To Tread or Not to Tread?

OK so one of my favorite blogs brought about this entry. I know many runners feel strongly one way or another about the treadmill. What follows are my thoughts and experiences on the subject. I am definitely a fan of the treadmill for several reasons. When I first started running I had two really small kids and this was the only way I could run on a regular basis. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I first tried to run at a 12 min mile. I kept it up and I developed my own mind games to get through the miles like two slow laps then two fast laps. I started raising the incline whenever it got easier. I ordered a few treadmill videos like Treadmill Challenger to break up the boredom. When I could finally run three miles I decided maybe I could join a group. I had been doing longer runs outside around the neighborhood by myself with no watch. I really had no idea what pace I was running when I was not on the treadmill so I thought I would probably be the slowest member of any group. I really didn't know anyone else that ran. Before I joined the group I tested myself in a local 5K. I got behind someone that looked about my age and size and stuck to them. The pace felt fine. We breezed through the first mile in 9 something and I got scared. That was three minutes faster than my normal pace. I kept going because it felt good (the course was completely flat). As we made the last turn I picked it up and passed my pacer. My finish time was 27:30 or something. I was so happy to break 30 min in my first race and not be last. I had no idea how fast people that raced were so I thought I probably needed to run at least under 30 min. Later my husband told me the overall female had run 20:40 or so. I wondered if I could ever get a time like that. I went back to treadmill training focused on getting faster and improving my times. I knew if I could run within two minutes or so of my goal time on the treadmill I would be there. I also joined a running group and found out I could run more miles with a group than on my own. I started training for the Houston Marathon because that was what they were doing. I secretly wanted to qualify for Boston there so I could run Boston as my second marathon. I ended up running a small marathon first before Houston and was so slow I almost gave up then and there. I think my finish time was 5:13 which is respectable but way off what I needed for Boston. When I went back to the group I had a new goal to run Houston and qualify or die trying. The coaches were very doubtful that I would ever make my goal and told me so. There was only one guy in our group that had qualified and he thought he walked on water. I knew I could keep up with him on the shorter runs but just needed more endurance and speed. I skipped the marathon that year and got to work for the next time. I did treadmill training during the week and longer runs on the weekend. I usually ran 16 or more miles every week to get used to the miles. My longest run before Houston was 24 miles. I knew I had to get close to the whole milage or I would crater in the race. This was more for mental reasons. My treadmill training consisted of 4 or 5 miles at no slower than 8:30. I needed to keep an 8:20 pace to qualify. This was hard at first but I started with 2 miles and worked up. I also kept the incline at 2% all the time. Lots of training programs say to run 1-1:30 min slower per mile on long runs. This has never worked for me, I have to run goal pace or faster or I will never be ready to run a marathon and hit the time. When I deviate from this I always miss my goal. I qualified that year with a 3:39 (needed a 3:40). After that I stopped treadmill training as much and tried other popular programs and methods. I listened to others and questioned what had worked for me. None of the other things really worked as well as the treadmill . I don't race much but I would like to do the warm up series this year. I have learned not to listen to others and go with what works for you and your body. Only you really know when to push it and when you need to back off. People who tell you things are not possible have their own issues and are probably just wishing they could be in your shoes.