Treadmill vs. Road Running: Choose the Best Way to Run for You

As a casual runner, there’s nothing more wonderful than a cool morning, a gentle breeze, and some scenery. I love to run outside. Because of where I live, I typically run on pavement in neighborhoods. Sometimes I manage to run through parks and even along rivers during my weekly training. When everything is in sync, there’s nothing better, but that’s just one runner’s opinion.

Many runners run outdoors on the pavement. However, there are also a lot of runners who actually prefer the treadmill. As I’ve had my fair share of terrain experience, I can safely say that neither is necessarily better, but they are very different.

Road Running

Road running naturally creates many benefits for the training athlete. Because of the uneven surface the outdoors provides, the body gets a complete workout. Stabilizing muscles have to work harder out on the road as the runner has to shift to adapt to the changes. Road running will also bring its share of climate obstacles. Wind will provide great resistance training and heat and cold can also help the runner prepare for any given race day condition. Another major bonus of road running is that it burns more calories than treadmill running as it is more intense and demands more energy from the leg muscles.

On a financial note, road running doesn’t require a gym membership or an investment in an expensive machine. Other than the price of shoes and pair of shorts, road running is very affordable. Treadmills are expensive in comparison, whether they come in the form of a gym membership or a personal home machine.

Of course road running isn’t always glamorous. The weather has always been my biggest enemy when it comes to road running and even I have my limits that force me inside. Ice is typically a deal breaker. Even with special winter traction on your shoes, ice is dangerous and a lot of runners get hurt trying to navigate on slick roads. The heat is a big factor, too. If it’s going to be really hot, rise earlier to avoid the worst of it, as the raging heat of the road can be conducive to over heating and dehydration.

Other than the weather, the road presents more challenges that you don’t find on a treadmill. While the shifting terrain can be great for training, it can prove to be too much for some. Hills are very tough, turns in the path can really take a toll on pace, and traffic is an ever present factor to deal with while on the road.

Treadmill

Perhaps the treadmill’s biggest benefit to runners is that it can provide a place to run when the road can not. Another benefit the treadmill has over the road is that you can track specific distances for focused training. If you are training for an event and are on a specific plan, the treadmill allows you to stick to your training schedule perfectly- no more, no less.

The treadmill is actually easier on the joints than the road due to the surface of the belt. The treadmill allows for the runner to really customize their run as well. If one needs to incorporate speed into their workout, most machines have an option ready at the push of a button. If the runner needs to train for hills, but lives in a flat terrain, the treadmill is great for that, too.

There’s a risk of slight danger, too, that comes from the fact that one can trip or lose control on the treadmill. There’s an adjustment period for a first timer, but as long as you pay attention, you should be fine.

It’s also arguable that the treadmill will not aid in preparing your for a race. Since races are run on the road, too much time on the treadmill could be a major shock to the body as it tries to adjust to the heavier impact. One of the biggest arguments against treadmill running is that it doesn’t allow for proper bio-mechanics to take place. This means that due to the unnatural surface and space, the runner may change their natural stride, position themselves differently, and even waste energy due to a different posture.

Trail Running

It’s clear that runners have options when it comes to where they run. Perhaps one of the best and toughest options is one that few of us have the chance to explore.

Trail running is more like a cousin to running than an equal. First of all, few runners live anywhere near any real trails, but it’s a whole different game and even the best road runner will be challenged by a trail.

Trail running provides several benefits. Trails provide amazing scenery and they’re easier on the joints, but just because they’re easier on the joints does not mean they’re easy. The trail runner gets an amazing workout due to the demands of the terrain. Every muscle from the shoulders down is used to stabilize a runner on an uneven, rocky, or unpredictable surface. The core muscles get a great workout as they work very hard to keep you vertical on the trails.

Trail running will burn more calories than the treadmill or the road, but there are some tough challenges that may deter runners from hitting the trails. While the treadmill and the road allow the runner to zone out, the trail demands constant attention. Every step is an adjustment and a potential tripping hazard. The trail presents many more chances for a fall or injury and requires a lot of focus.

Obviously there’s no perfect place to run. Every option presents its own obstacles and provides it’s own benefits. Each runner will find their own perfect place. Find your happy place runners, and run on!

Michael - Bodycoach

Choose a positive attitude, choose a happy life!

We tend to perceive negative energy as something other people have. Sure, sometimes we feel negative – as in, “go away and leave me alone, world!” but did you know that negativity can be so ingrained in you that it goes unnoticed?

That’s because negativity sometimes wears a disguise called ‘reality’. It’s easy to rationalize that you’re ‘just being realistic’ in not daring to act on a dream – and believe it!

You may assume that positive people are not being realistic – that they’re being naive, that they are in denial with their heads stuck in the sand, that they put on fake smiles in the face of difficulty and so forth. But are they really happy idiots or is there something to their positivity?

Consider this: since when does ‘being realistic’ necessarily mean that things will go wrong and that you have to accept that as the truth?

That doesn’t mean that being realistic is automatically negative. When you view the world from a ‘realistic’ standpoint, you can’t help but be negative IF your version of reality is negative.
If your version of reality is negative, you are conditioned to believe that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and whatever can go right, will probably go wrong too. Your unconsciously held beliefs make you into a negative person without your being aware of it!

So – if this negativity is so ingrained in you that you don’t notice it, how do you determine whether you’re stuck in a cloud of negative energy that is attracting the wrong people, wrong situations and wrong feelings? And how can you be sure you’re not perpetuating that negativity?

Here’s a quick quiz to gauge the level of negative energy within you:

• Do you complain? All the time or just sometimes?
• Do you often discuss what’s wrong in the world more than what’s right? This includes the ‘terrible’ weather, ‘horrible’ traffic, ‘idiotic’ government, ‘lousy’ economy, ‘stupid’ in-laws, etc.
• Do you criticize? All the time or just certain people?
• Are you attracted to drama and disaster (can you unglue yourself from the TV when there’s a news story of a disaster and can you avoid getting involved in the lives of dysfunctional celebrities?)
• Do you blame? All the time or just certain situations?
• Do you believe that you have no control over most of your results?
• Do you feel like a victim? Do you talk about people doing things to you?
• Are you grateful for what is or will you be grateful when things finally start going right for you?
• Do you feel like things are happening to you? Or do you feel that they are happening through you?

This last two points are important:
If you’re not grateful except when things go right, you are negative. Gratitude is positive. If you are grateful for what is (including the unpleasant school of life lessons, then you can invite more and more positive energy into your life.

Believing that things happen to you puts you in the role of victim; then it’s easy to be

negative because it’s convenient to give up that power. So consider this alternative: who or what is to blame when GOOD things happen to you? Do you acknowledge that you are responsible for the good things – as in, you worked hard, you earned it, etc… but blame external events or other people for your failures? So how come, when good things happen, they are a result of what you do, but when bad things happen, they are not your fault?
Nobody likes to hear that. It takes courage to accept that you create your life experience! If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are holding on to negative energy to some degree! To clear your negative energy and raise your vibration, you will need to retrain yourself tochoose a positive attitude.

Here’s another interesting idea to consider: have you noticed that positive people seem to get what they want out of life, and even if things don’t go their way, they still enjoy their lives… while negative people whine and moan about their misfortunes and even the good things in their lives?

To clear negative energy, try this 3 -step process:
1. Take ownership: “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.” – the Dalai Lama

2. Cancel negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. This takes practice, dedication and making a decision to see the world through the eyes of “what can go right” instead of “what can go wrong.” You’ll have to catch yourself anytime you are acting out or speaking out your negativity, and immediately change your tune.

3. Use the Love or Above Spiritual Toolkit to clear your energy and bring more light and love into your life; visualize the positive instead of getting sucked into negativity; overcome past conditioning; think intuitively from the soul instead from ‘reality’; create a new, desired reality in your imagination and manifest it in the outer world. Nobody wants negative energy to permeate their lives, yet many of us allow it. But we allow it unconsciously, based on past conditioning that suggests an inevitable outcome to certain situations. When you overcome that conditioning and realize that the future is NOT cast in stone but that you have more control over your circumstances than you believe – then you can begin to consciously design your life.

What’s going to happen then? Your positive energy will magnetically attract what you consider to be good and right for you: people, situations, things… and you’ll notice a huge, huge increase in your happiness and inner peace.

Why not choose positive energy? Make some changes within, and you’ll quickly see positive changes in your life. Enjoy the good feelings and abundance!

Am I crazy???

Today I begin my training plan to walk across Ireland to raise money for the Our Ladys Hospice in Harolds cross that took care of my father in his final months of fighting cancer.

Being that we have been dealing with this situation over the last few months my fitness and training regimen has completely gone out the window so I feel like im starting fresh and really don't feel 100% as im coming off the end of a bad cold so my lungs and head are not perfect but excuses will not get me from Galway to Dublin.

Looking at Google maps and popping in the directions from Galway City to Dublin the number it gives me is 208 Kilometres and the estimated time is 42 hours, it scares the crap out of me and that's why I cant wait to do it. May 5th is the date I have to aim for completion.

I have no doubt in my mind that I wont do it, and I know its going to be a hard slog, but one thing I do like about this is that I don't know of anyone that has ever done this before. Im sure people have walked that distance but I plan to do it as quickly as possible. 

I emailed Guinesses to see if there was a chance of a world record in this but unfortunately there is not.I really hoped there would be for the added motivation.

Being that its the first day back ive started with a simple and easy 5K run, just to wake the legs up and get my lungs working. It feels good having not done it for two months.

So its started, 8 months to go!