Column 40, May 2011

Are treadmills useful for the average Kiwi runner?

In country’s where icy roads, snow and other extreme weather conditions prevail, treadmills are frequently used as an effective alternative to running trails, or road. But are there any advantages to using a treadmill in the New Zealand environment?

Advantages of Treadmills

Technique Analysis
I remember the first time I saw myself run on a treadmill - at a gym with a mirror placed directly in front. I was shocked at my running technique! With one shoulder slumped lower than the other and an obvious kick across the centre line of my body, it was definitely not the ‘Gabreselassie’ form I had imagined!

However, I realised then what a great tool it could be for recognising postural issues, and making corrections. I also noticed by making minor adjustments to stride length, relaxing the shoulders, breathing deeply, that I could lower my heart rate at any given speed - I was learning to run more efficiently.

Controlled Pace and Conditions
Treadmills offer a controlled environment for pace - which can only be accurately done using a GPS running outdoors – making it easier to track your mileage and speed. If you live in a cold climate but are training to race in the heat, running indoors can also be used to more closely simulate these conditions.

Safety
With the shorter winter days, the issue of safety running in low lit areas is highlighted. Running on a treadmill can also provide a secure training option when travelling if you are unsure of the local area.

Convenience
For stay-home mums and dads in particular, home treadmills offer the convenience of not having to find or pay for child-sitting.

Gentler on the body than roads
With older treadmills this was probably not the case, but the newer models offer better shock absorption, resulting in less stress on the knees and feet, when compared to asphalt and concrete surfaces.

Recommended use

So it seems there is a place for treadmills in our running programs, the important thing is how we use them.

Simulate flat road running using a 1% incline
Running on a treadmill is somewhat easier physically because the ground is being pulled underneath your feet and there's no wind resistance. Therefore, running at 5:00min/km pace (12kph) on the treadmill is equivalent to around 5:12min/km (11.5kph) on the road. To better simulate outdoor running conditions on the treadmill, you need to set your treadmill at a 1% incline.

Replicate outdoor ‘workouts’ as much as possible
One common complaint of the treadmill is monotony. However, using the ‘incline’ and ‘speed’ functions it is possible to do some pretty tough hill/interval and anaerobic threshold sessions. As long as you don’t mind what other gym members think when you’re adjusting the pace up and down every 60 seconds, or when you’re panting heavily and flicking sweat meters in either direction!

You will need to have a fairly good understanding of the pace you run such sessions at normally to avoid flying off the backend as well! If not, it would be useful to talk to one of the gym staff into adjusting the speed dials - under your instruction - for the first few intervals, until you have a better idea.

Summary

The treadmill can be an effective tool when used to simulate outdoor workouts, evaluate technique, or as a warm-up. It’s important that we also train on the surface (road/grass/trails) that we are going to race on however, to get a feel for pace and technique without the feedback from a treadmill or mirror.

I also believe toughing it out through challenging weather conditions can provide a little mental stamina to draw on during races, though there’s no denying that a 2-hour ‘Sunday’ run on the treadmill could be a lesson in mental robustness as well!

Marnie Oberer