Going nowhere

Another day of trying something new. That new thing was doing my run session on a treadmill.

Don't get me wrong, I have run on a treadmill before, but I don't use my as part of my regular training. I have a lot of running options from home and so staying inside has never really seen necessary. However, in the name of breaking up my running surfaces and getting a bit more variety in my training I thought I would give the treadmill a go. Call it an experiment.

All up I would say it was a successful experiment. I know treadmills are one of those pieces of equipment that is very polarising. A lot of people love them or hate them. For me, I view them as a tool and as such have the same opinion of them that I have of any other type of training tool. It has its uses.

For me those uses are mainly around the control it brings to pacing. I had an interval session today and I often find with my interval work that I go too hard, work at too high an intensity. The ability of a treadmill to dial in pace and stick to it is great for reigning that in. Another reason I went for the treadmill is just to give myself another break from pounding pavement. Whilst treadmills are still hard surfaces, they do have a bit of give and I generally find them a bit easier on my body than the road.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses though. I was using the indoor running mode on my Garmin 920XT and the pacing it was giving me was nowhere near the pacing the treadmill was telling me. To be honest I am more inclined to believe the treadmill, since the indoor running mode of the Garmin is an approximation based on stride length and cadence. Plus my heart rate correlated well to the heart rates I usually see at the sort of speeds the treadmill was telling me, rather than the speeds my Garmin was telling me. Using the treadmill pace and my heart rate I could see it being a viable training tool in future though. 

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't train on a treadmill exclusively. I know some people do, but it isn't for me. For me the variations in terrain and the improvements in stability that come with it are some of the great advantages of running outdoors. For me I think the bulk of my running needs to be outside. However, today went well enough that I would consider using the treadmill as a training tool again in the future.