Running outside after being a treadmiller...discouraging and embarrassing! (Read 2818 times)

I'm a very new runner. I do about 20-30 minutes on the treadmill when I get to the fitness center on campus, and so far I've felt pretty good about my progress, as marginal as it may be (I just joined RunningAhead, so my log is very skimpy). I've felt less winded, more confident in my abilities. However, I decided to run outside today, since the weather's been really brisk and beautiful, and I could hardly make it a half mile without feeling winded, completely discouraged and embarrassed. I felt like a fake--there were people walking on the path I was on and it was so humiliating to stop in front of them. It's one thing to switch up my pace on a treadmill, since I'm next to other people who are doing the same thing, but getting winded and stopping in front of people is another. I just want to be in shape! Ugh! Is that too much to ask? I don't know what the point of this post is. I guess I just need some encouragement or sympathy or a good pep talk. Thanks.

Don't get discouraged! You may have just went out at too fast a pace. I can understand having done the same thing myself. Being outside after running on a TM can get one excited, adrenaline kicks in, and bam: too fast. Don't sweat it and don't let it keep you from enjoying your run, whether inside or out.

You can run 20-30 minutes...that's more than a lot of people can claim! I think the transition from treadmill to street is hard for a lot of folks. Outside you have wind and inclines. Keep working at it, you'll get faster and be able to go further, I promise. In a couple of years you'll look back and think "damn, look how much I've accomplished!"

Just wanted to echo most of the comments. The treadmill can fool you a little bit. 0% incline is really not like running on flat ground. From running both indoors and outdoors, I've found that for my treadmill 2% is about the same as a flat surface. 0% on my treadmill is most definitely like running downhill. Don't get discouraged!

I also ran strictly on the treadmilll for quite a while. I switched to outside running last spring. I think the hardest part for me, like someone else mentioned, was my pace. It's easy to go too fast outside and wear yourself out quickly. Once you get comfortable pacing yourself, you'll love it. I only run on the treadmill now when I'm traveling and am stuck in a hotel in a part of town I'm not comfortable running in. I'd way rather run outside in the cold/rain than inside on the treadmill. As far as what other people are thinking, why would they possibly care how fast you are going? They are focused on their own workout and probably barely even notice you are there. When I run in a race, I admire the people who are at the end of the pack more than the front. It takes way more balls to get out there and run slow than to be the guy in the lead.

You had a bad run. It happens to every one. Keep at it. It will get better.

Welcome to RA Nina. Give yourself time, you'll see changes before you know it. I've found that going from the treadmill to outside is very different and your body has to adjust. Be patient and don't worry about what others think. You'll do fine. When I first got back into running I thought I would head out and easily do a mile run, I didn't make it a half mile before I realized that I had lots of work to do. My breathing was out of control, my legs felt heavy, I didn't feel like a runner at all. It took me a while, but I slowed down and gave my body time to get used to running again.

It's the adjustment that's the difficulty, not the outdoors. The few times I go to a treadmill, I'm running at least 30sec/km slower than I would be outdoors, sweating like you wouldn't believe, and can only go about 45 minutes max when my daily runs were more than that outside, and my long ones a little over 2 hours. And for me, the dreadmill on 0% is significantly harder going than outside. Good luck!