DairyKing's Journal, 29 February 2012

Happy Wednesday! Nice balmy morning for you, eh? Down here in TX we're hardly having winter at all... 63 this morning driving to work... groan. I would rather have a good freeze or some snow! Have a great day! 

5:30 this morning 56 degrees. Ahhhhhhh. Good job getting out and getting your run in. Love jogging out doors and I cant wait until the weather is a non issue. Nc is going to be 73 today. Warm weatherhere I come. I wonder if that smoke I saw in the horizon this morning was your shoes on fire :-) 

Bonus!  

So jealous of your outdoor runs - enjoy them!!  

Brill..... What differences do you find running on the treadmill -v- outside? Is one harder than the other? 

Skinny, a major difference I find is that the hills are a lot harder outside. I'm sure that is mainly because the treadmill is going to move your legs back, on the return stride for you, whether you put in any effort or not. One thing that is different for me; and this might not be the same for others is this: When I am running exclusively on the treadmill, I find that my stride is shorter, and over time, I increase speed solely by increasing the leg turnover. Anyway, it always seems like I am moving my legs a whole lot faster on the treadmill to maintain the same speed as I would if I was running out on the street (as confirmed by my GPS) However, out on the street, I tend to adjust both stride and leg turnover to achieve optimum efficiency to cover the most ground in the quickest time possible for me. When I am warming up, it's about the same inside as outside, but once I am warmed up, outside on the street, I can stretch out like a gazelle; that's why I have to slow down to cool my shoes off occasionally! :D 

think running is difficult than treadmill ... I usually run with 2.5- 5kgs weights for 20-25 minutes / increase the inclination on treadmill  

Thanks DK... Reason I ask is, I have signed up for a 5k and am wondering if I should make an effort to try running outside. I think initially, I will build up inside, then try it outside when I am more confident. I thought it may be more difficult outside, as the ground is more uneven. I think I also need to investigate the surface where the 5k is, so I can get some practise in, on a similar surface before the race. 

Petuniak, if it was 73 here today, I would take off from work to go running again! Even at 56 degrees, I wore only a long sleeve tee and shorts, and I was comfy. I can't wait for temps in the 70's; I'll go trail running after work, and before I head home.  

Skinny, I think you are spot-on. I prepared for my last 5K solely on the treadmill. I was easily doing 5 or 6 miles on the treadmill, and then really struggled in the actual race, probably for a combination of two reasons 1) I felt good and started at a pace that was much faster than I had been running at, and ran out of steam too early, and 2) It just seemed to be harder to run from the very first step (even though I warmed up as much as I could). I definitely recommend that you get a feel for running on pavement before you run that first race. There is a lot of difference. I truly believe that the treadmill trains you aerobically for the race - I don't run out of breath. But, my legs wanted to give out. You've got to train aerobically and physically, and you could probably prepare yourself for a race via treadmill and stair climbing or something like that; otherwise I think you need to get out on the road. Anyway, that's been my experience. 

Thanks DK :-)