Wheeler Farm Loops

Very sensible Jake. Nice workout too. Good to see the sessions back on the menu. The mix between the 200's and the tempo is also good to see.

Just mixing it up. Today was going to be 1 mile reps, but I'll just move that session to next week. The 1 miles are a good "indicator" for me, so I want to do them on my normal loop.

If only I practiced drinking while actually training for a marathon....

Nice work Jake; you're starting to like that treadmill eh? I don't mind treadmills as much as I used to, but I hate how much you sweat on those things.

I like wearing shorts and a singlet, not so much the TM itself :-)

Running on it actually worries me a bit, b/c I know it alters your mechanics. But now that I've got over the no TM running streak, I don't mind using it. Its a decent tool for every once in a while - for the reasons Rob has been telling me for 2 years. I'm now up to FOUR treadmill runs in the past 8 years (and all of them in the past 2 months)!

That's right jake, embrace the TM! Although for us TM haters I would like to think that the effort is at least equivalent to the outdoors simply because it takes much more focus and concentration to keep going...at least it does for me. I swear I can run faster outside. But it saved me several times in this last training cycle. Ebates would always remind me that treadmills CAN make you fitter, stronger and faster.

I second what Melody said :)

I have come around and agree now that they can be useful in some circumstances - they definitely force you to put in a quality effort b/c its just TOO BORING to do anything other than a workout :-)

Of course, if you have a hip injury, then you should probably never run on a treadmill. We've done a lot of research into that subject, and its pretty interesting - a lot of the good surgeons (and their PTs) tell their patients to stay off them completely. That's why Andrea isn't using the Alter-G anymore - it was probably making her problems worse.

I am going to need to hear this research! I was psyched to ease back into running with the help of the Alter-G and now from your comments it sounds like I shouldn't even be in the same room as a treadmill :)

Most post-op rehab protocols say avoid the TM at all costs. Philippon and Byrd, for example, don't allow their patients to use the TM after surgery. Alter-G is obviously better than a regular machine. It has to do with the how the belt under your foot (which is moving, unlike real ground) and that causes the impact vector of your femur to change direction slightly, and can potentially re-damage the area that was surgically repaired. (I need to get back into biomechanics...)

I've read lots and lots of individual case studies (trying to get a sense of exactly what is going on w/ Andrea) and the recurring theme of "things were going well, and then I did a few TM runs and jacked it up again" pops up frequently.

And I've also seen some example where people use the TM w/ no problem. It just seems overall kinda risky for FAI/Labral tear recovery.

You lost me at vector!

But seriously, thanks for bringing that to my attention. The only time I have ever ran on a TM was after my FAI surgery and well we have seen how well that turned out. I was actually told to only run on the TM when I was getting back into running. I will have to bring up this point to my PT and doc, because well... guess who is supposed to be able to start running next week?

It will be interesting to see what they tell you.

Best bet = grass.

Just to chime in on the treadmill/injury... My hamstring/piriformis thing back in December came on as a result of treadmilling. Made me overstride. I still use it when I have to, but really have to concentrate on form (having a mirror in front or next to me helps.... though Im sure my fellow gym goers think Im just massively vain or something :)

Nice workout, Jake! I love the dialog that follows every one of your tm posts. For a long time I thought that tm workouts were harder until I started doing more workouts closer to threshold. The boredom and sweat definitely make the treadmill not so much fun, but it's easier for me to crank out faster intervals on the tm.

Yeah it turns out air resistance is a real thing :-)

I do enough sustained tempos in that pace range to know how they feel, and holding all the other variables constant (heat, stuffy gym, etc) the energy expenditure is definitely less on the TM. I think you'd have to get the incline up to 2-3+% to account for air resistance at 5:00 pace, but I'm not willing to do that on my achilles.

Eventually I'll do one of these workouts and not attempt to justify it w/ a paragraph afterwards!

I tend to drift to the right when I am on a treadmill and worry it magnifies imbalances, but I wouldn't advocate it or condone it. Definitely great for getting sweaty though!

Jake: Nice workout.

Penny: It's entirely possibly to use the reflection of cars for that, but sometimes you fall to the concrete. Knew a vain guy who had that problem once. :)

Are you at a gym when you do these? If so it would be fun to see some of the looks you get cranking out a session like that :). Nice work Jake.

10 miles fast on a treadmill sounds completely miserable. I am very impressed Jake! I agree that the treadmill is easier physically...but psycologically it is my more challenging in my opinion. Good job at getting it done.