Until last year you wouldn’t see me on a treadmill, which I often called the “dreadmill”. I called it that because I thought it was a monotonous form of exercise. I couldn’t stand running in one place for a long duration of time. I always preferred to run outside. Sometimes I still do, but I’ve learned to love the treadmill for reasons I explain below.
I understand negative attitudes to treadmills (or Stairmasters, ellipticals, Concept 2 Rowers, and stationary bikes). It can be dull and boring. It’s not as scenic. It’s not as “natural.” You don’t get to run through nature or see the neighborhood.
But I can counter all those claims, and then enumerate the benefits of running on a treadmill that running on land simply cannot replicate.
I’ve been riding my bike on a trainer for three years now, and I never had problem with riding for an hour or even two hours. The concept is the same as running on a treadmill. You stay in one spot for a long duration of time and tax your cardiovascular system. For some reason I never applied this rational to running in a stationary position. Somehow riding indoors was tolerable but running in place was not.
When I started to follow a plan to prepare for my triathlon this year, it called for a lot of treadmill running. At first I wanted to do these workouts on land as much as possible. But I realized that to get the full benefit of the proven program, I had to spend time on the treadmill.
Over time, I came to like and love the treadmill for the following reasons:-I never had to worry about the weather. I never had to worry about rain, lightning, wind, or worse, cold air. I hated running in freezing temperatures. I hated spending money on winter clothing that only made running outside tolerable at best. I hate running with a lot of clothes. On the coldest days, I could run in my tri-suit and still wipe sweat off my face. This is one of the best benefits of the treadmill. I never have to worry about the forecast (except on race day).
-I could do whatever workout I wanted. If a workout called for hills, I could increase the incline to any grade I wanted for any length of time. Since my goal is to live in Florida in the near future, I will have to like running on the incline on the treadmill. I could do endurance work, progressive runs, intervals, and anything else I liked.
-I could watch TV and run at the same time. Most gyms these days have Cardio Theater, which is a service that delivers television to all the cardio machines. My gym, XSport, has TVs on every one of the 140 machines we have. They don’t have as many channels as I’d like, but they have my favorite channels. I can now do two things at once: get the news and workout. Someday, I’d like to have my own treadmill in my home, and watch movies. Watching TV and movies can be a good distraction during stressful workouts. It usually removes any negative thoughts I might have.
-I don’t have to worry about what I will eat and drink during a run. When you run outside, you have to carry water and food (if you choose to carry any at all). There are no aid stations and nobody to give you rations. The treadmill has a convenient cup holder. I can also put small amounts of food there. I don’t have to stash anything in my pocket. When I run out of water, I simply refill at the water fountain.
-The treadmill is a controlled environment. Weather is never an issue. There are no dogs. No stop lights. No pedestrians. No leaf blowers or other lawn equipment. No cyclists. The treadmill is always your own. You never have to share it with anyone. You don’t have to pass anyone. There are no potholes or cracks into which you can trip.
Downsides
I will admit there are a few downsides to the treadmill. As running coach Jack Daniels notes, perceived exertion is higher at any given speed on the treadmill, even though oxygen update is lower. I can attest to this. When I run at 8:30 per mile outside, my heart rate might be 125-130 beats per minute. My heart rate would be 10-15 beats higher on the treadmill, and it would seem much harder to run at that speed. The world record for the marathon, held by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, is just under 2:04. The world record for the marathon on a treadmill is 2:31. You can see that running on a treadmill means we have to run slower. Nonetheless, we can still get a great workout and run at any intensity or heart rate we want.
Another downside is doing long, endurance runs on the treadmill. I still can’t imagine running more than 90 minutes at one time. However, I couldn’t run more than 30 minutes on the treadmill last year. Until I have to run more than 90 minutes either outside or inside, I won’t worry about exceeding that length.
Running outside has a few perceived advantages, but I don’t think they’re really based on reality. One claim is that it’s healthier to run in nature and breath fresh air. First, the air outside isn’t necessarily healthier than it is inside. In fact, many times it is worse, especially if you live in the city. The air quality index in the summer time can be atrocious. There are tons of particles and pollutants in the air. Running indoors means we are running in filtered, air-conditioned air. How refreshing.
We often hear that running allows us to connect with nature. Many runners have dreams of running through forests and parks. But this image is based on myth more than reality. How many people have access to such beautiful areas? How many people actually live on a lake, or next to a trail that goes through pristine forests? The nearly trail to me isn’t very long. Not only is it treacherous, but it starts on a street and ends in a parking lot. The Washington & Old-Dominion Trail is about 10 miles from my house. It’s nothing more than a long bike path with shrubs and bushes along the side. It also crosses several major roads. My point is, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, or in a national park, we don’t really run with nature. We run along congested highways, through neighborhoods, or on busy city streets.
Running outside doesn’t necessarily make you a faster runner. The best runners and triathletes effectively use the treadmill to do workouts that they simply can’t do outside. Some have proposed that treadmills aren’t as effective as running outside. But clearly, if Olympians and the top runners in the world use them, then they are certainly effective for your average runner!
I do almost all my running on the treadmill now. In the winter, I hardly run outside, except when I run immediately after dismounting my bike (a brick run). Until it’s light and warm outside, you won’t see me running. Even then, I’ll do most of my key workouts on a treadmill.
If you don’t like the treadmill, at least try it. Try one run per week. I think you’ll find that you can tolerate it, and even prefer it. Do your long runs outside. But I highly recommend that you do your interval, hill, and speed work on the treadmill. It’s much easier logistically and nothing can interfere with your workout.
Happy training.
No comments:
Post a Comment