Slow runners - just how slow do you go?

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  • msg621
    msg621 Posts: 1 Member
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    I just completed my first half marathon in East Hampton, NY training with Team In Training for the Leukemia & Lymphomia Society and finished in under 3 hours after training for almost 6 months. 2.58.59 - that last 1/2 mile was VERY challenging. Since that race I've taken a break and now it's harder than ever to get back into the swing of things again . . . I average between a 13-4 minute mile on an average day when I was training.

    Now that I've stopped, I feel sluggish and know that if I got back into the routine of walking fast/run-walking I would start to drop some weight. So I'm ratting on myself out loud so I get a boost of mind energy to get back in the game.

    Slow and steady wins the race and success starts with the first step. ok That's my mantra this week.

    p.s. I agree with Jeff Galloway's method too!
  • callikia
    callikia Posts: 226 Member
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    I average a 14-15 minute mile. And, no, I'm not walking through any of that (I'm one of those people who can't take walk breaks or I can't get running again). Of course, I'm a semi-new runner. Ran my first ever mile straight last year. By the end of the year I'd hit the 5 miles run straight point. Keep in mind I'm also just over 300 pound with some pretty serious back and hip issues. Unfortunately I haven't had a good run in months, thanks to a major screw up with my back/hips/pelvis (I actually have pelvic misalignment and that throws everything else off), but I'm hoping to start adding it back in slowly again very soon (maybe as soon as tomorrow, depending on how I feel). I don't stress over it too much. Considering my only first 5k goal was to do it under an hour (I was almost 400 pounds and walking), I like my new pace and was even working on speedwork for a little while there (once got up to 5.0 for a full minute interval! *lol*). I agree - "Forward is a pace"...and my pace is improving over time, but I think I'll always be what others consider "slow".
  • Primalgal
    Primalgal Posts: 636 Member
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    Just finished Week 8 of C25k and this morning I did 28:07 minutes of running, covered 2.21 miles, so that's a 12:43 pace & 4.72 mph. I'm "hauling" about 30-40 lbs too much weight, so I can't expect to be speedy! :wink: I'm hoping that speed comes with weight loss and time.

    You'll do great in the marathon!!

    Lori
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    I'm trying not to be a slow runner but I'm starting to train for distance and my average time is about 10:30 per mile. I'm okay with this and for my longer runs I take walk breaks which ruins my time but I'd rather finish feeling good than die. haha Now I feel better about running under 6mph which used to be my "comfortable" 5k pace.
  • Edithrenee
    Edithrenee Posts: 546 Member
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    that sounds like me! well i go from 11 min to a 10 15 was my very best. Today i actualy busted butt to get two miles in at 20 minutes to see if i could and i did so i did a 10 minute pace but i can only keep it up so long. I feel like im getting slower!
  • Edithrenee
    Edithrenee Posts: 546 Member
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    that sounds like me! well i go from 11 min to a 10 15 was my very best. Today i actualy busted butt to get two miles in at 20 minutes to see if i could and i did so i did a 10 minute pace but i can only keep it up so long. I feel like im getting slower!
    Oh but most times if i dotn care really and i just want to get out and enjoy it i do 12 min miles.
  • lazyspice
    lazyspice Posts: 8,515 Member
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    I only started running on the treadmill in October (C25K) so I've no idea what is generally considered fast or slow but a comfortable speed for me at the moment is between 4.5 and 4.8mph - I can do 5mph for a few minutes but I can't sustain it any longer yet.

    I have timed myself over two miles a couple of times - the fastest was 25m16s.

    I started on 4mph so I'm pretty chuffed to have made so much progress already :smile:
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    i dont think ill ever be a fast runner, but then again the smallest i have ever been when running is around 170-180lbs, maybe it will be easier when i get below that weight. i usually run at 7.5kmh (4.6mph) on treadmill, a little bit faster outside but i think that might be just because some parts are downhill!! intervals i do at 5.5knh (walk) and 9-10kmh (run) for max 1 minute.
  • piccolarj
    piccolarj Posts: 488 Member
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    Yea I'm pretty slow too but I'm also new to running. My happy spot on the tredmil is 4.5-5. Don't know if I will ever be any faster but I do like saying "I'm going running"! It just sounds good! LOL Maybe once I shed some poundage I'll be a little faster on my feet!
  • Osu2k1
    Osu2k1 Posts: 116 Member
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    I think Im the slowest runner ever! I can be running on the treadmill at 4.5mph and the guy next to me is WALKING at 4.5. I can run faster but I won't last as long. So I run at 4.5 for 3-4 miles. I am just a newby at running though. About 3 months into it.

    Same here!!! I got 4.5 on the treadmill, but I am on w1d2 of the C25k program. So I know speed will come with training. I just need to focus on breathing first so I can last. I am doing my first 5k in 11 weeks! I don't care about speed, just finishing and saying I did it. Even if I walk a few moments!
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,275 Member
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    I go so slow that MFP defines it as a very brisk walk. I am pretty new at running and need to lose more weight to get fast enough. However I am getting faster. I know because I am finisning my 2.8 mile path around a lake much quicker and to get in an hour I have to keep going. After C25K I started doing interval walk/"runs". Today even though I got around sooner a woman passed me up walking. However usually only runners pass me. I am a slow walker and when I tried to walk faster I got injured so I find what ever I am doing much easier on my body and alot faster than what I can do when I walk. So I am fine with it and I know I am improving. So far no injuries.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Before my time off from the gym, my average running speed (I only run on the treadmill due to back issues) was around 5.5. I have short legs, so I am fast walking around 4.2, jogging by 4.3-4.4 and full blown running by 5.0. I can keep pace easily at 5.5 -- anything higher and I do struggle some (my poor legs can't seem to move quickly enough!). I have done a 10.25 mile a couple times but boy were my poor legs struggling along. lol.
  • eudemonia
    eudemonia Posts: 149 Member
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    i'm on 4.0 mph and this has been going on for half a year.... am i the only one? every time i jog i feel like i'm going at snail's pace while everyone breezes past me. :(
  • Sloth_Jog
    Sloth_Jog Posts: 76
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    "Forward is a pace."

    ^ Love that!

    ...if it makes anyone here feel better, you're all faster than a sloth!
  • dsak
    dsak Posts: 367 Member
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    I consider myself a slow runner too! I've only been running a few months (did c25k training on both the treadmill and outside), and I ran my first 5k in early December (34:55)!!! I'm continuing to run 3-5 times a week, and I'm slowly trying to increase my distance. Depending on the weather and time of day I run, I run anywhere between 10:30 - 12:00 minute miles. I'd like to at least get under a 10 minute mile at some point, but it's highly unlikely I'll ever be one of those runners who has a pace of 7 minutes or less!!! And... I'm OK with that! At 47, I'm just happy I'm out there running!
  • Caitlinhappymeal
    Caitlinhappymeal Posts: 185 Member
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    Well I just started c25k about 3 weeks ago, I do loads of other stuff and am very fit, but running (I use the term loosely) is not my thing. The program says 7 weeks but on week 1 I was obviously too fit to go at beginners pace ( they recommend 1 min walking 1 minute running) so I did 2 mins running 1 min walking and It suited me fine, then I upped it to 3 mins running 1 min walking, which is fine. But the fatest I can run at is 9kph and 6.5kph for walking, this brings my finish time to around 35 mins, which isn't bad, but this is on a treadmill which we all know is kind of self propelling, so I'm preparing myself for a much much lower speed and time when I try outside!! Wish me luck x
  • BroiledNotFried
    BroiledNotFried Posts: 446 Member
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    You all are so much faster then me! I can walk to 4.0 mph. I usually go at 4.2 to 4.7. I "sprint" at 5.5 for about 2 minutes and then I am toast. I just started the 'sprint' when a personal trainer made anothr woman at the gym "run hard" at 6.0 for several seconds. She was a few inches shorter then me, and . . . well, my ego was hurt that she was able to run at 6.0.

    No, I am not short. I am 5'4".
  • trlrnrgrl
    trlrnrgrl Posts: 80
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    I'm totally with ya. I've also been running for many years and have never been a fast at endurance running. When I first started running as a kid, I was a fast sprinter. Even today, I can sprint pretty fast, but I'm usually somewhere between middle to back of the pack in any race I do now.

    Here's a weird thing, though - I recently have developed a minor case of asthma and have had to bump my run/walk interval to run 1 min/walk 1 min (from run 4/walk 1), and my time has improved dramatically! Like by 2 min/mile. Weird, but I'll take whatever speed I can get (though I actually don't care very much these days about my speed).
  • KC5ZRQ
    KC5ZRQ Posts: 21 Member
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    Have you considered walking instead of running? I used to run when I was younger, but since dieting and losing weight, my exercise of choice is walking. I'm walking because I don't want to re-injure a knee, but I walk a mile at a pace of 12:20. That's as fast as you are jogging/running. How fast can you walk a mile? Do you think the lower impact of walking on your knees would be better than running?
  • eellis2000
    eellis2000 Posts: 465 Member
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    intervals of 6mph for 1-2 min. and 3 mph for 1-2 min. My best average for a 1.5 mile run was just under 5mph. I missed that average pace by 26 seconds. I'm still working on it. However I can run at 3-4 mph for 20 min straight. Sort of a new runner in the fact that i've had to do pt tests every year for 10 years but i hated running/exercising. Before though we could max the situps pushups and the waist measurement so i didn't have to run so fast. Unfortunately this last year they changed the rules and i'm playing catch up. So for running for fun, whatever pace keeps you going while still allowing you to breath and enjoy the exercise is good for me. For me that would be about 4-4.5 mph.

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