Treadmill running. Jazzed it up and I think I like it ...... but interested in other people's experiences esp with a walk-run program.

[Mum2run]

I graduated in February and since then have continued to run W9R3 3 times a week. Partly because I wanted to feel more comfortable at doing it and partly because I was noticing little improvements in my time week by week.

I have done most of the program on the treadmill. Partly because when I started in December '13 it was winter in Scotland and because I suffer from a severe form of arthritis and I found the treadmill easier on my joints. I can concentrate more on the running rather than worrying about kerbs and uneven roads etc.

Anyway, the past week I have been getting increasingly bored I guess doing the 5 min warm up, running at the same pace and incline and 5 min cool down. I have been doing lots of reading about looking at different treadmill programs - pyramid training etc. etc. and wondered whether to take the plunge but felt too nervous.

I decided this morning to try the C25K Stepping Stone program thinking having Laura would be useful - but I got about 10 minutes in and was about to give up completely. The music was dreadful and for the first time ever, Laura was really annoying! The 1-2-3-4 thing to help you keep to the beat etc was starting to get my goat. In the end I took my headphones out, took my ipod off and chucked it onto my jumper by the side of the treadmill and turned down my speed to a power walk.

I felt a bit of a failure. Never in the 9 weeks of the program and 2 months since graduating have I ever stopped mid run.

Anyway - I decided 'sod it.' I will do what I want and cover 5k that way. I increased the incline to about 5% and did some powerwalking. Then decreased the incline and sprint ran for about 5 min, then eased the pace off a bit, then raised the incline ..... and so I fiddled about with everything for about 45 minutes and had an absolute blast!

At the end, I had covered the same amount of distance (5.6k) as I would if I had just plodded along at my usual 8kph setting yet I had much more fun.

I have read that walk-run programs can be really effective. If it wasn't for the fact I had to be somewhere, I could have easily kept going today for longer alternating speeds, inclines etc. and still giving myself a good workout.

So, what do other people do who use a treadmill and are others following a walk-run (Jeff Galloway) approach to all of this?

Since starting in Dec I have lost 1/2 stone and nearly 2" from my tum - I want to keep that up and surely anything that keeps running fun and your motivation high is good.

[Rockette]

Yes too right ! If you enjoyed it & it's not boring id say it's perfect , sounds like a change to your routine & keeps you interested that's what you need . Keep to it I'd say

[no-excuse Graduate]

Sounds good to me! You are obviously doing well with the weight loss and inches gone too. if you have found a way of making it all more enjoyable then that's brilliant. Sometimes its easy to forget that we can and should enjoy ourselves along the way. I tried a bit of walk/run this morning. It didn't really change my times much but I managed to get further than before and not quite so out of breath, so I'm all for it x

[Hidden]

I have been using a Galloway style run-walk approach since graduating. I find it lets me go longer distances: I edged up to 10K last week, and I do not feel stiff like I used when I ran continuously during the last weeks of C25K. It also has not affected my (lack of) speed. However, I prefer to do my running outside. because I really dislike the relentless pace imposed by a treadmill as well as hating the loud awful music and banks of TV sets that running on a treadmill in a gym forces me to endure.

[no-excuse Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Yes I found it was great to go that bit further. I actually felt like I could enjoy my surroundings even more, rather than agonise over my breathing, so I just walked when I felt I needed to, just for a minute here and there and it made all the difference. x

[paul2014 Graduate]

I'm using a treadmill for my c25k but I've only completed week 1 so haven't had chance to look into other training methods in any detail. However, I have purchased the following book which does have a lot of training options etc which you may find of use: amazon.co.uk/Treadmill-Trai...

[Hidden]

Sounds like you had a lot of fun trying out different things on the treadmill. I do all my running outside but I might review that come next winter if it makes running outside difficult. I'll have to look into the possibility of a gym but don't want to get tied into a long contract because I shall want to run outside in summer. Good luck with your treadmill 'experiments', keep having fun and my best wishes to you.

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

I had a change of blood pressure medication which has affected my running form causing me to run out of steam about 15 mins in. I was feeling really fed up and a bit of a failure, so I've been experimenting with run/walk normally on a 4/2 interval and find I am really enjoying it. My overall speed doesn't seem to be affected as I can run in faster short bursts and I don't get so out of breath. An added bonus is that I am gradually increasing my distance - so I would definitely recommend it as a change!

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

Looks like we have a lot of converts to run/walk. Anyway, this is basically what we did in C25K up to the point where we started to run non-stop. I can't say that I really enjoy running non-stop and can't really imagine running 10K that way ( mind you -- I never really thought I could ever run 5K non-stop). I am now training one day per week with a run/walk long run which will gradually increase to around 15-8 klms over the next 3 months. But I have also returned to the runs of the early part of C25K and running them as "fast intervals" - one day per week - on the third running day of the week, I will run at Parkrun and see if I can continue to run the 5ks non-stop ( I do find it painful though)