Winter Treadmill Workouts
Winter running is great. You sweat less, there’s less people on your paths, and your running economy generally improves versus the summer heat. This is all well and good until you find yourself in a weather predicament.
Snow, rain, wind, hail, etc. Not fun to run in and unfortunately a regular occurrence if you live in an area with a harsh winter. The cold isn’t what negatively affects us. Things like 30mph winds ruin our running economy.
Which is why the treadmill was born.
There will always be the days you need to just get an easy 60 minutes in on the treadmill, which is fine. But if you’re waiting out a snowstorm where sidewalks and roads needs to be plowed, you’ll want a quiver full of workouts.
The main problem with a few of these workouts is that they are *loud*. If you own your own treadmill, you don’t have to worry about this. If you belong to a large gym, you’re probably fine too. The small-medium gym goers are going to get some dirty looks, do your best to ignore.
Workout #1: Constant Grade, Varying Pace
This should be in everyone’s tool-bag at this point. Simply set the treadmill at a constant grade—this part requires some live testing—and find two speed settings you can run on/off for 5 minutes each. The 5 minutes on should be high(er) intensity, around your LT1, nothing crazy. With your 5 minutes off being a light jog or even a power hike (for many the latter is a reality, which is okay!)
Example:
10% grade
5 minutes ON at 4mph
5 minutes OFF at 3mph
This will net you around 4 miles in 60 minutes flat for 2,100ft of vertical gain if you time your speed changes right. A very doable workout for many runners that doesn’t overwork your body. Key is to go slower than you think for the “on” part!
Be careful with the grade to speed ratio, a small amount of grade will change your effort level significantly for my flat road runners out there.
Reminder, use the treadmill elevation calculator if that matters to you (LINK).
Workout #2: Incline Repeats w/ Flat Rest
This one is a favorite because of the hard rest you get between the incline intervals. Where workout #1 is a moderate slog, this one allows you proper rest.
The intervals can be any distance and effort you choose, but as always it’s best to triage them into LT1, LT2, and VO2 max effort. Where ideally you are running a bit longer up to 5-7 on when targeting LT1, resting and letting your HR come back to rest with a flat walk. LT2 intervals in the 4-6 minute range. VO2 max in the 2-3 minute range.
You can also “ladder” your intervals. Start with a few LT1 intervals, go to LT2 (as your HR drifts) and finish with 1-2 VO2 efforts.
Workout #3: Half mile or 1K Repeats
One of my favorite workouts for the simple reasons that it makes the time fly-by and it’s better than doing 1-mile repeats.
It’s really user choice which distance you want to run, half-mile or 1K, with the former being easier to track on a treadmill. 1000m repeats should be saved for the more intermediate-advanced runners who are running fast by any measure, and need the extra distance for some added stimulus (say below 3:45 for 1K).
The reason I like this so much is that it helps you dial in your running economy. Many people are surprised when they hop on a treadmill for distance repeats and realize they are slightly faster than they thought. This comes from the treadmill being such a constant. Flat and steady pace. It’s the main reason why I encourage runners to get on a treadmill in the winter, find your true running economy potential on these flat efforts. Of course, we don’t race indoor on a treadmill, but the potential is nice to know.
Again, you can triage these based on how fast you can finish them. Usually anything in the ~10K pace range is the goal. Aim for repeatable and comfortable!
Workout #4: Short Interval Ladder
This one gets dicey to keep track of and you may need to make note of what reps you have done so far.
Ladder:
4 x 100
4 x 200
4 x 300
4 x 400
Depending on your fitness, how hard you ran then, you can cycle back through the ladder again at half-dose. Meaning instead of doing 4 reps of each, you do 2.
Easiest way to do this is to keep the treadmill rolling at all times and hang out on the side. Unfortunately, this makes it extremely loud and even dangerous.
Workout #5: Mile Repeats
You might be able to tell from my previous writing, that I don’t love mile repeats for the simple reason that they are hard. Well, a treadmill makes them a whole lot easier. The treadmill setting the pace for you and remaining constant is a major help physically, but also mentally.
Much like the half-mile repeats, the mile repeats make the workout fly-by as well, which is a plus.
Reminder that the treadmill is no place for a PR, to pull a muscle, or to overly fatigue yourself. It’s there to supplement a workout and feel strong. Run all intervals around 5 seconds slower than you normally would is my advice. +10-15 seconds from your 5K pace is a good start.
This is just a list of fun workouts that won’t make or break your training, but will simply help you grind through a few treadmill sessions when the weather turns south. Of course, there are the classics you can do, such as 10x400, progression run, etc. But these are some you might not have heard of to help you get through.
Let me know your favorites in the comments!
-BTR