I did it! (Treadmill help please!)

[WhaleSongC]

I put my running clothes in the car and hoped I would get a run in today. The Saharan dust cleared, and then the heavens opened up and the thunderstorm started!

So I finally reluctantly joined a gym :). But treadmill running is so weird!

On the plus side, not running in 80% humidity and 30+ degrees was awesome.

I did week 3 run 1 on the treadmill. I started super slow. (2… maybe that is mph) and .5 incline, and by the second run I was running at 3.8 and walking at 3. I upped it to 4 something and incline 1 on the last run, but the intervals felt awkward and going any faster was a little scary! Upping it did get my heart rate and perceived exhaustion a little closer to what I’m used to outside.

So I covered much less distance, my pace was lower, and as a result my run felt easy. Too easy.

So do I up the incline until I feel more confident going faster? And how much do a raise the incline so that my hilly neighborhood isn’t so much more difficult?

And how many treadmill runs do I have to do before I stop stumbling once I get back to terra firma? The transition was like being in an airport!

[Cmoi Graduate]

HI WhaleSongC , I know absolutely nothing about treadmill running, so can't help with the settings or transitions etc. However, please bear in mind that you're aiming to run at a comfortable pace at which you could carry on a conversation. It was probably a typo, but it's not about perceived exhaustion, but perceived effort.

From memory, you're in the Caribbean (?) and have double figure % gradients to contend with, as well as heat and humidity. Those will definitely affect your running, and how tired you feel. Gradients around where I live in France are mostly 3%-20% and, depending on the route I take, 5k generally comes in between 10m and 160m elevation gain. Owing to several months of abnormally hot weather I've done a lot of my running in temperatures in the upper 20s and occasionally more. I don't respond well to heat and there's no doubt that my heartrate has increased and my pace decreased in those conditions.

Personally I think you'd be better advised to work on staying comfortable in the gym, and developing a good aerobic base, rather than pushing yourself by trying to replicate the challenges outside at this point.

[WhaleSongC Graduate in reply to Cmoi]

Thanks :). I probably miss-read it once and have been saying the wrong thing this whole time :p.

Yes, caribbean and hilly. I can converse most of the time. Some of the hills are no talking even while walking! (The worst hills are not on my run route, just on the dog walk route). I’ve also noticed I stop talking when on uneven ground or with lots of potholes - so the smooth treadmill was a weird experience. There was nothing to concentrate on!

This morning’s run outside was nice! Early enough to still be cool.

Love the last paragraph. Thanks for putting it into words for me :).