When you take time to analyze it, what does a treadmill do for a runner or walker? It forces him or her to run or walk at a particular speed and on a particular incline. And it does this for minute after minute and, in the extreme, even hour after hour.

In contrast, when you are running or walking on the road or trail, unless you have someone with a very fixed speed who runs or walks beside you and relentlessly tells you to keep his or her pace, it can be very challenging to maintain your pace (minutes per mile or kilometer) and cadence (steps per minute).

If you and this other person have a similar cadence, then you are at an advantage over someone who is training with a coach who is much shorter or taller than him or her (because their two cadences will be different because of widely different leg lengths). If you have ever had the same cadence as a running or walking partner, then you can well appreciate this. It makes the workout almost effortless because your body is mirroring the pace and cadence of the other body. Another example can be found in the tennis world. If you have ever seen identical twins play doubles tennis together, then you have very likely witnessed how they can naturally walk in almost perfect unison. American professional tennis players and identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan are a great example of this phenomenon.

So how can you get the benefits of a treadmill while running or walking outside? If you have your own treadmill, then you could put it outside for your workouts. But there are some drawbacks:

• You will shorten the life of your treadmill by exposing it to the elements of nature.
• Your scenery will never change.
• You are not running or walking with others — unless you have multiple, side-by-side treadmills outside!
• You cannot use it in weather extremes (such as lightning-free rain or in snow), unless it is covered and protected — not exactly as “outside” as you would get by being on the road or trail!
• You cannot take it with you when traveling.

Although it is difficult to imitate a treadmill’s constant or controllable incline on the road or trail, there are two portable gadgets that you can use to create a virtual treadmill and imitate a real treadmill’s ability to challenge you to maintain your pace and cadence.

1. GPS wrist unit: This is like a speedometer on your wrist. Configure yours so that it displays in large digits your current pace, and then check it often during a workout on the road or trail. You can even configure some units so that they beep at you when your pace drifts too far away from your target pace.
2. Portable metronome: This clip-on device is like a tachometer on your waist. Set it to beep for every step according to the cadence that works for you. Then simply move your legs and feet to keep this rhythm during your walk or run.

These are the only two gadgets that you need to create a portable, virtual treadmill.

Do you use these two gadgets? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

Treadmill running is not the same as track running. But you may be considering as a runner whether it could be worthwhile to train on each. To help you to decide when to use which approach, here is a discussion of several differences between these two approaches to runner training.

Balance

Treadmill running forces you to maintain your balance because you must stay upright, whereas you can lean left or right while running on a track.

Camaraderie

If a track is secluded and little-known whereas your treadmill machine is in a gym, then treadmill running can give you more camaraderie. If a track is popular whereas your machine is at home, then track running will give you more camaraderie.

Coaching

If you are looking for a running coach, you are more likely to find one on a track. But sophisticated machines include computerized coaching.

Concentration

Treadmills require high concentration (or you will fall off!) whereas you can let your concentration drift on a track.

Convenience

Convenience is debatable. If your treadmill is in a gym instead of in your home, then a track could be just as convenient, if not more so (if you live close to a track).

Cost

Access to a gym treadmill requires gym fees + your driving costs. Using a home unit has purchase, maintenance, and electricity costs. Running on a track mostly requires driving costs (plus the cost of extra clothing for inclement weather).

Curves

You can use a track to practice running on curves, which is impossible to practice on a treadmill.

Cushioning

If you are going to race on a track, training on a treadmill cannot match training on a track. But a treadmill’s unique cushioning can help you to train longer for road races.

Fresh Air

If you like to be outdoors in fresh air, then treadmill training is not for you. But, if you live where weather is often bad, then track training may not be for you.

Humidity

Running indoors frees you from worrying about humidity challenges that you can face when running on a track. But a drawback of training indoors is that you may not prepare yourself to deal with race-day humidity levels.

Incline

If you are using a treadmill to prepare for track racing, then you do not need a treadmill’s incline feature. But this feature is great for preparing you for hilly road races.

Maintenance

If you have a home treadmill, then you are responsible for maintenance. Gym treadmills and tracks free you from maintenance work.

Multitasking

You may like to multitask — such as watch an inspiring running video — while training on a treadmill. You cannot multitask on a track.

Pacing

It is hard to beat a treadmill for forcing you to run at one pace or another. But it is hard to beat track training for giving you repeated feedback about your self-determined running pace.

Placement

Buying a treadmill forces you to find space in your home for it. But a gym unit or a track frees you to dedicate your home’s square-footage to other needs.

Peace

A treadmill is noisy relative to a track. But you may prefer the peace you get from a machine’s white noise to the peace that you can get from being outdoors in nature.

Strength

A treadmill that has been steeply inclined can force you to strengthen muscles that get little workout on a flat track. But the curve of a track will force you to strengthen muscles that will get no such conditioning on a unidirectional treadmill.

Temperature

Running indoors means a predictable ambient temperature. Running outdoors on a track means that the ambient temperature is at the mercy of the weather.

Visualization

Sophisticated treadmills include video displays that can stimulate your creative-visualization skill as a runner. But track running can give you the solitude to stimulate creative visualization, too.

Wind

Other than perhaps an electrical box-fan blowing strongly against you, training on a treadmill means no wind. This can be good when you want to focus on other aspects of your running. But it will not prepare you as well as a track will for handling wind gusts, tailwinds, and headwinds that you can experience when racing outdoors.

Do you mix these two types of running? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

An elliptical machine for runner training can provide excellent cross-training.

If you are a runner who has tried an elliptical machine, who has decided that you like using one, and who is contemplating buying one, then here are several things to consider when placing one in your home.

Consider where your HVAC ducts are.

You may like cold or hot air blowing directly on you while training, or you may prefer to stay away from direct gusts from your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.

Consider where your windows are.

If you are a very private person, then you may want to place your elliptical machine so that it faces a wall. But, if you like looking outdoors and do not mind possibly being seen by passers-by while you train, then find a window near which you can place the machine.

Consider where you can place a laptop, book, e-reader, magazine, or newspaper.

Treadmill desks have become popular because they let treadmill users do real work while walking very slowly on a treadmill. In contrast, elliptical machines generally require more motion from their users than do treadmills. But you may want to perch a laptop computer, book, or or other reading material on or very close to your elliptical machine so that you can do some reading while training. A nearby shelf could work, if it puts your reading material close enough to you on the machine. Or you may have to buy or build a small shelf or holder to attach to your elliptical machine.

Consider where your lighting is.

If you plan to do any reading while training — such as when you are in warm-up or cool-down mode — then you should make sure that you have adequate illumination for reading. Small-font text, such as in a newspaper, generally requires more light than does larger-font text, such as in a book. If your elliptical machine does not include a reading light, then you may be able to attach a small one that uses cool-to-the-touch LEDs that emit a bright, white light. Or you may want to consider placing your machine where you already have overhead lighting in your home.

Consider where you can place a TV set.

If you plan to watch any TV or video programs — such as inspiring videos about runners — while you are on your elliptical machine, then you should make sure that you can place your TV set and video player in a location that is suitable for your height when you are on the elliptical machine and for their distance from the machine.

Consider where your electrical outlets are.

You typically need a supply of electricity to get the most out of an elliptical trainer. You may need an electrical socket for your reading lamp. And you may need free sockets for home-entertainment equipment.

Where have you placed your elliptical? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

When I met my wife, she liked to run 5K races whereas I liked to work out daily on an elliptical machine. And this gave me an idea for a training experiment:

1. I would train weekdays on my gym’s elliptical machine.
2. I would race every few weekends in a 5K race.
3. And I would track my race completion times (chip-times) over the series of races.

Guess what happened?

Even though I never ran on a track or a road except during a 5K race, my chip-time kept getting shorter!

In other words, training exclusively on an elliptical machine seemed to improve my 5K running speed. Of course, participating in the races themselves could have helped me to cut my 5K time, too. But it seemed to me that there was a powerful training effect that I got from the elliptical machine as a 5K racer.

An advantage to this kind of 5K-race training is that I put no noticeable impact wear on my joints.

I also noticed that I seemed to have more kick during these 5K races than I had had several years earlier when I trained for 5K races by running on the road.

And it felt as if training with an elliptical machine gave a more fluid style to my running — probably because an elliptical machine forces the user to repeat a very predictable set of movements.

If you hate running in general but enjoy running in 5K or other road races, then you should consider training with an elliptical machine — perhaps initially in a gym, so that you are not purchasing something that you may not like.

But, once you have confirmed that you enjoy training on an elliptical machine, here are some things to consider when shopping for one:

• Do not buy the cheapest one. The cheapest machines might be fine for very occasional users. But the expression “You get what you pay for.” is crucial to keep in mind when you are about to buy something that will get as much wear and tear as an elliptical machine being used by someone — such as you! — dedicated to improving fitness and cutting road-race time.
• Do not buy the most expensive one. The highest-priced models tend to be loaded with gadgets that you do not necessarily need. Plus, you will appreciate having more money to spend on running apparel and nutritional supplements by buying a machine that is not at the very top of the price range.
• Try before you buy. Although it can make sense to shop online to replace a machine with the same make and model, it does not make sense to shop online when buying one for the first time or when considering switching brands or models.

And remember: Training on an elliptical machine versus training on the road does not have to be an either-or proposition, so you should feel free to mix these two approaches to training as each one suits your mood, fitness, and goals.

Do you use an elliptical trainer? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

©iStockphoto.com/inhauscreative

If you still are shopping for a Christmas gift for that favorite runner or walker, then here are some last-minute gift ideas:

• 12 Great Gifts for the Runner in Your Life
• Top 10 gift ideas for runners
• Gift ideas for runners
• Christmas Gift Ideas for Hikers and Walkers

Now get off the computer so that you can go get that gift!

Merry Christmas!

For want of a WHAT?

For want of an electrochemical cell, as in, “Two or more cells make a battery.”

I twisted my ankle toward the end of a ten-mile training run yesterday morning.

Based on some simple arithmetic — around what mile it happened, yesterday’s sunrise time, when I started, and my total time — I can tell that it happened right before sunrise, so it was still relatively dark outside.

I was running underneath a freeway on a wide concrete walkway.

And, yes, I was running with a headlight, just as I recommend in my injury-prevention report.

But I had neglected the need for a fresh cell for the headlight, which was very bright when I got it a few months ago but had become much more of a “Hey, here I am. Please don’t run over me!”-type light for oncoming drivers than a “Here is what is ahead of you, Kirk.”-type light.

Result: I never saw the rock or chunk of concrete on which I forcefully stepped and twisted my ankle as I ran beneath that freeway.

So, for want of a cell, an ankle was twisted.

Lesson learned: Keep all “running lights” fully powered.

Has inattention to your running gear ever led to you or someone you know getting injured? What particular lesson did you or that person learn? Also, what is your favorite headlight? How long is its light sufficient for seeing where you are going before you must replace its cell or battery? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!

Okay, maybe running or walking is still cheap for you, but it is not for me.

While out on a training session with my wife the other day, she looked at everything that I was wearing and joked about how runners used to require only a pair of shoes, a pair of socks, and running shorts.

Perhaps that is all that you require for your runs, but I certainly use a lot more gear than that today.

And I suspect that many SpryFeet.com visitors depend on a lot more gear, too.

Check my list (in U.S. dollars), and see whether you would make a similar list:

$ 160 -- GPS wrist-unit
$ 130 -- running shoes
$ 115 -- compression tights
$ 100 -- polarizing sunglasses
$  80 -- compression top
$  35 -- hydration belt
$  35 -- pedometer
$  20 -- interval timer
$  20 -- wicking cap
$  20 -- white-LED clip-on headlamp
$  10 -- red-LED blinker
$  10 -- cellphone case for hydration belt
$  10 -- wicking socks
------------------------------------------
$ 745

All of this can be used on a single walk or run (e.g., one that starts in the early-morning dark and ends in daylight, which is the way that my Saturday sessions nearly always go).

I know many runners and walkers who wear orthotics, too, so you might want to add that to your total.

If you have more than one training session during the week, then you probably will have multiples of some of the clothing (at least the socks), so that adds to the total, too.

And the above list does not mention consumables such as electrolyte/protein drinks, energy-boosting foods, and sunscreen.

You also may want to consider after-the-walk/run gear, such as a towel and stretching mat, in your total.

Beyond all of this, if you run or walk in cold weather, you have to add gloves and so on.

So you might want to add the following to your list (beyond the above costs):

• orthotics
• multiples of some clothing
• after-session gear
• cold-weather gear
• consumables

These “extras” could push the total closer to $1,000.

To  be clear: I am NOT complaining about these costs.

After all, I am always looking for anything that will help to prevent injury or to improve my performance.

But I find it interesting how the pursuit of fewer injuries and better performance has led to all these costs.

What costs did I overlook? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!