Can you "run" on an elliptical?

External Since: Nov 23, 2006 Posts: 13

On 2006-11-24, Steve Freides <steve.TakeThisOut@fridayscomputer.com> wrote:
>> So take a mid 34s 10k guy (like me) who is doing aerobic training runs at
>> 7:30mpm on a treadmill. Do you think I'm going to find it that hard to run
>> at 7:30mpm when I get outdoors ?
>
> Yes, based on what I know.

No, and that's the point I'm making. Doing your easy runs a tiny bit faster or
slower makes *NO* difference to performance. I often do my aerobic runs with
people like you (-; At worst, if you forget to tweak it, at worst you end up
underestimating your mileage by a few percentage points. But a 3% or whatever
it is drop in mileage again isn't going to make you much slower.

> I'd recommend the 1/2 to 1 percent incline
> for your treadmill work, otherwise you might find the "observable"
> difference once you get outside again. Whether that's 2 minutes on a 5k
> or not I can't say, but it seems reasonable to assume the difference
> will be the difference in your pace and/or effort between flat and 1/2
> or 1 percent on the treadmill, if you want to attempt to quantify that.

No, it wouldn't -- because a 3% reduction in mileage (about 2 miles a week for
a somewhat high mileage runner) will not result in a 3% (about 10 seconds per
mile) reduction in race pace.

Cheers,
--
Elflord

External Since: Jan 08, 2005 Posts: 1797

"Elflord" <abuse.TakeThisOut@aol.com> wrote in message
news:slrnemhfq2.lno.abuse@panix3.panix.com...
> On 2006-11-24, Steve Freides <steve.TakeThisOut@fridayscomputer.com> wrote:
>>> So take a mid 34s 10k guy (like me) who is doing aerobic training
>>> runs at
>>> 7:30mpm on a treadmill. Do you think I'm going to find it that hard
>>> to run
>>> at 7:30mpm when I get outdoors ?
>>
>> Yes, based on what I know.
>
> No, and that's the point I'm making. Doing your easy runs a tiny bit
> faster or
> slower makes *NO* difference to performance. I often do my aerobic
> runs with
> people like you (-; At worst, if you forget to tweak it, at worst you
> end up
> underestimating your mileage by a few percentage points. But a 3% or
> whatever
> it is drop in mileage again isn't going to make you much slower.
>
>> I'd recommend the 1/2 to 1 percent incline
>> for your treadmill work, otherwise you might find the "observable"
>> difference once you get outside again. Whether that's 2 minutes on a
>> 5k
>> or not I can't say, but it seems reasonable to assume the difference
>> will be the difference in your pace and/or effort between flat and
>> 1/2
>> or 1 percent on the treadmill, if you want to attempt to quantify
>> that.
>
> No, it wouldn't -- because a 3% reduction in mileage (about 2 miles a
> week for
> a somewhat high mileage runner) will not result in a 3% (about 10
> seconds per
> mile) reduction in race pace.

OK, I see your point - easy run pace covers a wide enough variation to
encompass the difference between flat and 1% on a treadmill. Point
granted, but I still see no reason _not_ to use the 1/2 or 1% incline
when running on the treadmill.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

> Cheers,
> --
> Elflord