Treadmill gives a false sense of achievement if you're thinking of completing Outside! Like going backwards 2 weeks :(((

[west4]

Okay so I thought I was doing okay - getting through the program on the treadmill I got to week 6 and was getting through it. But I was doing it on the treadmill in the gym. Then I thought I'd try a run outside and it was SO much harder. Feels like I've stepped backwards at least 2 weeks. Tougher on the legs. Dry mouth, and nearly a heart attack. Feels like the only way to carry on it to run at about half the speed I've been doing in the gym. Anyone else experienced this? Cough, splutter, wheeze, ache...

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

It is bound to be tougher outside than on the dreadmill and I think everybody finds their first runs outdoors to be tough. Don't be hard on yourself.....you were probably not running at half the speed, but you are having to set the pace and that is tough for all runners. I have only used a mill for gait analysis and it wasn't like any running I had ever done before....I hated it.

Well done on your progress.

[Pigivi]

That is so true... - it is far too easy to run on a treadmill.

I usually run outdoors - unless the weather is really so terrible that it's not wise (like today, very heavy rain and puddles so big that they hide the potholes, which for accident prone me means that I better not run in that weather)

Which meant that today - I gave the dreadmill a go... i really don't like it and I gave up after the longest 24 minutes of my whole life!

So easy it is indeed as proven by the fact that I ran at my best pace ever for those 24 minutes - but for me it is really a last resort!

[coryluscontorta Graduate]

I found the opposite! Started C25K by road running, then when the nights shortened, went to the gym. I hated it with an absolute passion, and couldn't complete my runs at all. I found it so boring, I missed the scenery and the wind in my face and mostly struggled with the absolutely consistent speed the dreadmill forces on you.

I guess it's diffrent strokes an all that. Do what feels good to you, and you will get there by hook or by crook. Keep going, forge on!

[Hidden]

Surely it doesn't matter if you run at half the speed you have been doing in the gym as long as you run for the specified amount of time. Don't be so hard on yourself, give it another go but go very, very, slowly. I'm sure you'll be fine, its just a matter of adjusting.

[rmnsuk Graduate]

I did almost all of c25k in the gym. It's pretty boring for long runs.

My first outside run was at parkrun to graduate and although I completed it I found that I messed up the pace big time. I now do intervals/hills in the gym once or twice a week and I know I run faster outside, and for me that makes the difference. If it's any consolation I got used to running outside very quickly, within 2-3 runs. Keep at it and you'll be doing week 7 outside and loving it.

[Ugifer]

I have heard that you need to set the gradient to 1-2% on the 'mill to be equivalent to running outside.

Personally, I had been running for a year before I joined the gym and I absolutely can't stand the treadmill. I hate not having the control over how fast you run and I found it was really hard on my ankles. Just what you're used to I think.

[Joh2020 Graduate]

I had the same on my 1st outdoor run after completing C25K on the treadmill, it felt so much harder. However, someone on the forum suggested slowing it right down & they were right. Daft as it sounds I think you have to put in more effort on the treadmill.

Have you monitored your time/distance when running outside? I get nowhere near 5k on a treadmill but I can do it outside in 34 mins quite comfortably. It feels like I'm running slower outside but it turns out I'm not!

Good luck!

[Hidden]

Just run slower. You only need to run fast enough to get your heart rate slightly raised, and not so fast you couldn't chat to someone running alongside you. As long as you're doing this you're running fine. It will be worth getting used to running outside, much better scenery than in the gym

[west4]

Thanks for the encouraging replies. I still feel like I've stepped backwards - but running slower is obviously the way to go! Best Simon