Accidental addiction

azzeretti

What started out as a way for me to warm up (5-10 minute light treadmill jog) pre weight training has slowly, over the last 3-4 weeks, creped up to 30-40 minutes sessions. As a result I find that I am somewhat, unintentionally addicted. I have a few problems though; I'd like to start a Parkrun as at the moment I can almost make 5K (I had never run before, this is a big deal for me) but I am really concerned on how to pace myself. On the treadmill I can set the speed and I am confident that I am holding that pace. How does one do this on a track? What if I take off too fast and keel over after 10 minutes! What differences will I notice off a treadmill? That is, will a couple of inclines severely take away from my ability to finish the distance? What about impact? I have never run on a road or grass before, will I feel the difference coming from a treadmill to a track?

I can't help thinking I should just go and give it a bash but I'd feel pretty humiliated if I pulled up afer 2K with shin splints or burn out.

DocQismyJesus

azzeretti wrote: »

What started out as a way for me to warm up (5-10 minute light treadmill jog) pre weight training has slowly, over the last 3-4 weeks, creped up to 30-40 minutes sessions. As a result I find that I am somewhat, unintentionally addicted. I have a few problems though; I'd like to start a Parkrun as at the moment I can almost make 5K (I had never run before, this is a big deal for me) but I am really concerned on how to pace myself. On the treadmill I can set the speed and I am confident that I am holding that pace. How does one do this on a track? What if I take off too fast and keel over after 10 minutes! What differences will I notice off a treadmill? That is, will a couple of inclines severely take away from my ability to finish the distance? What about impact? I have never run on a road or grass before, will I feel the difference coming from a treadmill to a track?

I can't help thinking I should just go and give it a bash but I'd feel pretty humiliated if I pulled up afer 2K with shin splints or burn out.

I say give it a bash. You're running 30-40 min sessions for a few weeks. I bet you'll surprise yourself with how good a shape you are in. Don't worry about humiliation - Parkrun is great because people of vastly different fitness/ abilities will be there. No one will judge you. Let us know how you get on!

Ososlo

Just go out and give it a bash. There are usually walkers in Parkruns or very slow joggers so chances are that even if you do blow up you won't be last.
Just go out a little slower than you feel you should to start with and maybe after the first 2k, if you're feeling ok, then pick up the pace a bit and then run eye-balls out from 4k if there's still something left in the tank.
If you can run for 40 mins on the treadmill, I don't see any reason why you can't run a full 5k in a race setting.
Best of luck!!!! Best addiction EVER:D
If it all goes wrong just do another one the following week and you'll have learned a lot from the first one so won't make the same mistakes again!

average_runner

azzeretti wrote: »

What started out as a way for me to warm up (5-10 minute light treadmill jog) pre weight training has slowly, over the last 3-4 weeks, creped up to 30-40 minutes sessions. As a result I find that I am somewhat, unintentionally addicted. I have a few problems though; I'd like to start a Parkrun as at the moment I can almost make 5K (I had never run before, this is a big deal for me) but I am really concerned on how to pace myself. On the treadmill I can set the speed and I am confident that I am holding that pace. How does one do this on a track? What if I take off too fast and keel over after 10 minutes! What differences will I notice off a treadmill? That is, will a couple of inclines severely take away from my ability to finish the distance? What about impact? I have never run on a road or grass before, will I feel the difference coming from a treadmill to a track?

I can't help thinking I should just go and give it a bash but I'd feel pretty humiliated if I pulled up afer 2K with shin splints or burn out.

Just go out and enjoy the run, you won't be humiliated but you will have a big smile after the finish line!

libelula

Go for it!

What's the worst case scenario?
You blow up halfway through and have to jog/hobble back. Big deal. Happens the best. Then next time you do it better

Start out slow like the others have said and if you're feeling ok at 4k then run like the clappers!

Clearlier

azzeretti wrote: »

What started out as a way for me to warm up (5-10 minute light treadmill jog) pre weight training has slowly, over the last 3-4 weeks, creped up to 30-40 minutes sessions. As a result I find that I am somewhat, unintentionally addicted. I have a few problems though; I'd like to start a Parkrun as at the moment I can almost make 5K (I had never run before, this is a big deal for me) but I am really concerned on how to pace myself. On the treadmill I can set the speed and I am confident that I am holding that pace. How does one do this on a track? What if I take off too fast and keel over after 10 minutes! What differences will I notice off a treadmill? That is, will a couple of inclines severely take away from my ability to finish the distance? What about impact? I have never run on a road or grass before, will I feel the difference coming from a treadmill to a track?

I can't help thinking I should just go and give it a bash but I'd feel pretty humiliated if I pulled up afer 2K with shin splints or burn out.

Don't worry, you won't keel over, you'll just slow down. It might be worth looking for someone that's running at about the right pace for you. If you can, start slowly and finish fast. If you do go too fast and you need to walk for a minute then do.

Good luck!

gucci

Just to echo the above (if you needed any more encouragement!) Just go enjoy it and you will be fine. Parkrun is ideal for people of all sorts of age and ability.
You will see once you get there that you may be better than you think or worse than you think, but the important thing is you will enjoy it and it should be a good motivation to improve.

azzeretti

Thanks for the replies. I reckon I will just give it a lash. Maybe another week or two on the treadmill and then go for it.

If I survive, I will update!

RubyK

My advice is get off the treadmill and start running outside, from today. It's quite a different experience, but definitely for the better. Once you get a few runs outside and get used feel of roadrunning/grass/trail, you will gain a lot of confidence for the Parkrun. Just take the pace very easy, and enjoy it

annapr

I was where you are a couple of years ago... my recommendation is get outside before you try parkrun... the first time you run in the real world, it will feel different -- you'll have wind, weather, hills, etc. to negotiate. I was given two great pieces of advice when I started: 1) you can always run slower if it feels too hard and 2) the first 2k are the hardest.

And parkrun is a fantastic event for new runners -- supportive and welcoming and has runners of all ability. Nobody will judge you... and you will feel fantastic after it, even if you feel very slow. One of the great things about it is you can see your progress from week to week.

Best of luck with it! you'll soon leave the treadmill behind

Grueller

Just run. Never mind anybody else. We all started somewhere. Best advice I ever got whenI started racing was to knock off five seconds a mile if you are struggling. It doesn't sound a lot but by god does it make a difference to how you feel. Obviously five seconds is hard to gauge starting out but the principle is the same, slow a little to get the wind back if you are struggling. When you get the wind back the pace will go up a bit again naturally.

Enjoy the experience, I started three years ago and love every bit of it, except being injured at the moment.