Tips for transitioning from treadmill to road?

Put wheels on a treadmill, take it out on the road. :happy:

I started training on a treadmill also and recently transitioned to indoor track & outdoor road running. Pace definitely takes a little getting used to.

I use the DigiFit app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/irunner-running-jogging-walking/id304074554?mt=8) which gives voice feedback for pace (based on GPS) and heartrate (based on my Polar H7 HRM), and it syncs with MFP. I guess I would say it works well, and there are a number of other apps as well.

My trainer said the equivalent of running on a treadmill to running outside is to set the treadmill at an incline of 1.0-2.5! I can honestly say since doing that I am able to run outside a lot easier. But I had to work myself up to it by running for a couple of weeks at 1.5.

Last year I started training for a half in January and ran on a treadmill until around March.....it was a very easy transition to outside. For me, running outside is SO MUCH EASIER than running on a treadmill. I keep the incline on the treadmill at 0, but it still feels so hard. I think running outside gives me more distractions.

In the past I have used CardioTrainer and Strava on my phone. But my favorite is my Garmin watch; you can find some GPS watches for fairly cheap. I use my HRM as well to make sure I can maintain my pace!

I've tried many apps but keep coming back to CardioTrainer. You might want to try one that automatically syncs with MFP, like Runtastic or Endomondo.

When you're first setting out, however, I'd ignore all pacing and gadgets until you find a pace that's right for you - running outside is a completely different beast to dreadmill running. Plus running into trees and tripping over kerbs is not a good look!

Ditto!! I LOVE CardioTrainer! So easy to use, and it keeps your history, so you can see all your previous runs. And if you do other activities (bicycling, stationary bike, elliptical, treadmill, etc.), you can log those workouts too.

And I agree with her advice about running outside. It's a completely different workout, but in my opinion, the only way to go. How many races will you complete on a treadmill, so why bother training on one? Good luck!!

I didn't notice any difference when transitioning from the treadmill to the road and I'm pretty much the same for speed and endurance. On the treadmill, I run with the incline set at 1.0 which is supposed to mimic a normal outdoor terrain. I just strap my iPhone to my arm and use the Nike+running app. to keep track of my speed and distance and away I go.

From my personal experience I actually find running on the roads easier. As you know the treadmill can get very boring when your staring at the same thing the whole time! I was worried also about keeping going because at least the treadmill doesn't stop but its actually a lot easier in my experience.

My tips would be:

1. DO NOT STOP - If you know you can keep running on the treadmill for 30 minutes for example then don't stop on the roads at say 20 minutes. I personally find it very hard to get going again once I have stopped.
2. Make little markers for yourself. Keep aiming for something in the distance and say "just till that post" and then make another one. I always find the first mile the toughest, once that's over I find its gets a lot easier.
3. Get fitted running shoes if you havn't already got them. I found running on the roads harder on my knees, so the correct running shoe is important.

Hope all this helps you. Not much but you might use something