Treadmill Running: A session to knock your socks off!

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Treadmill running can be a very helpful addition to your training for various reasons. Some treadmill training can assist in preparing for various charity treadmill events, especially if you’ll be running it at a faster pace and may not be conditioned for the difference in muscle groups utilised. Recently on 7th & 8th May, the Hurt Squad took part in a 24 hour “fast” treadmill running charity challenge called Outrace Cancer for the charity ‘Outrun Cancer’: https://www.outruncancer.com/outracecancer/ The charity event via all its runners and riders raised over $50, 000, which included the Hurt Squad’s personal target of $15,000. This amazing city based squad also targeted 400km to be run inside the 24 hours which meant an average pace of 3.30mins/km. This could well be the fastest 24 hour charity run around Australia?! Together with Chris, Laura, Paul, Charlie, Tom, Tim, Jacqueline, Andrew, Jono, Tucks & Andy, the full team of 24 were among the gutsy Hurt Squad team and other high spirited runners & teams. Amazingly it came down to Andrew Tuckey’s very last 30mins on the treadmill to surpass the 400km target by just 130m. You can still donate via the Hurt Squad team for this special cause through this link and see all the runners who ran for 30mins fast at least once or twice. Imagine running 3.30s at 2am in the morning!: http://www.outruncancer.com/challenge/team/view/62

We are also fans of using the treadmill if there are ferocious weather conditions i.e. bad wind causing falling branches, lightning, torrential rain and hail storms. Perhaps you might be somewhere where it is way below freezing, crazy hot like in the desert, if there are bush fires or you might be in an isolated area where it isn’t safe for you to go out or there are wild dogs roaming the streets!! If there is any reason why it isn’t safe for you to run outside and if you have access to a treadmill then put your excuses aside and get your run done on the treadmill. If you aren’t a member of a gym, never fear, you can simply pay a casual visit for those occasional scenarios that you might use a treadmill. We know some mums that have a treadmill at home so they can jump on if they can’t get away from the kids.

To get used to the treadmill you can build up with easy 10, 20 or 30min jogs then add in some speed work when you are ready.

Here is an example of a speed session we love that will knock your socks off:

(The first 15mins of this session is at an easy pace before you start to wind it up!)

Build the pace every 5mins by adding .5 km/hour until you are at your max pace for 5mins, then repeat for 1min blocks then 30sec blocks. You can make the total run time however long you like i.e. 30-60mins. For example:

  • 5mins easy pace i.e. 12km/hour
  • 5mins easy pace i.e. 12.5km/hour
  • 5mins easy pace i.e. 13km/hour
  • 5mins moderate i.e. 13.5km/hour
  • 5mins moderate i.e. 14km/hour
  • 5mins moderate i.e. 14.5km/hour
  • 5mins moderate i.e. 15km/hour
  • 5mins moderate-fast i.e. 15.5km/hour
  • 5mins moderate-fast i.e. 16km/hour
  • And so on until you have reached your max pace for 5mins!
  • Then reduce back to your easy start pace for 1min and repeat the same build up by .5km/hour every minute until you are at your max pace for a minute!
  • Then reduce back to your easy start pace for 30secs and repeat the same build up .5km/hour every 30secs until you are at your max pace for 30secs!
  • Watch you don’t fly off the end of the treadmill!!
  • When you are truly spent then do at least 5-10mins easy jog cool down.
  • Stretch, do some strength/core exercises to re-balance and jump on the foam roller to iron out.

Of course, for the most part, nothing beats running outside in the fresh air, in beautiful scenery with your running buddies. Outdoor running is actually a bit gentler on the body than treadmill running due to the changes in surface and undulation including downhill that a treadmill can't provide to give you a better all round and more challenging and ultimately enjoyable running workout. If you use a treadmill, make sure you use an elevation of 1.5-2% to equate it to running on the flat outside.

Treadmill training can be handy if you are rehabilitating and can only run a very small amount so you can do that and then finish your session on other cardio machines such as the bike or cross trainer, plus get all your other strength and core exercises done as well.

If you have any training queries, please feel free to contact us anytime via our website: www.runwithusonline.com.au

Happy running.

Greta & Chris Truscott