Most people spend winter exercising indoors, so it’s pretty challenging to make the transition between winter and spring workouts—especially when it comes to running. Running outdoors on a regular basis is a different beast, and if you’re thinking of going back to it this spring, here are three tips that will help you make a smooth transition.
Take It Easy
Don’t expect your outdoor runs to go smoothly right away. It will take some time to get used to a new environment after months of running on a treadmill because you’ll have to adapt to new conditions that you can’t control.
Pace Yourself
Running on a treadmill is much easier than running outside and you shouldn’t push yourself too hard to reach the same results. You’ll need to slow your pace and increase it gradually as you get used to running outdoors, but give yourself some time to get used to this transition.
Baby Steps
You don’t have to switch to outdoor workouts 100% once spring is here—you can mix outdoor and treadmill running in the beginning. You should also consider increasing your mileage gradually to avoid overuse injury because it will take time before you can cover long distances.
