Half marathon training question - treadmill?

[Skpnw]

I have a training question re: the half marathon. Let's say I am going to follow a training plan that requires 2 short runs during the week and 1 long run on the weekend. However, due to my husbands work schedule and 2 little kids, running outside during the week is not an option. Do I need to modify the two short runs in any way if I was to do them on a treadmill - like do I add more time/distance, vary the incline setting, etc. I will be able to do the long run outside on weekends but just want to make sure I can adequately prepare using a treadmill during the week.

thanks!

 

[JCH]

I have a training question re: the half marathon. Let's say I am going to follow a training plan that requires 2 short runs during the week and 1 long run on the weekend. However, due to my husbands work schedule and 2 little kids, running outside during the week is not an option. Do I need to modify the two short runs in any way if I was to do them on a treadmill - like do I add more time/distance, vary the incline setting, etc. I will be able to do the long run outside on weekends but just want to make sure I can adequately prepare using a treadmill during the week.

thanks!

I did most of my training on a treadmill since I didn't want to be outside after dark, and it was fine. Treadmills can be good for speed work since they can force you to go faster and stay at a consistent speed.

Some people do like to out an incline of about 1 to similate a road. I have seen suggestions also that if you are doing a distance run, add 10% to account for lack of calibration on the treadmill, but that's not an issue if it is only for your timed runs.

 

[jimandami]

I have always read to put the TM at 2-3% incline to account for wind, etc..

 

[NeverlandClub23]

When I trained for my first half, it was entirely treadmill during the week and the long run was outside on the weekends. I set it on 1.5 incline (which from what I've heard replicates the natural curvature of Earth, but I don't know how true that is...). I think you'll be completely fine with your plan. I always looked forward to my long runs, just so I had some different scenery! Treadmill running gets very boring during longer "short" runs, no matter the movies or TV shows you can watch .

I'm training for my first full starting next Monday and it'll be almost entirely outside. I'm sure I'll miss the treadmill days when it's 97 degrees with 100% humidity!

Good luck! I'm sure some other people will be able to give you more advice with the speeds. I followed the training plan in Marathoning for Mortals, so I followed that in regards to pushing myself and speeds.

 

[ZellyB]

I'm training for a half-marathon right now and do my maintenance runs during the week on the treadmill. I do run at a slightly faster pace on the treadmill than I do when I'm running outside, but other than that I really don't change anything else. So far, when I do my long runs on the weekends outside, the treadmill maintenance runs have been adequate to get my conditioning where it needs to be.

 

[jfinke]

Interesting write up on using an incline on a treadmill.

http://hillrunner.com/jim2/id110.html

And there is a final consideration, which was the basis of my previous post on this subject, that this is really a very minor variable among several that determine the differences between treadmill and over-ground running. Other more significant variables include outdoor climate, treadmill calibration, and outdoor terrain. Heck, in Noakes book, he even mentions the drag caused by short hair, loose fitting clothing, or long hair as having as much or more energy cost....4%, 4.2% and 6.3%, respectively....as air resistance for the pace that most runners run. A long haired runner can just get a haircut and gain more than 2%. In comparison, calm air resistance costs the 4:30 min/mile runner, the middle-distance track runner referenced in Pugh’s study above, 8%. And it is a very small fraction of that for us mere mortals.



My recommendation is to ignore any advice that says that it is necessary to always use a 1-2% incline adjustment to compensate for the lack of wind resistance. Instead, use the combination of speed control and incline adjustment that best makes a treadmill run “feel like” it is giving you the training benefit that you desire.

 

[Skpnw]

Thank you to everyone for your help! It will be my first half marathon and I didn't want to mess up my training because of the treadmill.

Again, I appreciate all of your help!

 

[Rose&Mike]

I have done both--trained mostly on the treadmill and trained mostly outside for races. One of the things I would suggest is to maybe do some balance/ankle strength stuff. Yoga poses, one legged squats, or exercises for your ankle with resistance bands. One of the things you don't get on the treadmill as much is the normal variation in terrain which makes your ankles work a bit--very little lateral motion. I have found out the hard way that weak ankles are not fun. I got a pr which I have yet to break on the race I mostly trained for on the tm, so I think it is very doable. Just pretty boring sometimes.

 

[WeRunDisney]

I've always heard 1.0-1.5% is a good simulation for outside running. When I trained for my first Princess in 2011, my weeknight runs were almost exclusively on the treadmill...since it was fall/winter, it was usually dark when I got home from work and I was never comfortable running alone in the dark. I also do speed ladders on the treadmill since it's very easy to set a pace/speed.

Good luck and stay healthy during your training....crossing the finish line is worth all the early mornings/tired evenings on the run!

 

[Tabetha]

We did all of our Princess Half training on a treadmill as a matter of necessity, and we're doing the same for the Disneyland Half until mid-August. (we work on a cruise ship) We were warned that we'd have a hard time running the half as a result (road running = harder than a treadmill), but we really had no problem whatsoever.
Running on real roads was actually pretty exciting and interesting, so maybe we just didn't notice how tired we were getting?

 

[Skpnw]

Again, I really do appreciate all of your help and advice for this! I guess running on the treadmill will work for me - it will be a little boring but I do want to run a half-marathon at some point in my life. Might as well be this year!

 

[runmommyrun]

I did about two months of my training for the WDW marathon on a treadmill due to weather (my joyous 20-miler was done while watching Toy Story and Phineas and Ferb with my kids!). I agree that a small incline may not be a bad idea for shorter runs. I used the incline (1.0 - 2.0) for my shorter runs and did no incline for my distance runs. Another idea is to add a couple of fans. I placed two fans on the ground next to the treadmill for wind resistance. I'm not certain it really did anything as far as my training, but it felt good nonetheless! Good luck!

 

[Qltrgrl2]

I would try to get at least one run a week outdoors. It is important to get used to heat and humidity since the Disney races can have both.

 

[WeRunDisney]

Another idea for treadmill running, assuming you have a TV nearby or there's one at the gym...pick a time when there's a show you like on TV. I used to run on Sundays when football was on and have picked weeknight times when there's something I want to watch on...the Bachelorette, Biggest Loser (GREAT motivation), Mad Men, etc. It helps keep my attention because to me, treadmill running can be so boring! Good luck!