Tips to transition off the treadmill

[burnsie]

I am on the last week of C25K and will run my 5K tomorrow.

I felt very strong for 7 weeks, running on the treadmill.

This week I run outside and did terrible, had to keep stopping and walking, calves tightened up and feet went numb.

I am not feeling confident for my 5K.

 

Anyone experience this and have suggestions on how to transition to running outside, now that Spring is here? 

I was planning to start the C210K next week.

 

Thanks! 

[xray]

Bubba. I am going thru the same thing. I kill it on treadmill. I thought that I would try to start on the ground and I was sooo discouraged. But after seeing this I feel a lot better. Lol. I believe we just have to get out of that gym and rock and roll hitting the pavement.

 

Let me know how your journey comes along. Best wishes

[torus_ot]

Here is a difference between treadmill and the ground:

1) On the treadmill you have only stick out your foot forward and the belt will move this foot under you. On the ground you move your foot forward and then you have also push your body forward. That is why on the treadmill we need to use incline 2-3%.

2) Also incline on the ground is not constant and surface is not that leveled (little bumps and holes) - all that required additional efforts.

4) And we need to (re-)learn to manage the pace when we are running outside... 

 

And one more thing: when we are watched by other people we all I have tendency to "show off"

[KatMonster23]

Here is a difference between treadmill and the ground:

1) On the treadmill you have only stick out your foot forward and the belt will move this foot under you. On the ground you move your foot forward and then you have also push your body forward. That is why on the treadmill we need to use incline 2-3%.

2) Also incline on the ground is not constant and surface is not that leveled (little bumps and holes) - all that required additional efforts.

4) And we need to (re-)learn to manage the pace when we are running outside...

 

And one more thing: when we are watched by other people we all I have tendency to "show off"

Thanks for pointing out the differences between treadmill and ground running/ walking. Just did W1D1 today, super out of shape and overweight, and felt a little discouraged in how hard it was. You made me realize I actually did a lot better than I thought since I'm used to briskly walking on treadmill only with a slight incline and this was my first time walking/ jogging outside on a path.

[KatMonster23]

Thanks for pointing out the differences between treadmill and ground running/ walking. Just did W1D1 today, super out of shape and overweight, and felt a little discouraged in how hard it was. You made me realize I actually did a lot better than I thought since I'm used to briskly walking on treadmill only with a slight incline and this was my first time walking/ jogging outside on a path.

[GF Canada]

Ack, same with me! I'm so glad I read this. I thought I was the only one! I finished my C25K training a few weeks ago, all on a treadmill, and I was doing great. I could run the entire 5k with just one little stop in the middle to catch my breath and grab a sip of water for 20 seconds. Then I moved my runs outside. Almost killed me! A lot of my friends have been running for years, and they all told me how much better outside runs were, and how I'd hate the treadmill. I'm the opposite. Outside runs are hard! As mentioned above, you need to use your legs to push off unlike a treadmill. And the terrain has hills. And there's wind. And it's hard to monitor your pace. I also loved the treadmill because I'd watch all my stats and do math the entire time, constantly figuring out time in, time remaining, percentages, etc. Helped pass the time.

 

I've been running outside now for about three weeks. I found that I had to slow my pace down considerably from where it was on the treadmill (was running around 6 min/km on treadmill, now 7 to 7:30 min/km outside). I also quit trying to run without stopping, and I'm doing intervals of 6 min runs and 1 min walks. I accepted the fact that I can't compare my treadmill runs to my outside runs, and to just pick a place to start over from. The slower pace helps a lot!

 

I'm hoping I learn to love running outside, and that I'll complain about the treadmill when it's time to run inside again later in the fall.