(Re)started C25k on the treadmill!

[mummyluvsyoo]

Hi, I started C25k outside. It was tough but I managed to complete week 1, with the intention of repeating that week again. Then the weather changed. In order not to lose my motivation, I have switched to the treadmill. As my aim is currently to lose 30lbs, I feel it is more important to keep my cardio up. My plan is to complete C25k on the treadmill between now and the end of December. At that time when I can run for 30 minutes on the treadmill, I will try a few outside running sessions, even if it means going back to some of the earlier weeks to ease into the transition from inside to outside.

I have read that putting the treadmill on an incline of 1% helps recreate some of the outside running conditions. Personally I am finding running on the treadmill a lot easier and that boosts my confidence. I am learning to adjust my running gait, arm movments, posture, breathing, etc without the distraction of dogs, wobbly paving, wind, rain, cold, feeling self conscious about my poor fitness (!), etc.

Is there anyone else doing C25k on the treadmill? I would love to hear your experiences of this.

[philmcclure]

I ran the complete program, exclusively, on the treadmill.

I'd also read that a 1-2% incline would offset the lack of wind resistance on a treadmill and then ran across "The 1% Incline Treadmill Myth" (hillrunner.com/jim2/id110.h...

> They viewed running at zero percent incline as being “insignificantly different

> than that measured with track running” and did not see a need to compensate

> for lack of air resistance by introducing a treadmill incline until the late stages of

> the test when inclines were used to max out VO2, which was one of the

> objectives of the test.

With that said, I have a friend at work who's ran a half-marathon, and he also firmly believes that the treadmill is easier, but he thinks it's boring.

I have to agree with the boring part, I switch music around, but it's pretty tedious.

I finished the program about 5 weeks ago, took a couple of weeks off (due to some medical problems unrelated to running) and started back doing 30 minute runs, 3 times a week.

I have a self-propelled treadmill with no means of tracking distance, so I don't really know how fast/far I'm going. I need to get on a track or something just so I know how I'm progressing (or if I'm even going 5k).