Half Marathon in One Month: Treadmill Running

Obviously you cannot run outside every day during the winter months (even if you could, most people probably don't want to). A common solution to this would be to run on a treadmill... But treadmills are boring, hot, and surprisingly harder to run on than outside. I'm not sure why treadmills are harder to run on, but I know that for a lot of people running on a treadmill means running slower. However, with a few minor adjustments, you can make it beneficial and realistic.

Start by adjusting your incline. It's generally agreed that setting an incline at 1.0 is equivalent to running outdoors. I like to set it at 2.0 so that my calves get an extra workout. If you find that you sweat too much, try using a fan to simulate wind. For boredom, I do the usual thing of watching sports or - if I'm lucky - watching someone play video games.

People often run slower on a treadmill than outside. Let me show you the conversion of miles/hr (mph) on the treadmill :

Miles/hr	Kilometers/hr	Minutes/Km
5	8	7:30
5.5	8.8	6:49
6	9.6	6:15
6.5	10.4	5:46
7	11.2	5:21
7.5	12	5:00
8	12.8	4:41
8.5	13.6	4:25
9	14.4	4:10
9.5	15.2	3:57
10	16	3:45

As you can see, running at a 6.5mph on the treadmill isn't actually that fast (though it feels like it). The key to running fast on a treadmill is to run naturally and look ahead - not at the instrument panel in front of you. I find that when I look off to the side my body hits a natural pace, and when I look back I'm almost running into the controls. So treadmills actually make running harder because you are constantly adjusting to the treadmill, rather than being natural.

Set the treadmill to a decent speed and try ignoring the treadmill in front of you. Look far ahead and if you find yourself running up on the treadmill, just adjust the speed so it's faster. Remember to try and forget you are on a treadmill and you will find your natural stride. Soon you will be running 7 or 8 mph. Good luck.

Here is a great reference