DW Runners

So I walked a 5K yesterday. 56:28, and too nearly last (out of about two hundred registrants, 139 of whom were walking) for the comfort of my pride. In an effort to salvage said pride, I picked up a book for beginning runners at the library (authored by the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia, so I figure they know what they're talking about) that has a thirteen-week program, three sessions a week of run X minutes walk Y minutes repeat Z times (and the final session is run a 10K). I'm planning to start that Tuesday. Or maybe Saturday. (Y'know. Once I'm over the ow ow ow from doing too much in the 5K and without stretching properly first. I'm not sure what I was trying to prove but I don't think I proved it.)

My question is, should I run around the neighborhood or should I run on the treadmill at the neighborhood gym? It'll be easier to track time and distance on the treadmill, and walking the three blocks to and from will serve as a warm-up and cool-down, but the scenery is...not exactly scenic. Not that my neighborhood is a particularly pretty one, but at least the view changes as I move, you know? And I'm not sure which will bug me worse, repeatedly pressing a button to change the treadmill speed (I don't know if there's a way to change the speed on these treadmills other than by increments of 0.1 mph) or repeatedly changing and resetting the timer app on my tablet.

So treadmill sounds better at first blush, but I'm wondering if there are other reasons to prefer sidewalks to treadmills.

(Wish me luck, y'all, I'ma need it if I'm actually going to get and stick with the program this time...)

So, um, after I pretty much said I wouldn't be running any races ever again only 4 days ago, I... sort of got sucked into another one of those sorta-bets and I'll be doing a 10K at the end of October.

Oh dear...

After some research, I have devised a rough training plan. If anyone wanted to chime in with some experience, I'd be grateful.

( Training plan )