Running: Treadmill vs Outside




The weather is FINALLY starting to get warmer which means a lot more runners will be headed outside to hit the pavement. There is nothing better than getting in a nice, long run on a beautiful spring/summer day in Chicago, however if you are a serious runner (or even semi serious) you should have been running outside in the cold weather too. While it is natural to want to retreat indoors and just run on the treadmill when it is cold out, constant treadmill running will really set you back from where you were running outdoors when it finally warms up.

Last year when I was training for my Ragnar Relay, I did basically all of my training indoors on the treadmill. I went into my first leg super confident that I would CRUSH it since I had been training, but when I got out there, I struggled soooo hard. Here's why:

Pacing
It is great to have something that automatically paces you, however if you rely completely on that, when it comes time to run outside you are going to start going like a bat out of hell and burn out really quickly.

Terrain
Most people do not know that a treadmill on zero incline, is akin to running on a slight decline in the real world. Outdoors, there are hills to account for not to mention the weather. You will not have a properly air conditioned space that your body thrives in outdoors. You could be outside in 80 degree weather on an asphalt road with no shade in sight....yes, this happened to me. It is important to get your body used to all sorts of different outdoor conditions.

Running outside is wayyyyy less boring than spending an hour plus on a treadmill! Get yourself out there and run your little heart out!

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