Started week 8 today, managed the 28 minutes on treadmill and had to laugh when my wife (who was at the gym with me) said she had looked at me running and thought I wasn’t showing any signs of stress.....I put it down to her leaving her specs in her locker 😃
Really enjoying this programme, but looking for recommendations of how to manage the switch from treadmill running to outside, a colleague at work is talking about going to some parkruns in the new year when the weather is nicer. I’m trying to lose weight and am a bit self-conscious so am happy with the anonymity of the treadmill for now but just wondered if anyone had any tips?
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FawnDoo
Graduate
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Thanks! I do live in a rural area so I’ll look into any existing local runs....there’s a nice park not far from me with a loch, so might give that a go.
I suggest you go and watch a parkrun, maybe volunteer at one, and then you’ll see that there’s all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities out there on a Saturday morning... you’ll also see the support that is given. It really is an amazing experience.
Transition can be difficult, but slow and steady is the answer. Unless you have a running track handy, grass can be a good place to start as it’s softer than the pavement. Grass does sap energy though, so I wouldn’t get upset if you can’t run as far or as long at first. Try and keep it flat until you’re used to driving the pace yourself.
I never managed to transition to treadmill, so kudos for running 28 minutes on one.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about parkruns, part of what I like is that sense that it’s not just for hardcore runners. I’m hoping to graduate before Christmas (fingers crossed) and will try to transition to running outside before trying the parkrun. Thanks so much for getting back to me!
Parkruns are for everyone - runners, joggers, run-walk and walkers!. It is a great club - you against the clock - and none one is competitive down the ranks!. I have recently completed my 100th parkrun and a lot of those were walking only! Highly recommended and a good start to a Saturday. Look for one near you with lots of participants and check the times of the slowest under "results". You will be surprised! Join the fun - you will not be sorry .
PS I am 60 with a half-knee replacement so not a fast athlete!
I noticed a message on this forum a while ago - I’m sorry that I can’t remember whose post it was - from someone who had had similar concerns about running out of doors. They had realised that no one actually notices people who are running. One becomes just another anonymous runner. For that person that realisation had helped them throw off the self- consciousness and just get out and enjoy running in the great outdoors!
You’re right, of course - I know intellectually that no-one will spare me a second glance, but there’s still that voice in my head saying the opposite!
Folk are too busy with their own lives to notice us.. and if they do.. it is usually because they are jealous... or they are runners who wish they were running too
You are doing wonderfully.. maybe head out and take a look at the wide world..
I would not use a Park run as my debut if I was self conscious... get out there a bit first
Thank you! I’m hoping to graduate before Christmas and will try to get outside and do some running before trying a parkrun, see if I can build myself up a bit.
The thing is, many of the folk on here felt like this..but very soon realised that folk are to busy getting on with things to notice.. and lots of folk are very supportive.
I got to know loads of earl morning folk who waved to me on my way to the fields.. and the older schoolchildren if I had a late start on their way to school as I was on my way home...all wave and smile as I ran past.
Maybe choose your route carefully for your first run... the transition to outside is tricky. So maybe a flattish area, even the park... take it gently and take everything around you in... it is wonderful and the time will go so quickly. If you check out some of my past posts you will see what I mean...
if you have time this one is from last year, when I was at our holiday home on the Coast...
i need tips to i have done allmy c25k and up to week 3 on 10k plan still on tredmill but realy need to get out as i have a 10k run in may great manchester run for charity
Some people start running in the dark because they're self conscious. I find Sunday afternoon in the park the worst - too many people, buggies and wandering dogs. The best - running through the university grounds at 8am at the weekend, because nobody's up! So think time and place and after a couple of runs you won't be self conscious anyway!
Hi FawnDoo, It's normal to be self-conscious. If you can find the strength, it is far better running outside than inside. The air is fresher and the body experiences real running which is more rewarding than on a treadmill. About the self-conscious thing, please ask yourself if it would bother you if someone you don't know looked at you strangely, or if it is only somebody you know that would bother you? If the former, then drive a few miles up the road to visit a neighbourhood where nobody knows you. If the latter, as I taught my children once when they were younger, if you psych yourself up to do something strange, and actually do it, you realize it was much easier than you thought - a bit like getting ready for couch25k. So I lay down on the tiled floor in the Trafford Centre some years ago just to prove to the kids that there was no embarrassment. To my dismay, nobody actually stopped to ask if I were OK. That says a lot about how people do or don't care in public, and how much they don't see as they go about their very busy lives regardless of what is happening right next to them.
I agree with all the above, nobody notices you outside! Do t be demoralised if running outside it harder than the treadmill at first as there are more ups and downs than you think or can replicate on a treadmill. I used to be a treadmill fan but struggle on the longer runs as I find it burning, outside I am for targets, the next hedgeline, the next farm etc and the run goes more quickly. Good luck. Nobody will care what you look like, promise
I agree with all of the above. I'm just about to start c25k w8 and have run outside in the evenings, with the occasional day, for each run. I've noticed, like others, that people totally ignore you. Sometimes even get in the way because they're in their world and don't even acknowledge you're there.
I was so concerned about how I looked when I first went out for a run but quickly realized that no-one cares and it was all in my head.
Yeah, I know in my head I’m making more of it than it will be in reality but it’s just convincing myself of that! I’m really enjoying the plan and being able to do that bit more each week, so glad I started on it.
I was exactly the same as you, ran on a treadmill at home so no one could see me. I started running outside and found it much harder at first because the treadmill isnt pulling you along, so you may find that but the stamina you’ve built up soon kicks in.
I joined a new running group which had just started and really helped me because we were all feeling the same, so that may be an option? You’re even more anonymous in a group!
I’ve done maybe 8 weeks with them before doing my first parkrun yesterday which was truly amazing and I’d recommend it to anyone once you know you are up to the feeling of running outside.
A few people here have said that the park runs are a good experience so once I’ve graduated (fingers crossed) I’ll start to look at those and just build myself up to it in the new year.....always good to have something for the resolutions!
I never started with a threadmill or in gym as i prefer being outside however i was conscious like you about how unfit i was and didnt want to be seen. We have a tow path near by but the start of it is always full of runners and cyclists so i picked a part thst no one really went to and made goals one being s forest that is 2.5 miles out which i just reached yesterday. Here's the thing the very first day out a man stopped he was delivering furniture to a house on the tow path and said to me keep going i started running with thr couch to 5k and its so worth how hard it feels now. Since that first day ive come to recognise regular cyclists and those dreaded fit runners but heres the thing its like a little community everyone giving a smile or a thumbs up and a quick hello. Yesterday when i reached my distance goal thst i had set in my very first run i burst out crying when i got back to the car. One of the cyclists that i see out each day stopped because he thought i was injured and i said no and explained he did a victory punch in the year and let out a little yell of excitment and said that hes noticed how different i am now and said well done. So my point is do not worry anyome you see out and about all startes off just like us and they are all so veey supportive. Being outdoors is lovely feeling the breeze in your face and sometimes even the rain to cool you down. But well done on reaching so far in the programme and once outside you'll love it.
Thank you! I know once I’ve done it it’ll be fine, and I’m making more of it in my head than it will be in reality, but I’ll keep on just now with the treadmill until graduation, that’s enough of a challenge for now! 😃
I understand about the self consciousness. I’m a graduate but I still prefer to run when it’s dark. I enjoy the quiet, the stars, the moon. I have run around 9.00am and the people i see provide entertainment but I prefer running at the crack of dawn because 1.) it’s done for the day and I don’t have time to talk myself out of it, and 2.) the darkness is a shield.
Thank you! I’m enjoying being able to do the run and I know I’m making more of it in my head than it will be in reality, but I really appreciate the reply - good to know it’s not just me who had that self consciousness to deal with!
I have to admit, whilst I completed the whole course outside, I tended to run when it was dark, so as not to share my inner lobster. I did however complete a parkrun to mark my graduation and my only distinction was to beat the tail runner by 1 second. I took 50 minutes and was cheered across the line by my fellow C25K Graduation runners, I decided then that if others perceive me as slow or fat, that's on them, I don't care. I got of my behind and I am making a difference to me 1 run at a time. I am still running 3 times a week and I am being a parkrun tourist in 2 weeks time. Give the outdoors a chance, most people that I meet when I am out now, either ignore me or give me words of encouragement.
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