Long Run on Dreadmill (Page 2)

18 dreadful miles twice last year.  We had a couple of bad ice storms and I had no choice.  I put on my IPOD, set a mirror up in front of the TM and worked on my form while cranking the music.  It wasn't pleasant, but at least I had an alternative.

why?: rain, kids and husband was hunting.

I did it...it wasn't so bad. my average is slower than i thought, but my distance could be off. I played with speed and inclines alot to make it "feel" real. Had my Ipod. i actually switched treadmills half through to one with a tv and tried to watch music videos, but it made me dizzy, so i moved back to the one i was on and "watched" a news special recounting stories from the last 60 years, so it was cool trying to remember what was happened based soley on the captions!

That's an opinion.  If you are dressed for it, then it is fine.

There's nothing in my post about being all macho and hard core running outside when it is wet/cold.  It is a matter of dressing properly.

If it rains on race day, are you going to be able to do your run portion on a treadmill?  Train how you'll race.  If you've trained in every condition out there, then come race day there are no surprises.

And running that long on a treadmill is just wrong to begin with, teaches bad form and doesn't simulate road conditions.  You can always adjust your training schedule to move the long run to a better day if it is truly miserable out.

Just my worthless opinion.

Great kill!!

I would say yes, running outside in the cold becomes more enjoyable the more you get out there.  In fact, some of my best runs have been in the winter months under some adverse weather conditions. 

I mainly trail run, so there is way more scenery to make the run enjoyable.  The worst days are the deep snow days, where you have to keep your leg lift high, or put on some snowshoes.  On the occassions I do run in the city, I stick with running on the snow, to avoid ice, and if it's really icy, I run along people's lawns close to the curb.  There is always a way to do things safely.  As for those suggesting cleats, they don't work on ice! They act like ice skates when you hit patches of ice. Cleats are great for traction in moderate or hard packed snow.

As much as you may not like the cold, get out there and you may just enjoy it!

So what?

Just look at my logs in January and February of the last two years when it was constantly in the teens and 20's.  Hell, it was in the 20's Saturday morning, and a beautiful crisp morning when I took the dog out.  If I had a run on my schedule it would have been lovely.

Boston this year was in the upper 40's for temp., 20+ mph headwinds and rain the majority of the race.  It was a crappy day, but I had trained in worse, so it wasn't the weather that made it a tough day for me.  If you are training for a long run (which is what the topic is about) then you are probably training for a marathon, which are almost all in the spring or fall, which means there is a great potential for the weather to suck.

Now before you get into the "my weather is worse than yours" game, just go and ask the opinion of the TriDonkeys group online here that are all in your general area and train year round outside ......

X 2. 

Often this is the only way for me to get in a run on some weekends when I have my kids.  I don't think anyone can say HTFU in this situation............

Oh, and I'm pretty sure my longest was 2 hours.  I've been pretty fortunate not to have to do any of my real long runs on the tredy. 

8.7 miles is my longest...on Saturday.  I used to absolutely hate TM runs but now I don't mind them so much.

One thing I've found is that I can maintain my correct HR Zone on a treadmill while it's extremely difficult outside. Unless I walk up hills or run around the same 3(ish) mile loop over and over again.  I understand that training in all conditions is important but I do like the fact that I can keep my HR within 5 BPM over an entire run.

It was never about being "tough," it was about training how you'll race and instead of "simulating" something, getting out there and doing it.  I even qualified it with the fact that if you are dressed right for it, then it is not a problem.  There just is no logic (to me) for someone that has the ability to get outdoors for a long run not to do it.  Just because it's cold????  The whole point of a long run is to acclimate yourself to the time and feel of running for the longer periods on the road/trail.  NOT a cushioned and/or smooth surface with no air movement.  Ask any coach what they think of doing a long run on the treadmill and see what they think.  Ask them if it is even a wise thing to do for your body and running form??  (Not like running 15 - 20 miles is ideal in the first place).

I've just been in a "strong opinion" mood lately as I'm sure you've seen by my post trends .....   (I blame it on still not hearing about our house arbitration and the fact that we might have to sell the house we spent 5 years trying to get built .... makes me a bit grumpy.  No justification for being an elitist a-hole on the board, that is just what I feel like being today).

And goalie???  You are so much more of a man then me for running in the - 20's.  There, happy?