The treadmill can be more than a stopgap on days when the weather doesn’t cooperate or the baby is napping upstairs. Done right, treadmill training will help you maintain and improve your fitness throughout the winter so you’re ready to race – or just outpace your running buddies – come spring.

It may take a little experimenting to build a routine you enjoy. That’s fine – just don’t get locked in. Be playful with your workouts. One day do a steady run, the next do intervals.
Never get locked into the same routine, otherwise your body adapts fairly quickly and you won’t get as much out of it. Mix it up with these three workouts.

RACE SIMULATIONS
Do it to train for the course

Simulate your race Some treadmills offer simulations of famous races, like the Boston Marathon to let you mirror the topography indoors and practice the hills in a condensed run.

THE WORKOUT - Use a race’s elevation map to time your ups and downs on the treadmill to mimic the course. For instance, say you know there’s a killer hill two-thirds of the way into a 10K you’ve entered. Hit that “up” incline button at the same point in your treadmill run, and get used to the feeling.

INSIDE SCOOP - Don’t let yourself be surprised on race day. When you get to that hill, you can think that you’ve done it before – and it felt much worse when you were in your garage.

SPEED INTERVALS
Do it to get faster

When doing intervals at the track, almost everyone slows down the last few repeats, because they’re fatigued. On the treadmill, you can only slow down when the belt does.

THE WORKOUT - Try 3 x 3 minutes at about 10 seconds faster per kilometre than 5K pace. (It takes the treadmill a few seconds to reach your interval speed, so start timing the three minutes after you’ve reached that pace.) Give yourself two minutes of easy jogging in between. Add another set every two weeks.

INSIDE SCOOP - This workout is a killer. But the results will show at your next race.

SITCOM TEMPO RUN
Do it to lock in your pace

Tempo runs are hard to get right. Inexperienced runners tend to go too fast or too slow. Once you’ve entered your target pace, the treadmill makes sure you stay at the right speed.

THE WORKOUT - Start with a 10-minute warm up, and move up to your tempo pace when a rerun begins. Jog during the commercials, and resume the faster pace when the show comes back on. Cool down for five minutes.

INSIDE SCOOP - The tube can be a welcome distraction from the tedium of a long, fast effort. As you improve, try maintaining your tempo pace through the commercials.