tips for transitioning from threadmill to outdoors.

elsy

Hi guys im currently am doing the c25k on week 7 and can run 5k on treadmill pretty fine well I discovered the hard way at the operation transformation 5k that just cause you can run 5k on treadmill does not mean you can do it outdoors! So going to try run outdoors at least twice a week I have registered for the st patricks festival 5k so hoping to improve my outdoor running a little for that!

huskerdu

The best advice I can give you is to go out there and run. It doesn't matter how slow you run, initially, once you keep running.

However long you currently run for on a treadmill, run for that long outdoors at what ever speed that you are comfortable with. Then, increase the speed or length of each run slowly over time.

TFBubendorfer

Exactly what huskerdu said. Just go out there and run. There is nothing else to it.

Mr Slow

Your joints will take a bit of a pounding on the road, I'd suggest moving back a few weeks in the program and see how you get on, if you're fine then you know you can move forward a few weeks, you won't lose fitness but if you jump from the treadmill to the road at the same level you could develop an injury that will see you off your feet for a period and at this stage you don't want that.

elsy

Thanks for the replies guys in programme im on 25 min straight runs so going to do that once a week on treadmill just to keep stamina up then 2 or 3 times a week outside was thinking maybe week 4 of the programme the 5 min intervals might be a good start. My joints are a bit achey today after the road race not painful just a stiff ache feeling!

T runner

elsy wrote: »

Hi guys im currently am doing the c25k on week 7 and can run 5k on treadmill pretty fine well I discovered the hard way at the operation transformation 5k that just cause you can run 5k on treadmill does not mean you can do it outdoors! So going to try run outdoors at least twice a week I have registered for the st patricks festival 5k so hoping to improve my outdoor running a little for that!

Hi Elsy, apparently a 1% uphill on the threadmill is quite similar to a road run.
In threadmill running you tend to jump more allowing the runway belt to pass under you. A 1% ascent makes it more difficult and forces you to pull (or push) the runway which is what you do on terra firma.

A few runs on the 1% will suffice. As others have said, running on teh road is a good substitute. Maybe add 1 outdoor run and 1 1% run in the first week. Then add the second. Mix the remaining threadmill runs between 1% and flat but with the flat runs try and run faster. E. g. warm up easy jog: 1 min faster 1 min slow jog or walk (10 times to start). Progress to: 5 by 2 with 1 min, 4 by 3, 5 by 3, (all with 1 min rest)
then 4 by 4 with 2 mins, 4 by 5 with 3 mins. This keeps your technique good and helps your leg turnover and speed.


Take youre time, progress slowly, that means you will run consistently and that is the greatest tool to running fitness.


We did a hill run today in lovely Trooperstown. Outdoor running can be a real gift. try and find really nice places to run, and running will become a real pleasure.

AntiVirus

Best thing to do is pick as flat a route as possible for your first few runs. You shouldn't have much problems with road running but as Mr Slow said you may feel a bit stiffer than normal as its not as bouncey as the treadmill!

As has already been said, just get out there as give it a shot, good luck!

RayCun

Run on grass or tarmac where you can, instead of on concrete paths.

napathy

From my own experience of moving from the treadmill I found pacing was my biggest problem. You don't have to think about it in the Gym but I was tearing off like a loon when out on the road and getting tired really fast. I didn't race early like you did but imagine I would have been even worse had I tried to do that so establishing pace is important.

I used mapmyrun.com to work out the distances approximately and timed myself at the pace I wanted.

Hills are a fact of going out on the road, yes you don't want to push yourself too far starting out but they are a very definable challenge and all the times you fail to get accross a particularily difficult one will make your eventual success even more rewarding. they also make the route more interesting. On that note as well I would also suggest no straight roads starting outdoors. I tended to think up routes with long stretches that ended up being demoralising as you don't feel you are getting anywhere, so bendy roads and hills are the way forward!

Lastly having recently done it myself, have you considered joining a running club? I had a big hang up about doing this as I assumed everyone would be way more serious than I considered myself to be but my club(and most I have heard of) cater for all runners and it is certainly very motivating to run with others. In my club they also mix road work with track sessions, the later being something I would never have done on my own.

mathproblem

I had the same problem & it was because i was running with very poor form on the treadmill pounding down on my ankle & i could do it because i feel the treadmill absorbed it somehow. Learning to take it easier & land midfoot has helped me alot.

I agree with the guys saying about running on grass too. Or trails!

Also i find running then walking & then running to build it up helps me but i would get very selfconscious about this on pavements in the evening as better runners seemed to glide past me. I found some nice trails where i could take my time to build it up & not feel selfconscious about it.

This might not be a problem for others but it helped me because it went from something where i was being discouraged comparing myself to these 'superrunners', to where(on the trails) i was being positively reinforced by doing a little bit more every time i go out, & doing it a little easier too.

elsy

Thanks guys some great tips here. This week ive been doing my 25 mins on treadmill and immediately afterwards doing a 10 min run outside hoping to increase this to 15 mins outside next week. Reason for still doing the 25min run on treadmill I want to keep going with c25k programme and feel I ill get injured if I go straight into 25 min runs outside. Would an athletics club mind a 27 year old beginner training with them I live in portarlington and there is one in the town and it is something ive thought about. Theres a good trail the derryounce walk thats 6.5k I use to run it when I was just doing 1 min intervals but the weather got bad and thats were the threadmill came in. If its dry the weekend I think ill give the trail a go!

RayCun

Most athletics clubs are very welcoming of new members, and have a good spread of abilities.
Doing your normal treadmill run and following it with an extra road run sounds like hard work. Why not do 15 minutes on the treadmill followed by 10 outside?