Does treadmill training hurt your run fitness? (Page 2)

Provided that it doesn't injure you, I'm not sure how a treadmill could possibly hurt run fitness?!  It's running.

And, it's got a couple of other benefits (not all may apply to you):

  - You can set the elevation profile for the workout you want.

  - You can set the intervals to be the speed you'd like

  - MOST treadmills don't cool you like you would be outdoors. You will work harder without cooling than you would otherwise.

  - The deck is softer than regular pavement.

Now, the drawbacks:

  - There's data staring you in the face the entire time. Can inhibit running by 'feel'. This could be a + or -.

  - The footfalls are 100% level. It's easy to get out of practice running without perfect footfalls.  

  - It's not outside. It's easy to get out of practice running in the rain, wind, etc.

  - It's boooring. I find outside I run faster, but only because I'm just not bored and mesmerized by the numbers.

But short of injury, I have NO idea how it could hurt fitness.

The big problem I had when I had to do the majority of a half marathon training on the treadmill was that when I finally was able to get on the road for some runs towards the end of the training, my joints & surrounding muscles needed to adjust to it. While my pace was on target, my legs were either hurting or fatigued pretty early in my run. 

Just my experience. The treadmill isn't as demanding on my old joints.

This is the same problem I have if I spend to much time running on a treadmill and do not throw in some road runs a few times a week.

A lot of people find treadmill running easier so they can't run as fast or as far outdoors. But that's not because the treadmill decreased their fitness. It's because the amount of fitness that gets them to run 5 miles on a treadmill isn't enough to run 5 miles outside.

However, I find I run faster outside than I do on a treadmill. I have no idea why. I understand why theoretically the treadmill is supposed to be easier and in some ways (wear and tear on the body) it is easier but still my performance is better off it than on it.

I do that too, just to get the slight bit of resistance with near flat slope, so it's not that different from flatter roads. Then when I want to work on quicker turnover without increasing effort significantly I can just go flatter.

The treadmill has also been a big help in coming back from the occasional calf injury.  I'll keep the pace rather slow and actually increase the slope over the course of several runs.  This has helped to work the calf more without needing to move as quickly. That way it's easier to control the movement.

And yes, without a fan it is certainly easy to sweat quite a bit on one. I've been clear soaked through on some faster paced efforts. Hopefully it helps with heat training.

Most of the posts missed the point of the OP question. The reason you had a hard time running the same mileage outside versus on the treadmill comes down to one thing, pacing. On the treadmill you ran at a nice even pace the whole time. Outside you are more than likely running too fast. If you ran outside at the same pace you ran on the treadmill, for the same amount of time the distance would be similar. So it's not the treadmill, it is your pacing you need to work on.

Oh. I run 100% of the time on the treadmill at 0% incline. On race day I run the exact same pace as training. No matter what the terrain. The whole 1% incline is supposed to mimic certain things, headwind, hills, resistance of the asphalt. My question on these things is what mimics a tailwind, down hills, grass or dirt. Where I live the wind blows hard all the time. 15MPH is a calm day. You can not simulate that on a treadmill.

Work on your pacing period. You are running too fast outside.

So my pacing probably was an issue. Could have been the temps too as someone mentioned. I did start running outside earlier this year before it was really hot, but it was still warmer than the controlled climate inside the gym. My thinking was that the treadmill might have been easier, but if it works then that's good for me because I'm really not a fan of cold weather. 

I just didn't want to move a lot of my running to the TM this winter only to struggle again come spring.