The problems with treadmill running

So i run on a regular basis (4-5 times a week) and do somewhere between 15-25 miles a week , nothing big usually under 6 miles a run. Now i have done some reading on running, and treadmills have gotten a split review by most authors.

some say its fine, but its a little easier because it pulls u (which is 100% true) but u can cancel that out by making the incline 1

others dont use treadmills or recomend them, except in severe weather conditions.

now i was wondering, what would the problem be if i run 3 times a week on a treamill and then the other 2 days a week i run outside. I therefore dont get only acustomed to something pulling me while running, and am comftorble running outside. So will that be bad for me, how will that effect my running? what are the problems with treadmills?

 

2 more things
1. I am aasking this because i am going to a foreign country to study abroad for a year, and will have a treamill where i am staying, and am not sure how safe running outside will be
2.I sometimes race (not real competitive) but do,and would not want this to hinder my racing time too much

 

I have used a treadmill in the past and it's a great alternative to running outside. I never really noticed much difference between the treadmill and outside. Except......that treadmill running can get really boring. I have felt the start of shin splints on some of the cheaper ones. So...go with a good treadmill.

I don't think it will hurt your racing time. It may even help since it is really good for working on your pace. In fact...I have used them for that purpose prior to a race.

If you can get past the boredom it can be a really good tool. If the winters weren't so mild down here (SC) I'd probably have one in the house.

 

they less boring then normal run for me, cause i have a tv there with me... by the way shin splints on treadmill, i thought a treamill was a good running surface

 

I prefer treadmills because it's more convinient and you don't have to worry about the wind cooling you down and can sweat more.


And yeah, when you increase the incline you definetly feel the difference right away in your legs and your cardio. I keep it on 2.5 and then increase it to 3 sometimes as I go.

No problem, running is running.

 

running on a treadmill is way more boring than on the street

 

If you have to use a treadmill, use it. It's far better than not running. Put the incline up a tad and away you go.

But of course, if you can: RUN ON GRASS

 

If it's a good treadmill. There is a difference. Next time you go to a sporting goods store take a minute to try out the different models. Even without running on them you can feel it. Most of the places I've been will let you try them out though.

I used them a lot more back when I wrestled to make weight. I ran on some good ones at the gyms and some pretty crappy ones in the hotels. You may spend a little more but it's worth it in the long run.

 

"but it's worth it in the long run." no pun intended

 

Lol! I thought about that after I typed it. :icon_chee

 

an ipod deffinately helps with the boredom of tredmils, if i keep my playlists fresh it can motivate me to run more just to hear the new stuff

 

I never thought about a treadmill being bad. I wouldn't run on a treadmill all of the time because it's nice to just run outside. My experiences with treadmills have been decent.

 

i like the treadmill since i can control the speed. i dunno but i have the tendency to sprint when i am running outside.

 

yeah its very good, if u wanna learn how to pace yourself, i used to run too fast then have to take walking breaks, then i found a good speed on treadmill and ran on it for awhile, spent a couple minutes finding pace when ran outside, and boom i was running my whole run faster and without walking

 

I like the treadmill and haven't really noticed a difference.

Great thing about it, you don't need to get changed before getting on one. I can hop on, shower, and get ready for work.

 

This is my problem. I would rather be able to run my full 6 miles on a treadmill, then run/walk/run/walk 6 miles outside. For some reason I just speed up faster and faster outside and wind the hell out of myself.

On a treadmill, I can set it and forget it like a Showtime Rotisserie.

 

i think i only like running outside if its a track so i can at least pace myself.

 

I've been doing my runs on a treadmill for several years and haven't noticed any knee problems or anything that caused me problems...

 

Quick question, if the place where you have to stop powerwalking and start jogging is somewhere beetween 5 and 7... Is the treadmill showing km per hour then or miles per hour??

Im kind of guessing (hoping) miles but arent sure and usually dont use a treadmill.

 

It's good to do both. I once spoke to someone who runs marathons about a similar subject. They told me that running on the treadmill is good because it forces you to maintain your speed where as when you are outside you can slow down.

I enjoy running outside and on a treadmill the problem i have is when running on a cheap treadmill. They make a lot of noise or the belt shifts. Of course outside you don't have that problem, only problem is weather.