Treadmill running gets dismissed as the inferior version of real running. It removes terrain variation, wind resistance, and the natural speed fluctuations that make outdoor running physiologically rich. These criticisms are partially true and largely overstated. The treadmill also offers something outdoor running cannot: precise, repeatable training conditions. Exact speed. Exact incline. No traffic, no…

Most recreational endurance athletes train by feel. Some days hard, some days easy. Occasionally very hard. They improve for the first six months, plateau, and then wonder why more miles are not producing better results. The answer is almost always the same: they are training in the middle. Not easy enough to build aerobic base….