Beginner -- treadmill to 5K ??

In article said:

love to try a 5K, but I'm nervous. I've run a mile outside on the road, but I have only done 3
miles inside on the treadmill, and that was just this month for the first time. (The roads in my
town are very busy and have no sidewalks) My pace averages between 11 and 12 minutes on the
treadmill. There is a 5K race in my hometown on New Year's Day that I'm thinking of trying. What
can I expect in terms of transferring my treadmill workout to an actual outdoors race? In my

Fitness transfers.

You don't learn to pace yourself by running on the treadmill -- so you need to go outdoors to
learn this.

The treadmill does not provide variation in incline unless you explicitly tell it to, whereas the
road does.

The treadmill surface is reasonably "fast" -- faster than dirt road, but slower than pavement.

Quoted message said:

short experience, running on a road is much harder than running on a treadmill.

See above. Are you timing yourself/checking pace ? There's a good chance that you're running faster
on the road. You can set the pace on a treadmill to a speed you know you can handle, then switch to
"autopilot". Not so when running on the road -- you need to be able to maintain an appropriate pace.

Quoted message said:

A few months ago I tried a 1 mile Fun Run and finished at the end with a bunch of 5 year-olds. My
friends tell me "just do it, don't think". But I'm shy and nervous. Should I wait until I have
done more training? Am I rushing things?

Follow your friends advice.

But try to get some time running outdoors too, so that you learn to pace yourself.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

niatum said:

I am a beginning runner -- just started running about 7 months ago. When I started I could
only run about 60 seconds at a time. I am a 56 year-old female who was fairly sedentary before
this year.

Welcome. I'm 56 female also although I've been fairly active with hiking most of my life.

I would

Quoted message said:

love to try a 5K, but I'm nervous.

Go for it! Great way to start the New Year 🙂

I've run a mile outside on

Quoted message said:

the road, but I have only done 3 miles inside on the treadmill, and that was just this month for
the first time. (The roads in my town are very busy and have no sidewalks) My pace averages
between 11 and 12 minutes on the treadmill. There is a 5K race in my hometown on New Year's Day
that I'm thinking of trying. What can I expect in terms of transferring my treadmill workout to an
actual outdoors race?

People's experiences differ. I know Donovan finds the treadmill slower than outdoors. I find it
faster unless we kick in the hills (although my only recent experience has been for short segments
of circuit training), although my outdoor times include traffic light stops, snow, etc. and probably
aren't that accurate. Regardless, it will be a different feeling.

Three things will be different, most likely. 1. The surface will be harder and less even - both
hilly as well as surface bumps, holes, etc.
2. You'll have to pace yourself. 3. Weather / footing. Depending on where you are, you may be hotter
than inside air conditioned room or colder / cooler than heated room temperature and have snow /
ice on road. Since you didn't mention snow, I'm assuming you're some place without it.

Is there a park or some trails nearby that you could safely train on to get some outdoor experience
- at least for pacing and maybe something a little firmer and uneven than tread mill. Sometimes
early in the morning, esp. on holidays, the roads are almost empty. Depending upon how comfortable
you were with the 3 miles on treadmill (and how many times you've done it and frequency of running
in a week), you might want to consider a run / walk method for the actual race. Pounding on pavement
may provide more stress than you're used to, and taking a 30-sec to 1 min walk break about mid-way
may be helpful. But you may not need it if you've been comfortably running 3 mi a few times a week.
(you just indicated you'd done it for the 1st time this month)

If not, a couple thoughts for race day. Have fun! Try to maintain a conversational pace. Don't try
to hang with the bulk of the runners, as they will likely be going too fast for you.

In my

Quoted message said:

short experience, running on a road is much harder than running on a treadmill.

That's not surprising. I find trail running the most pleasant, followed by roads, then treadmill,
then water running. My speeds, however, are slowest on trails, then roads, then treadmill, and the
road surface is by far the hardest - unless snow covered. A big thing is learning to keep an even
pace or effort level if there's hills. When on treadmill think about how that pace feels to your
body and your breathing. Try to replicate that outdoors. Try maintaining a pace where you could talk
with someone running with you.

A few months ago I tried a 1 mile Fun Run and finished at

Quoted message said:

the end with a bunch of 5 year-olds.

But you finished. How many others didn't make it to the start line? (rhetorical)

My friends tell me "just do it,

Quoted message said:

don't think". But I'm shy and nervous. Should I wait until I have done more training? Am I rushing
things? Any suggestions or advice?

Listen to your friends! Just do it! and Enjoy it. Some people overthink things and won't do an event
until they're sure of finishing in the top x%. Others are more adventurous and train enough that
they're sure they can finish and enjoy the challenge of the training (I'm with this school of
thought and happily contribute to the tail end of the pack). Then know more about training for the
next event. You'll learn a lot by doing things.

Be sure to post a race report and let us know how you did 🙂

Enjoy!

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

My wife took up jogging in late April this year. She is 55. In late May she did her first 5 k (an
all women's race with 10,000 entrants) and enjoyed the goodie bag so much that she did another 5 k a
month later and then in late July two 10ks, two 8 ks and a 5 k in one week (the "Etape Bornholm", a
combined running and holiday experience that has to be tried to be believed). In October she did a
13.3 k, and tomorrow she's running the annual club handicap 5 k. In April she's aimning to do her
first ½ marathon (in Berlin). So there's no reason why you (or anyone) should be shy or nervous. A 5
k is often like a big party, and if you do manage to come last, well, guess who'll get the biggest
round of applause? It won't be mocking applause, either. It'll be respect.

Our club mainly trains on forest trails and then on the roads as the race season approaches. So I
understand your difficulties in finding running routes outdoors. How about driving out to a park and
running on the paths there occasionally? You'd better find somebody to run with you, though ...

Otherwise, set your treadmile incline to 1 or 2; or if your treadmill is programmable, choose a
session that focusses on your heart rate (you'll need a chest belt transmitter for this) once a
week. Donovan will be able to explain the do's and don'ts of this better than I can (come on, D!).
You can play arounds with the treadmill to make it less boring over longer distances; start by doing
a mile slowly and then two miles a bit faster, finishing with another slow mile, for example.

Good luck! Jonathan

"niatum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am a beginning runner -- just started running about 7 months ago. When I started I could only
run about 60 seconds at a time. I am a 56 year-old female who was fairly sedentary before this
year. I would love to try a 5K, but I'm nervous. I've run a mile outside on the road, but I have
only done 3 miles inside on the treadmill, and that was just this month for the first time. (The
roads in my town are very busy and have no sidewalks) My pace averages between 11 and 12 minutes
on the treadmill. There is a 5K race in my hometown on New Year's Day that I'm thinking of trying.
What can I expect in terms of transferring my treadmill workout to an actual outdoors race? In my
short experience, running on a road is much harder than running on a treadmill. A few months ago I
tried a 1 mile Fun Run and finished at the end with a bunch of 5 year-olds. My friends tell me
"just do it, don't think". But I'm shy and nervous. Should I wait until I have done more training?
Am I rushing things? Any suggestions or advice? Thanks !!

Jonathan Sydenham wrote:

A 5 k is often like a big party, and if you do manage to come last,

Quoted message said:

well, guess who'll get the biggest round of applause? It won't be mocking applause, either. It'll
be respect.

I'd 2nd these party comments. All the races I've been to - either volunteering, watching, or running
- the last few finishers get at least as much applause as some of the faster ones. For many people,
it's their first race and a very encouraging environment.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Donovan Rebbechi <[email hidden]> wrote in message

When it comes to dainty treadmill running, you're taking advice from the daintyest. Finally, a
subject he IS qualified to answer.

In article said:

Otherwise, set your treadmile incline to 1 or 2; or if your treadmill is programmable, choose a
session that focusses on your heart rate (you'll need a chest belt transmitter for this) once a
week. Donovan will be able to explain the do's and don'ts of this better than I can (come on, D!).

Sorry, not familiar with this. I just bring my own heart rate monitor to the gym. Which works for
me, because I'm just interested in *monitoring* my heart rate, I don't use heart rate to adjust
treadmill speed (this is similar to an approach "Roger 2k" used for racing -- using the HRM for data
collection / analysis but not for pacing).

Quoted message said:

You can play arounds with the treadmill to make it less boring over longer distances; start by
doing a mile slowly and then two miles a bit faster, finishing with another slow mile, for
example.

One thing I've found good for variety is to experiment with the hill programs. But these are very
challenging, best to start at an easy level of difficulty (the level usually determines how steep
the hills are)

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

"niatum" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I am a beginning runner -- just started running about 7 months ago. When I started I could only
run about 60 seconds at a time. I am a 56 year-old female who was fairly sedentary before this
year. I would love to try a 5K, but I'm nervous. I've run a mile outside on the road, but I have
only done 3 miles inside on the treadmill, and that was just this month for the first time. (The
roads in my town are very busy and have no sidewalks) My pace averages between 11 and 12 minutes
on the treadmill. There is a 5K race in my hometown on New Year's Day that I'm thinking of trying.
What can I expect in terms of transferring my treadmill workout to an actual outdoors race? In my
short experience, running on a road is much harder than running on a treadmill. A few months ago I
tried a 1 mile Fun Run and finished at the end with a bunch of 5 year-olds. My friends tell me
"just do it, don't think". But I'm shy and nervous. Should I wait until I have done more training?
Am I rushing things? Any suggestions or advice? Thanks !!

Definitely do it!

But I'd be prepared for possibly three things that may happen...
(1) You may have some equilibrium issues if the majority of your running has been on the 'mill. That
is, your mind may not be used to the actual motion of your body with respect to your
surroundings. In the past I've experienced this quite often when returning outdoors after
extended lengths of 'mill running. Dizzying and annoying.
(2) Your pacing may be considerably different (faster or slower) than on the 'mill. This could be
due to a poorly calibrated 'mill or I've found that I would struggle to maintain the 'mill's
place, whereas on the road, it was just as easy to slow down.
(3) You may find yourself using some different (and possibly un-trained) muscle groups than when
you're running on the 'mill. I don't know the science behind this, but in the past I've always
found the return outdoors after extended lengths on the 'mill to utilize different muscles
(especially my calves).

Of course, now I run outdoors year 'round and no longer use the 'mill.

Perdy.

Your pace will be much slower on the road than on a treadmill. So what! Go out there and run/walk
that 5K. It is a great experience!!! The crowds are fun and full of energy. Take your time, and
don't injur anything and have fun. jojo

In article said:

(3) You may find yourself using some different (and possibly un-trained) muscle groups than when
you're running on the 'mill. I don't know the science behind this, but in the past I've always
found the return outdoors after extended lengths on the 'mill to utilize different muscles
(especially my calves).

The "science" behind it is that you use your calves when you run uphill. To make these work on the
treadmill, you need to use the incline. Running up a 10% grade on the treadmill should be more than
sufficient (-; You can actually get very good hill workouts out of a treadmill.

Another aspect to it is that if you're training on an unstable surface (snow, rough trails, grass),
you will probably work some of your stabilisers more than you would on a more even surface (like
pavement, track, treadmill or dirt road)

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

"Donovan Rebbechi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Perdy Tired

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(3) You may find yourself using some different (and possibly un-trained) muscle groups than when
you're running on the 'mill. I don't know the science behind this, but in the past I've
always found the return

outdoors

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

after extended lengths on the 'mill to utilize different muscles

(especially

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my calves).

The "science" behind it is that you use your calves when you run uphill.

To

Quoted message said:

make these work on the treadmill, you need to use the incline. Running up

a 10%

Quoted message said:

grade on the treadmill should be more than sufficient (-; You can actually

get

Quoted message said:

very good hill workouts out of a treadmill.

Another aspect to it is that if you're training on an unstable surface

(snow,

Quoted message said:

rough trails, grass), you will probably work some of your stabilisers more

than

Quoted message said:

you would on a more even surface (like pavement, track, treadmill or dirt

road)

I'm not sure I buy the incline explanation regarding the calves, since I used the incline feature on
my treadmill. I would think it was more of a fact that the 'mill didn't have a decline feature? The
stabilizer portion of your explanation makes perfect sense though. I have not encountered too many
stones, roots, curbs, etc. while running on the 'mill! ;-)

Perdy.

Quoted message said:

Your pace will be much slower on the road than on a treadmill.>So what! Go out there and run/walk
that 5K. It is a great experience!!! The crowds are fun and full of energy.>Take your

time, and don't injur anything and have fun.

Well said. Most times, there's some of all types entered (old ladies, tykes, middle-age weekend
warriors, kick-ass XC runners, maybe even a few elites). As a first-timer you may want to try to
line up at the start with other runners who will be at or about your intended pace. That way you
won't feel like you're in the way as folks are going around you, and conversely, you won't find
others to be in your way.

D said:

Sorry, not familiar with this. I just bring my own heart rate monitor to the gym. Which works for
me, because I'm just interested in *monitoring* my heart rate, I don't use heart rate to adjust
treadmill speed (this is similar to an approach "Roger 2k" used for racing -- using the HRM for

data

Quoted message said:

collection / analysis but not for pacing).

You can usually find a programme which allows you to enter the max and min HRs you want to apply for
the session, the max speed you want to do, and the distance or time you want to run for. The
treadmill will take you up to your pre-.set max by gradually increasing the speed (never exceeding
your cosen max) and incline. Then it takes you down again and if you're in average shape it tells
you "Great recovery!" as your HR drops to your chosen minimum. Next -- if the time/distance you've
chosen allows it -- it starts bumping you up again, etc. etc. It's a very controlled sort of
interval session, a bit like the hills programs but with the safety valve of your pre-set max HR. J

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement!! I have one last question before I sign the application
for the 5K. I've read, or heard, that I'm supposed to stay to one side of the road, so the faster
runners can pass me easily. Does it make a difference if I stay to the left or to the right?
Thanks!! Nia

In article said:

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement!! I have one last question before I sign the application
for the 5K. I've read, or heard, that I'm supposed to stay to one side of the road, so the faster
runners can pass me easily. Does it make a difference if I stay to the left or to the right?

I've never heard of this.

What you're really supposed to do is line up in order of pace (so if you're a slower runner, line up
near the back). Simply put, if you're not going to finish in the top 100, don't liine up in the top
100. That way, the faster runners never have to pass you (since they start in front of you) As one
of the "faster runners", I don't really care what side of the road the 10 minute milers use, but
they should not be lining up in front of me at the start.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

niatum said:

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement!! I have one last question before I sign the application
for the 5K. I've read, or heard, that I'm supposed to stay to one side of the road, so the faster
runners can pass me easily. Does it make a difference if I stay to the left or to the right?
Thanks!! Nia

I'm a slow runner also. What I do is line up at the back - as far back as I can get without fighting
the other slow runners for the absolute back (this has happened). Depending upon how crowded your
event may be - some have 1000s, some have 30 or fewer runners - and road / trail width, I hang back
for a little bit until congestion has thinnned, then methodically run *my* race without worry about
others. Then start passing the people that went out too fast. I'll have to admit to enjoying this,
esp. on the uphills 🙂

FWIW, I don't run with other people enough to avoid getting sucked into their pace when I run
events. That could be an issue for you also if you run mostly on treadmill, but if you can find
someone with similar pace expectations (keep in mind that either of your expectations may be slower
or faster than reality), you might be able to run near them and benefit from their experience at
pacing. Chatting with someone during a race can also make sure you keep the proverbial
"conversational" pace. If you're a more sociable person than I, then you may not want to put quite
as much effort into avoiding congestion as I do 😉 But the one race where I feel I didn't run as
well as I could have was the one where I got sucked into another's pace. My best race I hung waaay
back (downhill start). OTOH, I've only run a couple races so far and never a 5k road race so not
sure how this works there or if it's an issue.

At least this has worked in my races where we have about 200 runners on trails. If there's a lot of
walkers, this wouldn't work since you'd likely have walkers behind you - except for the race walkers
that will likely be faster. If there's an uphill start, the crowd will spread rapidly. Downhill
starts tend to go out more congested.

I'm not sure about road protocols since I run trails, but I would tend to stay to right and have
anybody that passes pass on left. But that's just me.

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! Good luck. Look forward to your race report.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Donovan Rebbechi <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I've never heard of this.

of being a dainty treadmill jogger, he won't steer you wrong. Just ignore his advice to dress like
Liberace for the race, only he does that.

"Dot" <dot.h@#att.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

FWIW, I don't run with other people enough to avoid getting sucked into their pace when I run
events. That could be an issue for you also if you run mostly on treadmill, but if you can find
someone with similar pace expectations (keep in mind that either of your expectations may be
slower or faster than reality), you might be able to run near them and benefit from their
experience at pacing. Chatting with someone during a race can also make sure you keep the
proverbial "conversational" pace. If you're a more sociable person than I, then you may not want
to put quite as much effort into avoiding congestion as I do 😉 But the one race where I feel I
didn't run as well as I could have was the one where I got sucked into another's pace. My best
race I hung waaay back (downhill start). OTOH, I've only run a couple races so far and never a 5k
road race so not sure how this works there or if it's an issue.

I've only run a couple of races (meeting my goal both times of not finishing last), but I found it
very helpful to find a person or group with similar paces and goals. It's possible to pick someone
who's too fast, too slow, too erractic--and thus fail to run run your "best" race, but even so, I
think finding a buddy or a small group makes that first race or two a more memorable experience. And
when you're at the stage when your goals consist of (a) finishing, and maybe (b) not finishing last,
running a memorable race may be more important than running an optimal race. And I say this (oddly
enough) as someone who--even during club training runs--in general prefers to run alone.

DrLith wrote: And when you're at the stage when your goals consist

Quoted message said:

of (a) finishing, and maybe (b) not finishing last, running a memorable race may be more important
than running an optimal race.

Right. And this is the point of view I made my statements from - finishing in one piece 🙂 Although
my goal in last one was to not walk - pretty basic goals. I *did* say I was slow 😉

The ones where I ran alone, I was fairly even paced (no distractions) and finished in good shape,
little pain, etc. The one where I was afraid of getting left behind and tried to keep up, I ached
for 3 days, had stitches, walked where I probably didn't need to, etc. (but I will get my revenge on
that course some day) And this was *not* my first race.

My races are generally less than 200 people (30 on the 1st one), so the tail of the pack may only
have a few people widely spread. My easy trail race pace to date is about 12 min/mile. In larger
races where there's more people, there's likely to be more people near the back also to pace with,
so that may work in this case if it's a large race.

What's also a possibility is that there may be others who are capable of running faster, but may
hang back and help some newer ones pace so they don't burn out. Somebody may decide they'd rather
chat and run with somebody new than to get their best time.

There's also the reality that what one plans to do in one's first race doesn't always happen, so
just get out and run and insert walking breaks as or if needed and enjoy 🙂

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope