Your first outdoor run should be shorter than your last indoor workout.

Yes, start slower than you think.

Indoor treadmills and ellipticals are forgiving. Pavement is not. The ground is harder, the weather changes, and you’re fighting wind resistance and uneven surfaces. Your indoor fitness is real, but it doesn’t map perfectly to outdoor running. Muscles and joints you forgot about will complain.

Cut your distance and pace by 30–50% for the first two weeks. That means if you were running 3 miles on the treadmill at a 9-minute pace, start with 1.5–2 miles at a 10-minute pace outdoors. See how you feel. If nothing hurts, add a little the next week.

Also: warm up properly. Dynamic stretches (leg swings, walking lunges) before you run, not static stretching. And check your shoes — indoor shoes might have worn tread that’s fine on a belt but slippery on wet pavement.

Better to feel underworked than sidelined.