How much of a shock am I going to get??

emmab0902

So today I signed up for and started a half marathon training plan. Today's run was 4 miles (starting on week 4 of a 16 week plan as my event is 12 weeks away) which I did at the gym on the treadmill in 40 minutes. The run felt surprisingly easy although I did do it without any incline.

Which brings me to my question - how much of a shock is it going to be when I do real running ie an equal or greater distance outdoors? Should I ditch the treadmill and just bite the bullet and do all my plan outdoors? Tomorrow is meant to be 5 miles but I'm certain I won't manage that outdoors unless I drastically drop my pace.

I have a history of minor niggles running but am hoping with now having properly fitted shoes and a plan to follow I'll make it to achieving my dream of a half and surprising everyone!!

rduhlir

If you have to drop your pace then drop your pace. You don't want to go out to a HM with having only trained on a treadmill. That can be a red flag for injury. You legs need time to get used to the differences that outside has over running on a treadmill. Now that doesnt' mean you have to do all your runs outside, but I would say at least half your runs should be outside with one of those runs being the long run. This way you can try out gear on the road, fuels, etc... You won't be able to really mimick race conditions on a treadmill; trust me, you want to try to mimick race conditions if possible.

Also....don't expect to run the HM at the same pace as say a 5K or 10K, or what you have normally done at shorter distances...HMs are a whole different world. You really start tapping into the realm of energy conservation. Isn't as crazy as a full, but you start learning how to manage with the HMs.

marikevr

^^^ What rhuhlir said.

Also on a treadmill you are not dealing with weather conditions as would be is outside, whether if it heat, cold, humidity.

cmsmj1

Get outside asap and get on it. I'm very impressed with your target - that is awesome,

I've never ran a half marathon...I reckon slow and steady would be my way and also learning the deal with the fact that it is going to take some time to finish.

I'll do one this summer I reckon....

schmenge55

Unless you live in an area that is very hilly or a lot of wind I don't think you'll have a big shock at all. I was just reading somewhere where Tara Moody had a good year after some significant portions of her training being on the treadmill. As I recall yiur target is under 2:30? How did you arrive at that target? What pace were you today?

You might also consider some glute medius work several times a week (under 5 minutes, it is very quick). The glutes help control stability and when not doing their job you get little imperceptible wiggle in the knees. And pretty soon you have niggly little pain. You can fine exercises online or feel free to PM me if you like

emmab0902

As I recall yiur target is under 2:30? How did you arrive at that target? What pace were you today?

Today was 4 miles in 39 minutes which I found very easy and could happily have run for much longer but thought should stick to the plan.

schmenge55

You do want to stick to the plan. The most important miles are the easy pace ones as they build your "roads" to carry oxygen

emmab0902

Horrendous heat here today so ran indoors with a 1% incline and yep was a shock lol. Managed 5.5km then ran another 2.5km on flat. Small steps I guess.

schmenge55

Maybe try .5% (if you can). Or set tmill to automatically adjust incline here and there?

ATT949

So today I signed up for and started a half marathon training plan. Today's run was 4 miles (starting on week 4 of a 16 week plan as my event is 12 weeks away) which I did at the gym on the treadmill in 40 minutes. The run felt surprisingly easy although I did do it without any incline.

Which brings me to my question - how much of a shock is it going to be when I do real running ie an equal or greater distance outdoors? Should I ditch the treadmill and just bite the bullet and do all my plan outdoors? Tomorrow is meant to be 5 miles but I'm certain I won't manage that outdoors unless I drastically drop my pace.

I have a history of minor niggles running but am hoping with now having properly fitted shoes and a plan to follow I'll make it to achieving my dream of a half and surprising everyone!!

Conventional wisdom is to put the 'mill on a 1º incline to simulate headwinds. In addition to that issue, you'll also have to deal with the fact that when you're on a treadmill, it's moving a belt under you rather than you covering the ground. The bigger issue, though, is that you're maintaining or increasing your cardiovascular fitness.

Based on your replies, I get the feeling that you're not using a training plan. I would really, really, strongly (very, very strongly) suggest that you spend some time learning about how training plans work and then sign up for a training plan. Runner's World is a good starting point for this but there are lots of other good resources on the 'Net.

RW has a free training plan generator ("SmartCoach"). It's available at no cost and after looking at a lot of different training plans, I think it's a great way for new runners to accomplish their running goals.

beeblebrox82

go outside!! If it's too hot run in the morning or at dusk. Just wear reflective clothing.

emmab0902

As per my original post yes I am definitely following a plan. Originally the runkeeper one but now the micoach one.

beeblebrox82

As per my original post yes I am definitely following a plan. Originally the runkeeper one but now the micoach one.

hey you're the first person I've come across on here using MiCoach. I do all my running through that app.

emmab0902

Only heard of it from a friend on weekend and more realistic thaw the runkeeper one!