Treadmill pace versus outside running

I feel like paces mentally feel faster faster on a treadmill but physically slower. Easy pace feels like im flying but I don't get tired. Tempo feels like an absolute sprint, but i can sustain it longer than I can outside

It's unanswerable at this time. If the earth is flat, there's no "earth's rotation," and we need to know if you're running with or against that rotation. You'll just have to consider it a leap into the unknown--or rather, a bunch of little leaps--and go by HR. Please report your findings, particularly whether you simultaneously break 10.7 for 100m on the way to a sub-14:30 5K.

If there is any difference it is very minimal and varies from person to person. If it feels too easy then increase the speed or vice versa. I tend to run faster on the road than the treadmill because the gym is hotter and stuffier and your body naturally sill speed up some if you are feeling good. On the mill it's a monotonous cadence.

The one thing that probably gets overlooked most is CONSTANT SPEED. Running a 6 minute mile on the track, your pace will vary lap to lap or even 100m to 100m. But the Treadmill going a constant speed makes you feel like its faster because there is speeding up and slowing down.

The plane takes off.

Treadmill is harder mentally and definitely harder when you start to get warm and can't get any wind to cool down...however if I'm running alone outside, not with teammates its harder than a treadmill

Correct Answer: Depends on treadmill (if the MPH is claims is crap or not due to its engineering), but is basically IDENTICAL if calibrated correctly.

Only difference is your own mental stupidity. Like if the sky were suddenly green one day and red the next, you neurotic nincompoops would claim that made a difference in your cadence and pace as well.

ANYONE claiming "your foot gets pulled back" or "wind resistance" or you're "leaping while the belt gets sucked back" is an absolute moron.

There is negligible difference between the biomechanics of running on a treadmill vs. outside.

The only difference is that there cannot be significant headwind or tailwind on a treadmill --- and the air resistance is slightly less, but negligible given human speeds on the treadmill. Also, obviously, the treadmill is a relatively uniform rubber belt vs. uneven terrain or asphalt.

Calibration of the grade of the treadmill is especialy important. My treadmill makes me run uphill even when the level is set to zero. it's a lot harder to keep a given pace on that treadmill than on a track but I've also run on treadmills that were easier than running outside. Never underestimate how crappy the calibration is on many consumer goods.

I don't know what the weather is like where you are OP, but depending on that you could feel a big difference.

Generally, for me, I'm only on the treadmill if the weather outside is terrible (super cold windy/rain/slush etc.). So when I come inside to run in my 68-70 degree house, it feels quite warm and I slow down a bit because of that.

Overall, I agree with you tho. Treadmill paces feel tougher for me than outside.

What kind of weather conditions are you dealing with?

Jimmy21 wrote:

I feel like paces mentally feel faster faster on a treadmill but physically slower. Easy pace feels like im flying but I don't get tired. Tempo feels like an absolute sprint, but i can sustain it longer than I can outside

Exactly how I feel. When I start at tempo pace, it feels like I'm in a full sprint, something around mile pace. However, after 20 minutes, I realize that I haven't gotten tired at all and feel similar to how I feel with a 20 minute tempo outside.

Your feet absolutely DO get pulled back unless you are sustaining an EXACT pace on the treadmill. Deeeerrrrrrrpppp

Bobby1 wrote:

Some people unconsciously shorten their stride while running fast on treadmill which would make it seem faster, do to fear of flying off the back. IMO, the best way to compare efforts is to measure HR.

This is the best response, because it's what I do. During the winter, I often do workouts on the treadmill. I know about where my HR should be during various sorts of workouts, and I just go by that.

Easy way to validate whether your mechanics are the variable indoors: check your cadence.

I average 172 spm outdoors during easy running, but on the mill at easy pace ranges I'm down closer to 160. Not sure the root cause, all I know is that I see a consistent difference in my cadence data, which holds constant across 4 different treadmills at 2 locations, and is present over 3 years of data. That's enough for me to conclude there's something happening there.

Check out the 0% column to see the difference between road pace and treadmill pace. http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php

As others have pointed out, the physics have slight differences, but the fundamental point is that you are moving relative to a belt that is, at least approximately, moving at a constant velocity. That is, it approximates an inertial frame of reference. By the (classical) assumption that all inertial frames of reference are equivalent, there should be no difference in the physics.

The next time someone tells me "to see the difference between running outside and on a treadmill, consider the fact that on a treadmill you can just jump straight up and down to maintain whatever pace is on the display." Go ahead, try it. It is so obvious this won't work, I'm dumbstruck people have thought it a convincing argument.

Another anecdotal experience, but I concur that treadmill is not easier than regular running. I worked with Olympian that used a high quality treadmill for a large percent of her training. She felt the actual race pace felt easier than during race pace training on the treadmill.

Treadmill running costs less energy than overground running at the same speed, unless you have a tailwind that is equal to the speed of running, at which time TM and OG cost the same. Heart rate is usually faster on the treadmill because you build up a layer of hot, humid air around your body on the TM, and you have to send more blood to the periphery. Mentally the TM can be pretty boring, which makes OG running seem easier. I knew a guy whose marathon PB was 2:12 and he ran his long-run 20 miler each week on his TM for a good number of weeks and, went to NY marathon and ran 2:09. 2 hours each week on a TM sure makes a marathon seem easier, with something besides a wall to look at.

hog wrote:

Treadmill running costs less energy than overground running at the same speed, unless you have a tailwind that is equal to the speed of running, at which time TM and OG cost the same. Heart rate is usually faster on the treadmill because you build up a layer of hot, humid air around your body on the TM, and you have to send more blood to the periphery. Mentally the TM can be pretty boring, which makes OG running seem easier. I knew a guy whose marathon PB was 2:12 and he ran his long-run 20 miler each week on his TM for a good number of weeks and, went to NY marathon and ran 2:09. 2 hours each week on a TM sure makes a marathon seem easier, with something besides a wall to look at.

I concur....although right now, not sure which is hotter the dreadmill or outside!😅

hog wrote:

Treadmill running costs less energy than overground running at the same speed, unless you have a tailwind that is equal to the speed of running, at which time TM and OG cost the same. Heart rate is usually faster on the treadmill because you build up a layer of hot, humid air around your body on the TM, and you have to send more blood to the periphery. Mentally the TM can be pretty boring, which makes OG running seem easier. I knew a guy whose marathon PB was 2:12 and he ran his long-run 20 miler each week on his TM for a good number of weeks and, went to NY marathon and ran 2:09. 2 hours each week on a TM sure makes a marathon seem easier, with something besides a wall to look at.

Would that guy be Ken Martin?