transitioning from treadmill to great outdoors?

ajff

I have never been a runner. Until now. I am almost done with week 6 (yay!) and really loving it (double yay!). The past 4 weeks have been done on my treadmill at a very modest pace (-- indoors as it has been the 8th coldest February on record!!!). The weather this morning said that next weekend it is going to be in the 30s - warm enough to go outside.

I'm worried about my pace. Do you have any advice for getting outside again? Do I just stay on track and do the next regularly scheduled session or do I back up a week or two to see how my body adjusts to setting its own pace? BTW, I do use Map My Walk to get data to analyze... but I don't know what to expect in the week ahead???

JessRaddatz

I ran outside for the first time last week (that was week 7 for me) and my plan was to just run. I ended up running a full 5k, with no walking breaks! The closest I got to that on the treadmill was 2.5 miles. I also use Map My Walk and my splits were all faster than the treadmill. For whatever reason, running outside is way easier for me! I'm back to the stupid treadmill this week and I could only do 2.75 miles running today before needing to walk and my splits were slower. I can't wait for this cold weather to be gone so I can get back outside. So, to answer your question, I think you should just go out there and follow the program on the day you're scheduled to be on. You may surprise yourself. Good luck!

cincysweetheart

I started outdoors probably about the same time you did (as to where I was in the program). I'm probably slightly slower (very slight) outdoors than the treadmill. But not so much that it's a big deal for me. I would keep with your program. Pay attention to your HR and breathing… that will give you a better indication as to where you should be than your actual pace. I learned really quickly that I prefer the outdoors. I can definitely go longer… even if it is a touch slower. I can't wait until the days start getting longer so I can do all my runs outside! Good luck!

MeanderingMammal

ajfuelling wrote: »

I'm worried about my pace.

Don't worry about your pace, don't really worry about anything. Just go out and run.

What you'll probably find is that your pace will vary much more when you're outside in response to the environment.

Personally I find that it's more likely that I'll go out a lot faster initially so need to work on moderating myself there.

NurseCU

I've set my treadmill at a 1-2% incline the whole time I've been on it. I have been told this is supposed to mimick effort of running on pavement, I think the treadmill is harder for some reason though. I love running outdoors, especially when it's cold (the colder the better), but had knee surgery last year, and now I can only run on a commercial grade treadmill otherwise I have knee pain. Good luck!