19:34 5k on the treadmill. I know part of that might be some confoundment from working out hard these last 3 weeks, but I don't think I truly improved almost a minute in that time. Anyone know how different treadmill vs. road race times usually differ?
|
Answer#1: I think if you put the treadmill on a 1-1.5% grade it's equivalent to outside (my guess). When you're outside and the ground's not moving for you and there's wind...it's harder. But mentally, running on a treadmill is harder to stay focused...either way you're treadmill 5k time is very good and will help you improve in a road race. Check out the links below...and know that some of us slacked on during the Nor'easter...so you did good!- Mike
Answer#2: Treadmill surfaces are less demanding than training on roads or trails. The treadmill belt offers some help by pulling your feet back underneath your body, so you are potentially exerting less energy to move your feet and legs than if you were not on a treadmill.Also, the treadmill forces you into a four-foot-wide running frame, which limits your body’s range of movement. When you run outside, your muscles and joints move around more due to uneven ground, corners, obstacles, wind resistance and your body’s natural efforts to balance itself. All this the body to burn more calories than it would on a treadmill. Physically, you should be able to run farther and longer on a treadmill than on an outdoor track because a treadmill requires less energy. The exact difference depends on your running form, but I have heard the 95% rule (treadmill is 95% effort as compared to running outdoors), and I am sure that is in the right ballpark. Your one minute improvement seems to fall roughly within this range.Mentally, running in a treadmill is more boring than running outdoors, and it can be draining on your psyche. There's no way to get around this fact. Depending on your attention span, it is possible that whatever increase in your performance by running on a treadmill is counterbalanced. So, I don't think there is a clear-cut way of measuring exactly what the difference is between running on a treadmill and running outside. Just keep moving, and you will see for sure when the weather gets better.Good luck with your training.
Answer#3: I've actually found my treadmill to be more strenuous than running on the road at the same speed. However, I think the problem is that treadmills may not be calibrated with 100% accuracy.However, you could have really improved 1 minute but you can't really compare the two. The race course could have been long as well.
Answer#4: Treadmills are never true to time or speed. While they can be a good workout they're not really a good determination as to how fast you're able to run. Running on a flat incline is like running down a hill; your legs are being thrown out from under you. I agree with the previous poster that having an incline will make it more like road running but it still doesn't compare to getting out on the road. I understand you can't so my best suggestion is to work out with your incline on 1 or 2. Best of luck!
Answer#5: treadmills are never as strenuous as actually running on the road, but it looks like you figured that out. you dont work your muscles nearly as hard on a treadmill, because the machine is actually pulling your legs back for you.I dont know of any conversion formulas, but I've heard that a 1.5% incline on a treadmill will be about the same workout of a run on the road of the same duration.
|
|
| Source: Questions and Answers Powered by Yahoo! Answers |
|
