Treadmill… or Dreadmill?

This week, Alberta was invaded by an unwelcome visitor: the polar vortex. For a few days, we hoped that the forecast would turn out to be wrong. I enjoyed my last comfortable outdoor run on Tuesday with a feeling of impending doom. Change was already in the air: I left the house in fine weather and sunshine but spent the last two kilometres fighting a stiff, cold wind from the north.

Now we are in it. I read somewhere that today (Friday the 12th) was the coldest day in Calgary for the last 20 years. The prospect is for even colder weather in the next day or two.

While I always prefer to run outside, the time had clearly come to switch to plan B: the treadmill. We have put many miles on our Landice L7 treadmill since buying it in 2010. At the time, I wanted an alternative to outdoor running to get me through the Alberta winter, so I could run the 2011 Boston Marathon.

While the Landice has been a reliable machine and a good investment, I have never warmed up to it. That’s because I find running on a treadmill harder than running outside. To be precise, I find running a given pace on a treadmill feels harder than on the road.

I did some research into why this might be the case. I know it is a debate that has strong opinions on both sides. Some runners hold exactly the opposite opinion than I do. They find treadmill running to be easier than road running.

I’ve always assumed that my perception of treadmill running is due to it being a relatively recent activity for me. In other words, am I programmed for outdoor running because I’ve done it for so long? No, there must be more to it.

There are plenty of studies that compare the two environments, and most find several benefits of treadmill running. For example, the belt turning under us imparts energy to our feet as we land. Treadmill belts are rubber, so there ought to be a small benefit in terms of impact forces on our joints. The ability to control speed and incline can be helpful when recovering from an injury or looking for very specific training conditions.

On the other hand, studies have also shown that many runners do perceive treadmill running to be more difficult. The benefit of a spongier surface may come at the cost of requiring the runner to expend more energy. Apparently, runners tend to self-adjust to a slower speed than they would outside. One study (I only read the summary) had runners do three segments at perceived effort: outside, then on a treadmill, then outside. It found that the treadmill portion was slowest by a statistically significant margin.

On the physical side, I generally feel a bit of muscle soreness after a treadmill run. It would seem that I’m using different muscles, or interacting with the “ground” differently.

As for the perception of effort, I think it comes down to the way that our brains interact with our environment. I never get 100% comfortable moving while staying in the same spot. On a related point, while I agree that watching television is a welcome distraction available exclusively on a treadmill, I somehow get disoriented by the feeling of running toward the screen.

In practical terms, I find the best thing to do on a treadmill is a structured workout. Today, I did almost a full set of Yasso 800s (repeats of 800 metres at 10k pace). It’s a classic speed endurance workout, and it’s often cited as a predictor of marathon fitness. (Definitely not in my current plans!) Knowing that I have to complete a series of tasks (for example, run two laps on the little screen at a predetermined, not perceived, pace) helps me get past the feeling of confinement and boredom that often accompanies a treadmill run.

Besides, running in shorts and a T-shirt while looking out at a frozen -35c landscape isn’t all bad. And I did have a dram of Macallan 12-year-old sitting ready for me as a reward for getting through it.

We do what we have to do.