Take That, Mother Nature!

After experiencing a rough start with my marathon training, it seemed like I needed find ways to minimize the chances of missing any future workouts due to poor conditions outside. I have access to treadmills and indoor running facilities but their hours are limited and all of them are at least a 20 minute drive away. This can become a big problem if it is snowing heavily.

I finally decided that the ideal solution would be to get a treadmill. I checked Craigslist but it seemed like people were either asking for too much money or the treadmill was underpowered. There were only two things that I considered crucial. 1) The motor had to be at least 3 CHP and 2) the deck height had to be 7 inches or less. After some research and a little in-store shopping, I settled on the Sole F63.

The deck was pretty heavy to carry into the basement but the rest of it could easily be carried by one person. Assembly only took about a half-hour and a dozen or so expletives. This is kind of funny but, even with a 7-inch deck, I still had to remove a ceiling tile to make room for my head. I guess wearing Hokas doesn’t exactly help either.

So far I have run on it twice. One 9 mile run and another 13 miler. I have to say that it was a bit on the boring side but we had another freezing rain last night and it is flat-out dangerous to walk on the sidewalks. Regardless, The weather was a non-factor. I woke up early and had my 13 mile run finished by 7:30 am without stepping outside. Mission accomplished.

Treadmill Running Vs. Outdoors

The only real difference that I have found between running on a treadmill and running outside is the lack of momentum on a treadmill. This actually plays a major role in how long you run. With no momentum carrying you forward between steps, your pace will be slower at the same workout intensity.

For example, an 8:00 min/mile pace outside will be far more difficult to maintain on a treadmill. You may have to slow it down to 9:30 or 10:00 on a treadmill to achieve the same intensity.

To really see how much of a factor this is, run at a fast pace on a treadmill then jump off the track and stand on the side rails. You will stop instantly. Now run at a fast pace in the street and try to stop instantly. It will take several steps of braking to do so. This is the force of momentum.

It might be on the boring side and take a little longer to finish the run and it was on the boring side but I think Zwift will help once I get it to work with running. It is also nice that the weather will now be one less thing to worry about.