treadmill vs. outdoors

kperry170

Good morning everyone!

I have tried to mix up my C25K training between outdoors and treadmill, but I have completed weeks 3 and 4 on the treadmill only (it finally got hot in GA). I also completed W5D1&2 on the treadmill. I thought day 1 was really hard, but day 2 was a breeze. Just for info ... on the treadmill ... I run at 5mph and walk at 4 mph. When I saw that I would be running for 20 minutes on day 3, I figured I better get my butt back outside and try day 2 again. I made it through the first 8 minute run, but fell apart 4 minutes into the second run. I walked 3 minutes, then ran some more for 5 minutes (guilt ya know) - I simply extended the run and started the cool down after that.

How do you train on both an outdoor trail and treadmill? Is it as hard for you? Do I need to run faster/add hills to the treadmill to make it more "real life" I understand that outdoor training is optimal, but I feel lucky to get anything done with my schedule.

Looking for any advice - I will not move on to day 3 until I can complete day two outdoors (I go to a lovely park that has a 3 mile loop, but also very hilly).

What speeds do you recommend on a treadmill?

thanks - happy weekend
K

PinkNinjaLaura

Do you use incline on the treadmill? You should have it at least at 1.5 both to compensate for it being easier & because its easier on your hips.

PaytraB

I had a hard transition between the treadmill and the outdoors. I trained on the treadmill; first at an incline of 0, then slowly increasing to an incline of 2 on good days & 1 on bad days.
When I started running outdoors, I was disheartened because I had the same experience as yourself (ran about 5-8 minutes, had to walk). In all honesty, it's taken me from April to July to be able to comfortably run 5K outdoors. The heat has slowed me down, I know, but the main part was the difficulty of the transition.
Hang in there and do not be discouraged. Be prepared that your outdoor runs will be different than your indoor runs. This does not mean that you cannot move forward with the program but that perhaps you are in two different places depending on where you run. Don't be afraid to move onwards while on the treadmill and repeat previous runs when you run outdoors.
It's so very worth the effort to run outdoors. I'm loving it. My runs are so much more interesting and varied.
Keep up the good work.

ETA: about speeds, it's all about where you are comfortable at. You should be able to talk while jogging. If I remember correctly, I started jogging at 5.7 Km/hr (treadmill) and by the end of the program my speed was around 6.5 Km/hr. Speed came by itself. I sped the treadmill up when I could feel myself tripping on the belt. Outdoors I use a Gaymar watch. According to it, I was running around a 9 min kilometer before and am currently running between an 8 and 8:20 minute kilometer (depending on how tired I am and how hot it is).

TyFit08

I did the first half of C25K on the treadmill and was very frustrated that I was much slower on my outdoor runs and like you sometimes I had to stop to walk. I decided to focus on building up my stamina outdoors. Now the speed is the same and I am running further. I am halfway through Five to 10K now. Funny thing, it was heatwave a couple of weeks ago and I tried to go back to the treadmill and I struggled with it. I really have a hard time going slow on the treadmill, which I guess I do outdoors when I'm a little tired and need to cut back on speed to make it through a longer run. I wish I knew how to do well on both.

PaytraB

That's interesting, mrsmalcolm. I'm going to keep that in mind when I move back onto the treadmill this winter. Thanks to you, I'll be prepared for what comes.