Treadmill or Road?

A few years ago i purchased a treadmill & have trained for 2 marathons with virtually all my training from it, been injury free & my times  for the marathon have remained as good as when i've trained on the roads.I know a lot of runners are against them but for me the pros out weigh the cons in the winter.Anyone else got an opinion on this?

Comments

  • you must have a very high boredom threshold image
  • tredmills for me in the winter as asthma kicks in in the frosty conditions.

    Summer time - road and trail all the way !!

  • Strawberry jam, to be honest i found it less boring than pounding dark unlit streets in the dark, which i have done over & over.

    Muppet, agree with you, there's nothing better than running a early morning run in the spring & summer,it's the winter nights i'm not sure about.

  • MACbMACb ✭✭✭

    got to be outdoors. I started my running interest a few years back using the treadmill, now I have moved outside I have barely used a treadmill, and when I have I have hated it. I have taken my time to learn how to dress appropriately mind! I ran at the weekend, it was -3oC but with the correct layers and hat, gloves etc. it was a fantastic 11 miles, the countryside looked stunning. I admit it took about 20 mins for me to get used to breathing the cold air mind. 

  • Nick LNick L ✭✭✭

    If it suits you then thats fine. Personally I couldnt think of anything worse.

    Dark starry moonlit nights are lovely for running in.

    I went out on Sat for 35 miles...started just as sun was rising....fantastic day (cold at -7 at first).....saw lots of wildlife (off road run) sun was shining all day....6 hours of very fresh air. Cant get that on a treadmill.

  • Crazy fool....

    That said - I think its a better option than running in ice. But I much prefer to get out when I can. You see so much more.
  • I have a treadmill at home but I use this when mainly for speedwork and when
    the weather is horrible. I still do the majority outside because lets face it, all of my
    races are outside.

    Then again, a treadmill can be used for marathon training. I think Ingrid Kristiansen trained
    for one London Marathon using a treadmill because of the weather. Still boring anyway.

  • Nick, you went out on saturday for a run of  35 miles? Everyone to their own, but that's not for me.I've run 17 marathons & have never come close to anything of that distance, the furthest i've ever run in training is 20 miles & that was enough.
  • I was a pure tready runner to start with, and trained for 2 marathons with only minimal outdoor running, but building up the outdoor stuff as my legs get more resilient- I prefer outdoors now, if weather is reaasonable, but tready if wet/ windy/ icy underfoot- longest tready run was 20miler before marathon- on a couple of accaisions (luckily there were good films on the TV at the time).

    Both are fine, outdoors nicer if conditions good, lots of people spout a load of cr*p about the tready doing all the work, rubbish, just set it to 1 degree incline, and it's at least as effective in terms of endurance, not so good for coping with running downhill (haven't seen a tready with a downhill gradient), or coping with uneven ground.

  • Good points there, Tricialitt. A lot of people seem to dismiss a treadmill has second rate but i think it's got a place in training & in 2 years i've never picked up a injury but have suffered a stress fracture (which i spent 12 weeks in a cast), shin splints & other injuries from overuse on the road.I know there's nothing better than running in the open but it certainly has benefitted me over the last few years.
  • HillyHilly ✭✭✭
    I prefer to run outdoors, but do also run on both my home treadmill and gym one some of the time during the week.  I find it's excellent for my 2nd run of the day as the surface is gentle on the legs so helps to keep injury at bay.  Also, when the weather is bad and pavements icy it's a must.
  • Certainly a good option in this weather. I find that if I have to run a quicker (tempo) run on my own, it's easier on the treadmill because once the pace is set I have to go with it. Wouldn't fancy doing a proper long run on one, though.

    I've noticed recently that several people have commented that they feel the after effects of cross country races because of the sideways foot movements. That makes me think that running on a variety of surfaces is probably a good idea to strengthen against injury.

  • I prefer running outdoors but I am very injury prone so have purchased a 2nd hand treadmill. I am training for London in 2010 and am doing treadmill work in conjunction with about 20-30 miles road work each week. I run outside 3 times a week and use the treadmill for 2 or 3 sessions inside mostly for speed work and never more than 1 hour.

    I am hoping that this combination will help prevent injury.
  • David, from personal experiences i think it's a good idea to mix running on different surfaces.When i've trained for marathons solely on the road i've rarely escaped injury of some kind in the run up to the marathon, by using the treadmill i have been injury free. Maybe it's a coincidence but i don't think so. All the best.
  • I always think the best training programme is one you can stick to and that works well for you. If doing most of your training on the treadmill suits you and helps you avoid injury, who am I to criticise it!?

    Personally I can't bear the treadmill for steady runs of more than about 30 minutes - I swear that time slows down as soon as I get near one of those machines! I do like using them for speed sessions though as they force you to maintain the required pace - plus the pain of intervals is usually enough to distract me from watching the clock!

  • I GOT ONE LAST X MAS BUT NOW RECOVERING FROM ILNESS AND INJURY GOING TO USE FIRST THING TOMORROW AS I HAVE A FAIR BIT OF WEIGHT TO SHIFT I AM RUNNING THE BRIGHTON AND EDINBURGH IN APRIL AND LOOKING OUTSIDE JUST NOW IN GLASGOW ITS A WHITE OUT AND 7 BELOW     A BIT CHILLY BUT YOU DO HAVE A LAUGH AT PEOPLES EXPRESSONS WHEN YOU RUN PAST THEM IN THIS WEATHER
  • One of the main plusses for me with a treadmill is you're allways guaranteed to keep a time schedule at this time of year. When i ran solely on the road in winter i seemed to struggle due to the weather of maintaining my target mileage.
  • hi bluebirds is it marathons you run and do you do good times?
  • Hi Martin, yes i'm running VLM  in April & aiming for 3:45 mainly on the treadmill in the week with a longer run at the weekend on the road.All the best with the training for the Brighton & Edinburgh marathons, they both look good races.Have you run a marathon before? All the best with the training & best of luck in the spring.
  • Curly45Curly45 ✭✭✭

    Interesting you've said posture D2D...

    I've never run on a treadie, but I am neutral about it - do what works for you I think image

    However, I keep seeing people 'tigger bouncing' down the embankment and I cant help but wonder if they are usual treddie runners - not sure how else you would develop such a style naturally. These people dont seem out of breath (i.e. running fast for them) so I cant work why they are bouncing so high?

    Any treddie runners got comments about style from road vs treddie?? Its just got me wondering...

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