Pro Tip for outdoor running:

You could modify the couch to 5k to work for your level-I find treadmill running SO much easier than running outside. On the treadmill I feel like I can go forever haha! So you can just build up to it.

Others may have mentioned it but I'd talk to your vet and your breeder if the pup is from a breeder that does hip/eye testing about running your pup-I think the general recommendation for running large breed puppies is no "forced" running until 18mos to decrease the likelihood of damage. If you live somewhere where he/she can run off leash and not on the pavement (the beach is great!) then you can do a walk/jog with them safely in puppyhood but not straight running.

Enjoy building your running relationship with your pup!!! My dog is too old now (12yrs old and was 94lbs in his fully muscled days so a fairly big guy), but when he could run with me it was often the highlight of my day. Talk about the best running buddy and motivation (pup will even get you running in the rain!)

Forgot to say that if you use an app like Runkeeper it tracks your pace and stuff and then you can pay attention to how you feel and adjust your pace accordingly.

If ones goal is to do it outside then I would train from the onset outside. Seems silly to me to do all the work on the TM, and then have to work even more to be able to do it outside.

I started in the dead of a Missouri winter. At that time I did not have the hundreds of dollars of thermal running gear I now own, now that I know I enjoy running.

People have reasons for what they do and how they do them. Don't presume.

Just giving advice for people who do have a choice to run in or outside. I help teach a couch25k group each spring for the last 6-7 years and hear the comments all the time from people who tried to transition from TM to outside.
Of course there are going to circumstances that could force someone inside but if there is the outside option...that is better.

and btw.......one of our run group goes through the Ohio winters and this last year was very brutal. ONe tuesday it got cancelled but the rest of the time we still go out there. Some brutal runs...but still better than inside on the hamster wheel.

You obviously missed or ignored the point about my thermal running gear. I run in all weather - now.

But when I first started out, I wasn't sure it would stick. I wasn't going to spend hundreds of bucks on running gear that may have ended up unused in the closet, and I didn't want to wait until spring to get started. So I ran on the treadmill as a realistic way to test the water.

My point being that there are valid reasons to start on a treadmill, even if you're going to transition to outdoors later. It's not 'silly'. Sure, if I could do it again, I'd start outdoors - but only because with hindsight I know already that it's something I'll stick with.

Even you admit you would have started outdoors with your hindsight.........

That thermal gear is helpful, no doubt about it. First few years I ran outside I didnt have it and just had to layer, and layer, and layer! Now with the better gear it has helped most definantly.

I was just saying, and you agree, that if you do intend to do the running outdoors with races and such then go out and train outside whenever possible. It just makes it so much easier than having to add on alot of extra time. I have actually witnessed a few people who got very discouraged when they moved from teh TM to outside and gave it up unfortunately. The TM can give a false sense of security/speed.
A few guys in our unit found that out this spring on the PT test. They were keeping up with it on the TM at home and found that it didnt compare.

If ones goal is to do it outside then I would train from the onset outside. Seems silly to me to do all the work on the TM, and then have to work even more to be able to do it outside.

I started in the dead of a Missouri winter. At that time I did not have the hundreds of dollars of thermal running gear I now own, now that I know I enjoy running.

People have reasons for what they do and how they do them. Don't presume.

Just giving advice for people who do have a choice to run in or outside. I help teach a couch25k group each spring for the last 6-7 years and hear the comments all the time from people who tried to transition from TM to outside.
Of course there are going to circumstances that could force someone inside but if there is the outside option...that is better.

and btw.......one of our run group goes through the Ohio winters and this last year was very brutal. ONe tuesday it got cancelled but the rest of the time we still go out there. Some brutal runs...but still better than inside on the hamster wheel.

You obviously missed or ignored the point about my thermal running gear. I run in all weather - now.

But when I first started out, I wasn't sure it would stick. I wasn't going to spend hundreds of bucks on running gear that may have ended up unused in the closet, and I didn't want to wait until spring to get started. So I ran on the treadmill as a realistic way to test the water.

My point being that there are valid reasons to start on a treadmill, even if you're going to transition to outdoors later. It's not 'silly'. Sure, if I could do it again, I'd start outdoors - but only because with hindsight I know already that it's something I'll stick with.

Even you admit you would have started outdoors with your hindsight.........

That thermal gear is helpful, no doubt about it. First few years I ran outside I didnt have it and just had to layer, and layer, and layer! Now with the better gear it has helped most definantly.

I was just saying, and you agree, that if you do intend to do the running outdoors with races and such then go out and train outside whenever possible. It just makes it so much easier than having to add on alot of extra time. I have actually witnessed a few people who got very discouraged when they moved from teh TM to outside and gave it up unfortunately. The TM can give a false sense of security/speed.
A few guys in our unit found that out this spring on the PT test. They were keeping up with it on the TM at home and found that it didnt compare.

I feel a bit like I'm talking to a brick wall. I agree that starting outside is best if that's your plan. I am not trying to argue otherwise.

But not everyone has that option, and not everyone knows that running is going to stick, and not everyone lives in a climate that would necessarily allow them to start running outside immediately without significant financial outlay that they may not be prepared to make.

Yes, I'd start outside if I could do it again if I could magically see into the future and see me now, enjoying running in all weather. But that's not possible, is it?

The part of your post I take issue with is saying that starting out on the treadmill is silly. It's not. It's sub-optimal, for sure, but if it's what it takes to get you moving, it's what it takes. Were it not for the treadmill I'd probably still be 50 pounds overweight and wondering everyday if today would bring my first heart attack.