Originally Posted by
biggsmoothe
there's a good thread on slowtwitch, supported by research, saying that is not true. i'll look around for it and try to post a link. regardless, you shouldn't compare your treadmill runs to your road runs. you compare a treadmill run to a previous treadmill run on the same model of treadmill, and you compare a road run to previous road runs on the same stretch of road.
the beauty of a treadmill is that you can make it as hard you want. its easy to work the speed and incline buttons. you basically have instant access to anything from pancake flat to Pyrenees steep.
I'm not a big fan of running anyway, generally. I'd rather be on the bike. But I equate using the treadmill to watching grass grow, mile after mile, snore. And the same can be found in most gyms, look around the room at 90% of the treadmill users, speed set to some benign pace, inclination near zero degrees, burning away the time watching CNN. Real running is a constantly changing angle of pavement, always fluctuating wind direction and intensity.
I'm sure a test could easily be performed in a lab (vacuum) to measure watts, cardiac output, yadda yadda, I wouldn't begin to argue that. But at the end of the day, I perceive that the treadmill is easier than the miles I logged outside.