c25k-- outside vs. treadmill... the quandary.

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  • ChristiH4000
    ChristiH4000 Posts: 531 Member
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    Yep, still very nervous....I hope I don't embarrass myself. Luckily, I live in KS so outside is pretty flat too.
  • scooterist
    scooterist Posts: 17
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    Good luck!
    Yep, still very nervous....I hope I don't embarrass myself. Luckily, I live in KS so outside is pretty flat too.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    When I started running outside, it was slightly harder, but not anything like I feared it would be! The only tips I have is find a FLAT place to run, and pace yourself. It feels different than on the treadmill, so I think if people are finding it significantly harder, they're likely going much faster than they do on the treadmill. When I'm outside doing my normal pace, it feels much slower than it does on the treadmill. My only other tip is try it when it's cool out. My heart rate will instantly be 10 bpm higher when it's hotter and I can't go nearly as far or as long.

    Last night, with a wonderfully cool temp of 61 degrees, I went running. I completed a 5K under the 40 minute mark (which is my goal for my race that's in 2 weeks). Now I just have to hope it's that cool in a couple week too!
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    In my experience doing any kind of interval based running on a treadmill SUCKS because the time it takes for the treadmill to speed up and slow down can throw off your timing. Plus I have issues with not falling off treadmills =/
  • Devona14
    Devona14 Posts: 171
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    I started C25K outside. Last weekend I was out of town and had to use a treadmill at the hotel gym. I found that my speed is much faster on a treadmill. Granted, I just run 4 mph on the treadmill. It also helped that I was able to plug in my headphones and watch TV while I ran.

    A couple I know speed walks in my neighborhood. The other night when I was walking/running, I determined that their walk was as fast as my run. But, I have a shorter stride, I'm bigger than they are and I'm only on W3D3 (for second time). I know that I'll get faster as I'm still struggling to find my pace outside. I WILL get this if it kills me! I think I'm going to start W4D1 tonight.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    When I was doing C25K on a treadmill, I would start a new week at 4.5 mph. I usually repeated weeks two more times with the goal being to move onto the next week when I could do this one at 5 mph. Now that I'm running outside, on my long runs (20 minutes and up) I try to slow down to 4.5 mph so I can go the distance. As I run more, I get faster. Last night, I averaged around 4.7 mph and ran about 3 miles (35 to 40 minutes). I was quite happy with that!

    When I did my first 5K a couple weeks ago, I was passed by some walkers at the beginning. *sigh* LOL.
  • piesbd
    piesbd Posts: 196 Member
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    Running outside takes a bit of an adjustment. It is harder, as you don't have the extra "pull" from the treadmill belt. I would say, train however you will end up running. If you plan to race, run outside... or at lest do so before the race. As you noticed, it is harder outside then on a treadmill, and you don't want to get to raceday and be surprised by the change ;)
  • rainunrefined
    rainunrefined Posts: 850 Member
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    I started my c25k on the treadmill and found that while it kept me on track as far as not slacking on speed, it was quite boring.
    I did the first day of week 2 today, outside, using a window's app to help me with the timing. It was so much more enjoyable, running and walking through neighborhoods and the park... BUT i averaged 3.7 mph.... Should I try to push myself to run faster... does it even matter?

    Slow and steady, IMO. Once you get to a 5k, then stick there for a while and work on speed. JMO
  • jessewessy1990
    jessewessy1990 Posts: 67 Member
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    A friend of mine who is a sprinter says you use your muscles differently when outside compared to a treadmill, easier on the treadmill because you always have the momentum there whereas with running outside you have to make your own
  • Dipmom
    Dipmom Posts: 228 Member
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    I LOVE the treadmill! You have to keep going or you will shoot right off the back. When I'm outside I just slow down when I get tired. I also like to change it all the time, like raising the incline one percent each minute until you hit the top, and then down each minute. It gets super hard, but I can convince myself its only for one more minute. Plus I can always zone out completely, and sometimes when I zone back in its already been 10 or 20 minutes!
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    Outside

    I got on a treadmill once to try out a HRM. I hated it, I don't know how people get near those things. I've ran outside when it was -5, I've ran outside when it was 110. I'll take both of those over the one time I spent 5 minutes on a treadmill.
  • angieroo2
    angieroo2 Posts: 973 Member
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    Interesting thread. I despise running outdoors so I was thinking of doing C25K outside to get used to the pavement as I'd eventually like to run in a 5k race.
  • hahandel
    hahandel Posts: 134 Member
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    I ran the first 6 weeks of c25k on the treadmill and then transitioned to outside. I didn't find it much harder physically, but I had a mental hurdle to get over running outside in public. I always ran at a 2% incline on the treadmill so maybe that's why my transition wasn't difficult.

    I was very sore after my first couple of runs because of the surface distance. I was never sore after running on the treadmill. I started running on the concrete sidewalk but had to switch to running in the road.

    I always ran at 5 mph on the treadmill and it's also what I ran at outside when I started. After a couple of weeks running outside my average is now 5.6 mph. I can't imagine going back to running on the treadmill.

    Good luck!

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