Runner's Corner

January 2009 :: Index of issues

Treadmill Training

January 2009 Runner’s Corner

By Kitty A. Consolo, Ph.D.

Happy New Year everyone. I never thought I would be writing you about treadmill training as since 1975, I have been one of those diehard runners who goes out on the roads, no matter what the weather, even in windchills below zero. Two weeks ago, something happened that changed my mind. I went out to run and there were some ice patches but I thought that most of the road was ok. Just ten feet from my driveway, I hit black ice and whoosh, I landed on my back and hit my head! Fortunately, I was wearing 3 hats and lots of layers so I did not have much damage but I realized, this is a wake up call! There really are some days where is it NOT safe to run outside. So I ventured downstairs and ran on my husband’s treadmill, and guess what, it wasn’t so bad. With ample music, my water bottle and the treadmill telling me pace, distance and calories burned, the workout went by fast and most importantly, safely.

So here is my advice for treadmill training:

When to use treadmills:

Any time there is ice or slippery surfaces outside, no shoe can protect you from a fall.
Anytime the wind chills become uncomfortable.
When you want a break from the roads.

How often to use treadmills:

If you plan on serious road running and competing, treadmill running should be kept to a minimum of your total weekly miles such as 10-20%. Our bodies adjust to training surfaces and treadmills are much different and softer than the roads. Hence if we want to perform well on the roads and not get injured, we need to do most of our training on the roads, not treadmills. However, treadmill running can certainly be better than no running or getting hurt on ice.

Treadmill Safety

If you have never run on a treadmill, take some time to practice getting on and off just walking and then at slow jog paces before you start running on them. Practice being able to hit the stop button at different speeds and especially at the speeds you plan to work out at. Be sure to hydrate while running too, most treadmills have a place for a water bottle but take care to hang onto the bars if you plan to grab your water bottle and keep running. Otherwise, stop the treadmill while you get a drink and then restart, taking care to get safely on and off.

Treadmill Workouts

Tempo and Speed

Since it is best to do most of your runs on the surface you will be racing on, take care to select which workouts will most benefit you by substituting the treadmill for the roads. During the winter, it is often hard to get in quality tempo or speed runs so these might be a great alternative on the treadmill. To simulate a tempo run, be sure to allow a 10-15 minute warm up at an easy pace, practice being able to stop or grab the bars at a tempo pace, and then simply increase the speed to the pace you would do your tempo run at outside and run for that time. If you find yourself getting bored, throw in some 30 seconds faster paces then slow down to your previous pace. Some experts suggest you also raise the grade 3% to simulate the resistance from outside running but I like to keep the grade totally flat. If you were going to do some speed intervals such as 800s, increase the speed to your interval pace but take care to hold onto the bars until you feel you can handle the pace and also be able to hit the stop button. If you are totally new to treadmill running, you may want to do a couple easy workouts of just running, before you try doing a fast quality run on the treadmill.

Long runs

Even though I am now a somewhat treadmill convert, I have to admit my longest run on one is still 6 miles. Despite DVDs, great CDs and my water bottle, I have not mastered the long run over 6 on the treadmill. However, several friends tell me with the right DVD and by adding some changes during the run, such as a few tempos or some grades or some of the built in programs on the treadmill, they have done the long runs just fine. Let me know if you have some other secrets as I still am not sure I could do 2 hours or so on the treadmill, hence for me, I wait until the weather improves and still do the long run outside.

Easy Short Runs

I have enjoyed 4 and 6 mile runs on the treadmill and to make these go fast, I started with a very slow warm up pace, then each half mile I slowly raised the pace until I feel quite comfortable. I put on my favorite music and got very motivated when I realized the treadmill told me how many calories I was burning. Since one of the reasons I run is to be able to stay thin, I started fantasizing about what small piece of favorite dessert I could have with all of the caloric burn, it was quite motivating! Try to find a treadmill that can give you lots of info to choose from and not just distance. I found watching the distance was a little too slow for me and that is when I got bored but those calories, wow those numbers ran up fast.

If you don’t have access to a home treadmill, check out your local Y or fitness club. Several places are now offering free trial memberships or the flexibility of just paying by the month, so you can try out their equipment for a small amount of money before committing several hundred dollars to your own equipment which you may or may not end up using.

I hope to see you on the roads—being safe! Kitty