I’m away with work until tomorrow night and there is a tiny gym at my hotel. So I went for my first treadmill run earlier this evening (basic treadmill apparently, so the person on it before me said) and I thought that by setting it for roughly my average Strava recorded speed I would do my 5km in about the usual time.
On the ‘flattest’ route I run (it’s not flat where I live), Strava says I normally run an average of 6.3km and around 34 mins for the 5km so I set the treadmill at a gentle 2% incline and the speed at 7km. It felt alright, not actually much faster than usual but ended up being so slow. I couldn’t work out the maths while I ran and in the end was running at 7.5km speed but wasn’t exactly sprinting.
What am I doing wrong?! I’d like to try to get another run in in the morning if I can (there’s only one treadmill so I’ll be cross if I get up early and find I can’t use it!) but don’t want to spend another 41 mins to get 5km in...
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southlundon
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Good on you southlundon for getting on the treadmill. I tried it once. A very sophisticated one with virtual outdoors screening and everything. Only problem was that I couldn’t work out any of the settings. Unfortunately, that means I can’t help, but just wanted to say well done!! 😍❤️
Aah I didn’t realise it was your first post in the Bridge! Hopefully someone more experienced will be along to give some proper advice!! 😂! Great news about the regular 5k! You’re a star! 🤩❤️
Thank you! I didn’t know such things as a pace converter existed I’ve only just finished going through my work so might allow myself a lie-in in the morning given I’ve been up today since 5:15 😴 But I will def use a treadmill again if not tomorrow!
Oh I get it now! I’ve just found a pace converter online and if I take x minutes to run one km that doesn’t mean I am running at a pace of x km an hour - but I set the treadmill to x km an hour hence it being slower.
(I should say I am actually very good with maths normally but clearly common sense left me today!)
Yes it took me a while to get my head around. The time it takes to run 1 km is obviously different to the speed you run, which is how many km you would run in an hour.
I use the online calculators as I need them to work out my pace to get pb at park run etc. then try and stay around that pace using my tracker on my watch. All very technical!! Haha!
As I think you've probably realised now, Strava was actually telling you that your pace was 6.3 mins (or perhaps 6 min 30 secs) per km, not that your speed was 6.3 kph. Pace (in mins/k) = 60 / Speed (in kph).
I always do rule of thumb - for the magic 5KM in 30 mins you need to set it to 10kmph which will give you a 6 minute K's. Saying that, my speed on the treddy is around 8.5kmph while my outdoor pace is close to 11kmph. Most people find something of the reverse. Best not to compare the two. Just push yourself as much as you normally would on the road and listen to your body, not the numbers.
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I’ve only just finished going through my work so might allow myself a lie-in in the morning given I’ve been up today since 5:15 😴 But I will def use a treadmill again if not tomorrow!
Speed improvement since starting 18 mths ago - a graph
Treadmill 
Speed challenge for a snail.
Running on a treadmill - a pleasant surprise
Distance, time and speed.
