Outoor running kicked my butt!!

Okay so I've been active for the past few years, but really got back into it back in January. Since then I've been hitting the gym five times a week usually for about an hour. Twice a week I do full body strength training too. My average heart rate for my hour at the gym is usually 155 but I cross train on different equipment so I get it up to about 175 usually. My hour is something like this,

treadmill walk on steep incline for 20 minutes (average hr: 135, peak: 165),

eliptical with significant resistance 20 minutes (average hr: 155, peak: 180), 

stationary bike 20 minutes 90watts(average hr: 155, peak:180)

stair master 70 steps per minute 20 minutes(average hr:165, peak:185) then I cool down and stretch. 

I've been busy so the last two days I went for a run by my house instead of going to the gym. OMG, I though my cardiovascular system was awesome considering during my gym work outs I'm never extremely winded and even when my heart rate peaks I feel as though I can catch my breath. 

I started running at an average pace and not even a 1/2 mile goes by and I can't control my breathing, I'm cramping, my heart rate is at 177. So I walk and catch my breath with happens relatively quickly but once I started running again I didn't make it very long. Is this normal? Is running just that hard? I thought I was challenging myself at the gym but I think this is far more challenging. Any words of advice or similar experiences?

This is the exact reason why I don't run on a "dreadmill". You don't get the varying inclines/declines. You don't get the wind resistance from moving your body thru the air. You don't have to contend with head winds like I do since I live near the ocean. I've found that the treadmill gave me a false sense of my own fitness and when I transitioned away from it I never looked back.

Yea I've never even been a runner treadmill or outdoors and going from nothing to 2 outdoor miles is so hard!

Original Post by jturnerx:

This is the exact reason why I don't run on a "dreadmill". You don't get the varying inclines/declines. You don't get the wind resistance from moving your body thru the air. You don't have to contend with head winds...

...and you don't have to learn to pace yourself, either.

plus, treadmills are boring.  i'll take the woods, the seawall, the beach, even the street.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

...and you don't have to learn to pace yourself, either.

plus, treadmills are boring.  i'll take the woods, the seawall, the beach, even the street.

Seriously. I'm like the mailman, rain or shine I'm out there. I wear contact lenses only infrequently, like when I go snowboarding and wear goggles, but this one time it was raining so hard I had to put on some daily wears just so I could see where I was going on my run. And man, do clothes and shoes get really heavy when they get soaking wet. I had friends in from out of town staying with me when I went on this run and they were like, "wtf are you doing?" lol

hee.  i have waterproof trail runners, which are great, except that when the puddles are deeper than the shoes, they turn into little ponds on my feet ;)

yeah, I am experiencing the same thing right now. I am a single working mom and don't have time or money for a gym so I have a cheap piece o crap treadmill in my living room I found on Craigslist. I got to the point where I could run 5 miles without stopping and I felt like a total badass....until I went running outside. Jeezopete! Completely different ballgame! So my solution is to get outside whenever I can, but if I can't get out for some reason, I just make sure to alternate sprints on the treadmill. Otherwise I don't feel like I'm doing anything at all! I wanna be dripping sweat, and sprints are the only way for me to get there on the treadmill. And eventually, I'll be able to run 5 miles outside too (one day which seems very far away).