Well today I went out and ran my 5K on the street and I am so bummed with my time and stamina. I had been doing my 5K in @40 minutes on the treadmill.

Decided in preparation of the 5K coming up (April 11) I should start running for real on the street and it sucked!!! I couldn't even run 5 minutes before getting winded and I won't even tell you how high my heart rate got. I finished in 43:51 (much of it walked) and it did not feel good.

At this point I will not be running in the upcoming 5K (may walk) and thinking I should start C25K again running on the street.

For those that run do you find that big of a different between the treadmill and street? I live in a VERY flat area.

There is this recent thread:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167076

It would seem your experience is mirrored by the experience of others. I would personally rather stab a fork in my eye than do any significant mileage on a treadmill, so I would say treadmill running is more difficult for me....so boring!!! I would much rather run outside.

I've only run outside, but have heard people say it is a big difference. The treadmill gives some cushioning and assistance that you don't have outside.

Ah hah - found the thread I was thinking about. I read it last week when I was trying to decide if I wanted to buy a treadmill...
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...ight=treadmill

I'm an outdoors runner all the way! But pavement is hard and treadmills go nowhere quick. SO, I opt for trails. Local parks often have trails or loops that aren't to strenuous in hills... but man, hills will give you the butt of a goddess and the legs of a model.

I live in a flat area too, and usually do my outside running at the track for safety reasons, if I'm not on a treadmill. Both surfaces have their pros and cons. Don't give up on running your 5K in April. So what if you walk part of it? At least attempt to run it. If you start running outside now, you'll be amazed at how fast you can adjust to the difference. I think within the first 4 days that I ran at the track I saw a huge difference in my time.

I'm with Reddalice, I'm a trail-runner (I live at the bottom of a mountain), it's way easier than road-running, mostly because you're concentrating on looking where you're going so you don't snap a limb, and before you know it, you're done, lol. But, re: the treadmill, yes, running outside is definitely harder, maybe because there's alot of extra compensation in the form of side-stepping or hopping over things etc. (i.e. core-work) that's involved that isn't a factor on the treadmill, along with the fact that the treadmill "helps" you along, incline or no incline. Maybe try slowing down a little outside, focus your breathing and get a "pace" going, it's really great once you get used to it.

My first "REAL" run outdoors was yesterday. I would only do it on the trail though. It took some adjusting but I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! IT was awesome. Itf felt great. I know I won't be out there for every run but this spring and summer will defintitely include the trail a portioon of every week!

Thanks everyone, I feel better today. Yesterday I was ready to give up running all together I felt so defeated.

I am going out of town for a couple days but have decided when I get back I will start the C25K on the road. Someone had asked me about the wind and it was a factor; there were a couple times that the bite took my breath away so I'm sure that didn't help my lungs nor did the exhaust of the cars.

I'm going to go check out that other thread now.... thanks again for your support.

Run facing traffic. Less exhaust.

I joined a gym last year and I must say that as a street walker I did not like the treadmill at all!!

I live in the city so there are areas will a lot of hills and some areas you can find are pretty flat. I like the hilly areas for my walking most times, it's easier on the knees and 'tougher' on the gut! So that's two pluses!

Yes, until about 5 years ago, ,most of my life was spent walking or taking public transportation (and of course, public trans requires much walking). So I'm a street walker and still enjoy walking, though I've been spoiled by my car and living in a bad neightborhood that I cannot walk in, I have to drive to an area I can walk in now. I'm waiting for the weather to change so I can do that.

But anyway, I love walking and can't wait to start up again, but I don't like treadmills.

I love walking the street and being outside, as it is a stress reliever for me. I live in a shaded neighborhood and just enjoying the sights and sounds. When we vacationed in the mountains, it was wonderful to just go out and hit the trails. Now, I am NOT opposed to treadmills, as I can jog on there without hurting my feet or ankels. Jogging on the street tends to do that because of the harder surface.