Treadmill running is almost like real running

Same same

Today's run (treadmill): 3.6 miles

I downloaded my Garmin for the first time since January and saw that my last run before Friday happened on January 31 (not January 25th as I'd thought). Still, it was three full weeks between those runs. Over four weeks since I ran outside. So far the transition from elliptical to treadmill has been seamless, but it will likely be a few weeks before I can run outdoors again.

I was wondering about the difference between treadmill and road running when I came upon an article on the ABC News website called Myth or Reality: Treadmill Just as Good as Road Running. The point of the story was that most of the differences between indoor and outdoor running are small:

- Treadmill running requires less force from the knees and hips but not to a significant degree.

- Calorie burn is about the same until you get down to a 7 minute pace.

The article goes on to say that transitioning from the treadmill to the road puts you at risk for calf strains, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. I'll need to keep that in mind when I return to outdoor workouts. I'm sure that, once I'm back to the street, I'll want to stay outside for my runs.

Today's run was a little longer and a little faster than yesterday's. I am trying to limit the time I spend on the treadmill while I transition back from the zero-impact elliptical. Again, the time went by quickly and I was pleased with the airflow from the two large fans that sit below the console. I suspect that the challenge will increase as I add more time and speed to my running.

Unlike warm weather days, I don't need to think through my venue options for a Sunday run. Like yesterday and today, tomorrow will once again be a treadmill day. And that's just fine.

NYC Half coverage: it's time to give me the mic

image courtesy of abclocal.go.com

Today's run (treadmill): 4.25 miles

Last year, NBC surprised me by actually covering the NYC Half Marathon. Running is so invisible on television that I'm thrilled whenever it is shown. Still, I was critical of the 2012 broadcast because the NBC folks failed to make the event interesting for viewers. It so happened that both the men and women's races featured two runners fighting it out for the win, while the rest of the field followed far behind. NBC had a chance to cover the experience of fifteen thousand people, but it barely covered four.

This year, it was the local ABC affiliate that covered the race. I was hoping that, this time, the focus would be on the event, not just the lead runners. Unfortunately, channel 7's execution was just as disappointing as last year's. Races like the NYC Half are rare, because they are both a spectator event and a shared experience. If there were 15K people on the course, there were undoubtedly more than 100K friends and relatives looking for them during the race. Not only were 99.99% of participants ignored, the elite runners who finished second and third were barely acknowledged.

I thought about the race as I ran my distance on the treadmill this morning. With so many knowledgeable people writing for running magazines, websites and blogs, the opportunity to hire compelling broadcasters is there. Think about the level of detail and background that's provided by qualified announcers for every MLB, NBA and NFL game. Today's race announcers were so inept, they didn't even know the names of the two elite women who were bearing down on eventual winner Caroline Rotich as they approached the finish line.  

Running will never gain traction on television unless the networks commit to treating the sport like an event, instead of a news story. People won't tune in if the coverage is dull and the focus is so narrow that they'd be better off skipping the broadcast and waiting for the recap to be published. If channel 7 had given me the mic this morning, I would have done it a whole lot differently.

Ambivelent about today's coverage of the NY Half

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles

I was pleasantly surprised to when I turned on the news this morning to see that our local ABC channel  was actually covering today's New York Road Runner's Half Marathon. Running of this type is rarely televised (besides the ING NY Marathon), so it's always exciting when these events are broadcast.

The good news is that ABC stepped up and featured the race. The bad news is the way they covered it. Besides some very short features and interviews with a few US runners who were competing, very little information was given about the other elites who were also competing. My biggest frustration came for the race broadcast itself, both the men's and women's races were early breakaways between two runners. ABC chose to stay with those four, virtually ignoring the other elites who were grouped 30 seconds behind.

ABC also put up very little information about paces and splits, and when they did, they confused the women's numbers with the men's. After an hour of watching Peter Kirui battle it out with Deriba Merga and Kim Smith run shoulder to shoulder with Firehiwot Dado, I learned virtually nothing about them as people. They failed to give viewers a reason to care about the competitors. That may be a reason why running is so invisible as a broadcast sport.

Inspired by the watching the NY Half, I got outside for four and a half easy miles. The temperature was a cool 40 degrees when I started, but the weather got warmer throughout my run. I regretted wearing pants instead of running shorts and I was sweating hard by the time I finished. The run itself was extremely easy, my pace was a full minute slower than yesterday's run at Bethpage.

Tomorrow I'll rest and then I'll need to figure out my workweek running. I have a lot going on next week and I may need to skip one or two runs. No matter if I do, I plan to do some speed work next weekend and another long base run. Watching the half marathon this morning reminded me how long 13.1 miles will be.