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Do you ever use a treadmill? I think they're pretty good for forcing one to adopt a faster pace...

Prefer to be outside, but...

I have a treadmill that I use all the time in bad weather or in Winter.

Love it.

Rob

My favorite was the elliptical but now it's the treadclimbers.

The treadmill is a torture device.

"This machine will force your legs to run as fast as possible, yet you will go nowhere and see nothing."

AND all you'll smell is other folks (EW!)

I love the treadmill...in my family's basement. It allows me to walk, jog, or run a good distance without having to go anywhere (and without having to go back). It also allows me to get a good cardio workout while watching DVDs, effectively turning coach potato into...something else.

Going through the Lord of the Rings trilogy while jogging...costly, but nifty :-D

I'd rather have a change of scenery, but then living here, the weather is always conducive to the outdoors. I suppose if I lived somewhere rainy, or where it snowed, then it'd be different.

I heart the treadmill. It's not as good as running outdoors, but it's still running

I love the treadmill because I get to push myself a little bit further each week and can track the results. Since busting my kneecaps as a teenager, I've found running outdoor to be painful if done too much and psychologically draining as I'm always focusing on the ground to avoid the slightest object that might make my kneecas 'shift' painfully. Ugh.
I much rather get into a groove on the treadmill and lypsinc to my favourite tunes (I'm one of those guys!). And heck, watching the news and sports channels down at the gym is the only tv I get to see - gotta stay somewhat connected, right?!

I think we'll see in this survey that we 'northeners' are more accepting of treadmills and other stationary (indoor) cardio devices., 'cuz frankly, in winter, it can get downright grim up norf'. (((Brrrr.)))

I think I'm gonna be having knee problems. Car accident on Saturday a.m. and now my left knee is a bit tender. How does one cope w/ knee pain? Am I doomed?

NICK

Can't stand treadmills. They make me nauseous. I much rather be outside - yes including during the winter. You certainly have to dress aprropriately and get used to the cold but once you do, it's surprisingly enjoyable. (And with global warming, winters will only get milder unfortunately.)

As for increasing your pace, get a Garmin GPS:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142
(Although they can be a little expensive.)

Nick regarding your knee pain, definitely apply ice and take ibufprofen. If it continues, you should see a doc.

thanks Treader. I'll try that. Hope it goes away!

I hate the treadmill, but I will use it. I like the fact that I don't need to know ahead of time how much endurance I have on a given day, so I don't end up running out of steam a long distance away from home. I also live in Michigan, which is not the most conducive to running outdoor int he winter. Being able to set the speed is good for forcing myself to make consistent incremental improvements, but I do recognize that it's not the same as being able to run that speed/distance out on a track.

Sorry for the Tex-centric treadmill observations.

I'm from the Boston area and used to run outside in the winter (unless icy), but it's definitely not for everyone.

I use a treadmill every day. It's a hideous metaphor: getting nowhere fast.

---> "I also live in Michigan, which is not the most conducive to running outdoor in the winter."

During the winters that I spent in Lansing, I'd be sniveling as I drove my old datsun to campus, scraping ice off the inside of the windshield with one hand, all the way. Then I'd always pass this guy in our department who had some form of muscular dystrophy. He'd invariably be clad in lycra and a took, jogging toward campus with his crippled gait. DAMN that guy... then I couldn't feel sorry for myself again, all day!

I'm in Lansing myself these days. But my car is in my attached garage overnight, so not so much scraping involved. ;)

I also grew up in Buffalo, so my views of winter may be altered by that.

I much prefer to run outdoors, but I will use the treadmill if necessary. I just never feel like I'm accomplishing anything on a treadmill, and I'd rather run somewhere scenic. And since my neck of the woods doesn't get a whole lot of precipitation, winter or summer, I can usually run outdoors without dealing with harsh conditions--minus the cold, of course, but that doesn't last long while I'm jogging.

I used to love the treadmill. I started running outside and I was never the same. Even if I tried to run on the treadmill I will instantly get shin splits. Now I hate the treadmill.

I get so incredibly bored on the treadmill. I can't do cardio at the gym at all unless I bring a lot of reading material. I'll get on the treadmill and think I've been running forever, only to look down and see that 5 minutes have passed.

On the other hand, when I run outdoors the time just flies by. Especially when you are running behind a hot guy.

If God wanted us to run outside, She wouldn't have invented the treadmill.

Thats what I used to tell my NCOs all the time. But as I've recently admitted in another post, running outside and running on a treadmill (or eliptical) are two different things. I prefer the treadmill, since it forces me to run and keep up with a predetermined pace, rather than quitting and walking up the damn hill or slowing down. But I can't just look at a mirror and run. I'm not pretty enough. So a TV helps. When I complete building my garage next year, we are installing our own gym. We have some of the equipment now, but we are definatly installing both a treadmill and eliptical, right in front of the flatscreen TV.

I'm a nurthiner too Aero. Running in the cold can be fun for a bit, but I'd rather sweat in the heat.

I'm all for running anywhere but the treadmill, but up here in the frozen tundra the people who run in winter seem to get injured a lot. Also, between the sun, the dry air and the cold, I see a lot of "runner's face." If I ran for cardio, I'd be on the treadmill just to avoid looking like a crocodile handbag because of exposure to the elements.

Just a little bit of a reality check on treadmill running. It is NOT the same thing as running outside, and I don't mean just the fact that when you are running outside you don't have a roof overhead and distractions like TVs.

Even running a flat run on city sidewalks or bike trails, you are constantly having to step up and down over curbs, running up small slopes, on canted surfaces. Even running on a track, you are running around curves.

For most people, exclusive treadmill running translates to flat running this way...if you are running a six-minute per mile pace on the treadmill, your actual time on a flat run outside may be 1/2 minute to 1 minute per mile slower, for an equivalent effort. (This doesn't apply if you only use treadmills occasionally and to most of your running outside).

On a track, add 15 seconds to 20 seconds per mile to your treadmill pace.

In a way, it's similar to the difference between using free weight bench presses (or bar bench presses) and using machines. You can apparently lift far more weight using the machines...but that's because you are not having to expend effort to balance the weights etc.

John the runner :-)

I am a lazy bastard. That is why I can't do classes, and love the treadmill. I can set it on 12km/h for 20 minutes and know that I will have run precisely 4km.

Not to say that I don't enjoy running outside, but it's good to be "forced" (teehee).

Maybe I need a strict/dominant running partner instead ;-) (haha :D )

Haha, that leads to another question - do people prefer to run alone or with a partner?

Personally, I don't see how people can run with a partner. I find running to be such a "in my own head" activity that I'd find running with a partner to be distracting.

And it also takes me at least two miles to get fully warmed up and in the zone that I can't even have a conversation for the first 15 minutes.

I much prefer outdoors as well and Rugger, you've gotta agree nothing gets the heart rate up as much as slogging through the snow! But the treadmill is great for forcing you to do intervals.

And gwuinsf, I've always found running with other people easier because they give me something to 'compete' with.

I've been using the treadmill more often than I've been outdoor running, just for the fact that I can force myself at a high intensity for a precise duration of time. The treadmill is also great for interval running too.

I also do some "mountain running" (an advantage of living in the Vancouver area) but it gets a bit creepy when you're running at the wee hours of the morning.

Treadmills are an acceptable alternative when it is raining, freezing rain, or very windy outside. A treadmill can also help you get your blood pumping and make you feel more energetic. Otherwise I prefer to run outside even during the winter months conditions permitting. A real hot bonus is running on a treadmill that is situated behind another treadmill that has a hot, athletic guy in tights running on it. That eye candy alone would help motivate me to run faster on a treadmill.

roadbikeRob saidTreadmills are an acceptable alternative when it is raining, freezing rain, or very windy outside. A treadmill can also help you get your blood pumping and make you feel more energetic. Otherwise I prefer to run outside even during the winter months conditions permitting. A real hot bonus is running on a treadmill that is situated behind another treadmill that has a hot, athletic guy in tights running on it. That eye candy alone would help motivate me to run faster on a treadmill.

I would do the treadmill for that too but knowing me, I'd get bored after awhile since I can never stand running on a treadmill after such a long time. That's why during the harsh days of winter, I'll play some Dance Dance Revolution with the hardest songs in the game that I can do in order to build up a sweat. Just me being a complete geek.

I use the tread mill during the cold winter in Chicago. I also like the idea that I can work on a certain speed. It helps me get a feel for the speed. I am also trying a different marathon training program that is speed based, so it is helping me with that. The marathon is in May. I do love running outside but not when it causes me to feel like I had a sex change operation and no one told me!

I recently started experimenting with intervals. The treadmill is a great way to keep my heart rate up by jumping on for a 2 minute sprint in between sets...