I mix it up . . . love getting outside when I can tho

I've been pure treadmill since I started (redoing week 5 right now) but I want to take it outside because its getting rather hot in my upstairs where the treadmill is. I've tried to run outside a couple of times and I am shocked at how different it is. Although I can run 8-10 minutes straight on the treadmill I can barely make it 1 minute outside. I know its a mental thing for me, so worried about other people looking at me and laughing or something. Plus I don't have any good running clothes, when I run at home I'm usually just in my sports bra & shorts. I need to do a shopping trip to the running store, shoes,jacket, wicking fabric clothes. Hope I get some overtime soon. lol

I transitioned from treadmill to outside when I was doing C25K...but I did it early on (week 4 I think).

Treadmill running is great....there are a lot of people who do it. It is still running, no matter what people might argue about on the forums. It is actually best to mix up treadmill/outside because outside works a few muscles that the treadmill doesn't. Also, outside requires more balance (this mainly applies to trail) and helps beat boredom.

When running outside, the average runner fluctuates pace every quarter mile or so. That is why all apps mainly focus on your average pace.

When going from inside to outside, you need to remeber you are changing your running. On the treadmill, you just had to keep pace. You didnt' really have to create your forward momentum, outside you do (that is where those un-worked muscle fibers come in).

When you first transition, your legs might end up more sore than normal. That is normal, you are working muscle fibers that used to lie dorment. They will hurt until they get used to what you are doing, and have gotten stronger. Also, it is much harder on your knees and joints. Remember, you land with X3 the force you would on a treadmill. So...take me for example, I weigh 143. When I run, each time I land on my foot fall it is with about 400 lbs of force. Taking breaks, or mixing up tempo, long and easy runs are important.

Shifting early on in the C25K program makes the transition much easier. The sooner you do it the better. Depending on when you shift, you might end up having to scale back a few weeks. So, if you are in week 6 and running 30 minutes outside, you might end up having to scale back and do only 15.

Oh...and skip the running stores for running clothes. They are always super expensive (except for your race outfit....after all you are a runner now, might as well look like one lol). I get all my running clothes from T-J Maxx or Marshalls. Just look for the work out clothes that say something about wickering, or dry fits, etc.... Or better yet, just go in a sports bra and a white under shirt (the tank top type).

I finally got to do my first outdoor run today! I managed to go 16 minutes of jogging before I felt I really needed a break, so I walked for a minute or so and then ran the last 10 minutes back to my starting point. I felt that the time passed much more quickly than when I was on the treadmill, and according to my calculations I was doing about 5.5 mph pace, which I guess seems about right. It was harder than the treadmill, but not as hard as I thought it would be, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow. Right now, I feel pretty damn good, actually!

I did the whole program on the treadmill, which was partially because I was running in the Midwest in winter/what passed for spring this year, and partially because of the difficulty and discouragement of trying to learn to run in my extremely hilly neighborhood. I found my first outdoor run (about a month after finishing C25K) to be much less difficult than I'd anticipated.

I say if you've got a place to run outdoors, give it a shot, see how you feel the next day, and from there decide how you want to incorporate it into your program.