Finding time to work out with kids, work, and life can be difficult.  A couple years ago a good friend of mine challenged me to run a half marathon.  My husband was working a ton of overtime, I wouldn't be able to run outside due to my horrible allergies and the heat, and I was afraid to run outside by myself and didn't know anyone that would want to run as it was.  So I decided, the only way to train for this half marathon was to either go to a gym or buy a treadmill and run at home.  I decided to buy a treadmill and run at home, because I thought it would be much easier and save time in the end.  I had some concerns about how this would work out.  I've seen the comics of people with treadmills at home that they use to hang their clothes on and I've also heard many runners say that road running and treadmill running aren't the same.  So, I was really questioning if this training plan was going to pan out.  Surprisingly, it worked out marvelously.  Not only was I able to train whenever I had time, but I could run no matter what the weather was like.  I also found that I didn't sustain as many injuries because I wasn't running on a hard surface.  In addition, another benefit was being able to always creating new ways to mix up my running.  I could add hills, do all hills with slow jogging intervals, etc.  In the end my body never knew what to expect for my run, so when it was time for the marathon I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the run was and that I had shaved 30 minutes off of my personal best time!  I know treadmill running isn't for everyone...it is much more scenic to run outside, but if you want to run and just don't know how to make it happen like I did, it's not a bad option! 

Have you ever used a treadmill to train for a race?  What were your results? Do you notice a difference between training outdoors rather than indoors?