From treadmill to outdoors, Week 9

[SarahBash]

Week 9 has begun! In light of everything I’ve decided that running outdoors will be best for my final week with minimal interactions... With that being said, I’m a sweaty, tomato faced TREADMILL Runner and the thought of running outside terrified me. Every time I’ve tried to run outdoors in the past the wind has made it so hard to breathe and I always gave up... I told myself today this was the toxic ten talking and that I can just slow down so off I went...

Now I could lie and say it was joyful from start to finish but in all honesty I have to admit that it was one of the toughest runs so far - mentally because I didn’t have my trusted treadmill timer in front of me and wasn’t sure when Laura would countdown, as well as running past people on their strolls while I panted along. Physically, because for the first time I had to control my pace and not have the safety of it being set for me.

HOWEVER, I plodded along through the half way point and was just psyching myself up thinking right there must be 13 minutes to go, when Laura piped up “ten minutes now”.... Eventually I got to the final few minutes (in my head) and I couldn’t hide my genuine shock at 60 seconds to go letting out a YES!

Another benefit... I was far less tomato faced and hot due to the wind’s natural air conditioning 😉 I think I may finally leave the treadmill for good regardless of how everything turns out!

Happy running everyone and stay safe!! 🏃🏻‍♀️ 🏃‍♂️

[Powerhoopfan Graduate]

Well done, I much prefer outdoors than on a treadmill. Always feel like I’m still moving when I get off a treadmill! Unlike you, I still manage to get very tomato faced outdoors 🍅

[Oldgirlruns Graduate]

I’m a sweaty tomato faced outdoor runner SarahBash - welcome! I’m sure you’ll get used to it eventually - and the good thing is that when you pass people puffing and panting, they don’t know if you’ve run 1km or 10 so you can pretend it’s the latter! And there’s lots of people to greet as you go past which you can’t do on the treadmill. So lots of good things! Happy running!

[sTrongFuse Graduate]

I've never run on a treadmill, so I can't compare, but I think you just learn to adjust to the conditions until you stop thinking about it. I look at my graphs after a run and my pace is in a constant state of flux, but when I'm actually out there it always feels that I'm doing the same speed all time (although clearly I'm adjusting due to incline, puddles, wind, tree roots, mud etc. without even being aware of it).

Spring is a great time for running outdoors as you get to experience everything coming back to life.

[dieOR5k Graduate]

Good luck with outdoors. I found the same challenges when I transitioned. Had to find a beat to run to and still find myself running too fast. #embraceTheSnail 🐌