I run faster when people watch?

Question

When running the mile test at school, my time was 9:36, which is normal.

But whenever I run the mile at home on my treadmill, it takes my almost double the time. I get 16 minutes.

The mile at school was closely counted (since people skip laps a lot), and the teacher did it- so i know it was all accurate.

And no, it wasnt a long time ago. It was in May, and its not like ive gained weight since then.

Do you think this is because when people are watching you tend to not wasnt to be embarrassed as much ?

What would any other reasons for this be ?

thank-you

Dani :)

Answer 1

You can set the speed on your treadmill. Set it to 6-6.2mph. That should get you a comparable time. If you can run it on the track, you can run it on a treadmill.

16 minutes is a fast walk for most people.

Answer 2

your trying to show off in your mind thats why you run faster when people are watching you

Answer 3

It could be a treadmill malfunction like when I work out on a treadmill it says I'm running 9:00/Miles but In races I usually run 6:00/Miles. On the treadmill I know I'm running faster.

Answer 4

What loading are you setting on your treadmill.

You can set a treadmill so you are only running uphill.

On a track you run downhill just as much as uphill.

Answer 5

You are probably s**y.

Answer 6

Your treadmill might be inaccurate.  That is a huge difference in time between the two.

Answer 7

Sure, it could be from people watching you.

However, if I am understanding your story correctly, I think the biggest reason you were running faster is that you were running WITH other people and possibly competing against them.  I know for me personally, I tend to run faster 5K times while doing a 5K race than me running alone on a road or doing it on a treadmill.  This is more of a good thing, because it shows more of your true potential than what you can conclude from only running on treadmills.