Apple Watch struggles to play Spotify on my AirPods when out running

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 (Wi-Fi only) and a pair of AirPods.

when I go out for a run, I listen to a play list that I’ve downloaded to the watch and I leave my phone at home. I also use the workout feature to record my run.

for about the first five minutes of the run my music is heavily restored. Basically constantly stopping and starting where it’s virtually unlistenable. After five minutes or so it sorts itself out.

I have the latest software on all devices. I’ve rebooted the watch several times and I’ve paired and unpaired my AirPods.

Is there anything else I can do? It just feels as though the AirPods are struggling to connect and eventually they manage to and maybe it’s the workout feature that’s effecting it. As when I listen at home not using workout, it works fine.