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Treadmill running

My treadmill pace is way too fast. My outdoor runs are usually in the 7:00 to 8:00 minute range per mile. However, running this same speed on the treadmill shows anywhere from a 5:30 mile pace to a 6:30 per mile pace. I've probably ran outdoors with my FR935 for maybe 100 miles, which I would have thought would have been enough to get an accurate indoor / treadmill reading, however it's been way off. Is there anything I can do to get this more accurate?
(As a note, my old watch FR620 was mostly spot on, maybe it would be off +/- 10 seconds versus the treadmill pace. So I don't think my arm swing is any different outside vs inside.)

0 adamBomb over 7 years ago

The watch is working correctly, you just run differently on a treadmill. Your cadence, ground contact time, etc are all different because you have a belt moving underneath you. This throws off anything that you set via running on solid ground. Usually this means the watch/footpod saying you ran faster then you are. but this will vary by device/person Some people blame treadmills saying they are not accurate but this is mostly just internet rumor not related to any type of research. Research does show you change how you run when you run on a treadmill though.

0 JSRUNNER_ over 7 years ago

Are your cadence and ground contact times very different from your road runs as obviously cadence is the main metric that the watch has to measure speed

Also what gradient do you run on as typically even the flattest road route involves some gradient that's forgetting the energy loss due to the uneven surface so that makes it likely that your speed on treadmill will be greater

It may be better to base your treadmill runs on heart rate zones and time rather than trying to get distances comparable to roads or trails

0 pherzog over 7 years ago

I definitely recognize that running on a treadmill is different from running outside, and honestly, I'm not terribly concerned that the pace is substantially off on the mill. However, I'm just curious why my old FR620 was very, very accurate vs the FR935 on a treadmill. I wonder if there is a different algorithm or something?

0 timgrose over 7 years ago

My cadence is about 4-6 spm less on a cadence so agree I must be running a bit differently. Still feel it is very much "running" though and all good training. I use Zwift Running now when am on a treadmill a few times a week at the moment. For "accurate" pace on a treadmill I use a foot pod.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Mine was pretty off from the start but after I calibrated my treadmill run it was pretty much spot on for distance and pace. You can do that by running >1 mile on the treadmill in treadmill mode, then when you click stop scroll down to ‘calibrate and save’.

0 pshare over 6 years ago

My treadmill runs are consistently estimated to be 8 to 10% less distance than what the treadmill says on its display. That is on multiple treadmills but all Life Fitness brand.
I also find that step tracking counts more steps at a slower speed. It seems to miss steps at a faster pace.

0 CloggyAbroad over 6 years ago

Does it really matter? When you are on a treadmill you're not going anywhere, so 'speed' or 'distance' are fairly irrelevant. What is relevant is effort, assessed as perceived effort or measured by HR or power. The 935 will calculate training effect and recovery time based on the time and the intensity (HR) of your workout. Just ignore the 'distance' either your treadmill or your 935 comes up with.

0 chrisdr2 over 6 years ago

Have you done sufficient outdoor GPS runs to calibrate the sensors? Have you tried a foot pod?

Does it really matter?

From an effort point of view, perhaps not, but if the runs form part of a training plan (e.g. trainasone), it would slew the algorithm, unless manually corrected.

0 pshare over 6 years ago

I set distance goals so I like to include my indoor activities in my totals so yes, it does matter to me. The only difference to me between indoor or outdoor activities besides GPS, is the weather when it keeps me inside.

What I do at the end of the indoor treadmill activity is just adjust my Connect distance to what the treadmill said. The exact distance doesn't necessarily matter. However, distance trends over time that are based on consistent assumptions are important to me.

0 CloggyAbroad over 6 years ago

You're on a treadmill. You ain't going nowhere (don't you just not love a double negative?). As far as your training stimulus is concerned the 'distance' you cover on a stationary device is completely irrelevant. They only thing that is relevant is the effort you put in. If your training plan can't deal with that it might be time to get another training plan.