I have happily returned to my running ways, spending a lot of time lately in the Central Park loop. Incorporating the forefoot/mid-foot strike into my stride, I am causing myself much less lower limb discomfort.
Anyway, I came across a pretty nifty conversion formula for figuring out how to simulate certain hills in the park onto a treadmill. To use it, you need to know the change in elevation that you’re experiencing and over what distance – a GPS watch allows me to keep track of both. As for the formula:
-In Central Park, what is known as “Heart Attack Hill” near 110th street and CPW is about .4 miles long. The first step is to convert that distance into feet, so multiply it by 5,280 (2,112 feet).
-Next, divide the change in elevation from bottom of the hill to the top (96 feet) by its length (2,112) and multiply that answer by 100. The result (4.55) offers a smoothed out approximation for the percentage incline of the hill.
-In order to capture the wind resistance that comes with running in the elements while on a treadmill, add 1 to your guesstimate above.
So, if I want to run “Heart Attack Hill” at the gym, set the treadmill to 5.5%, pick the appropriate pace, and get going.
