Tell me why I can't go faster

Firstly, I don't know that I'm seeing a problem here in terms of pace. 85-95% of your time out there right now should be easy and comfortable.

That being said, your problem is related to a couple things. The first is in your introduction:

"I'm definitely a slow bugger.....always have been."

If you THINK you're slow, then you are going to be.

Second thing, and I could be wrong so forgive me if I am, but I think you're too focused on your pace during training. The only real metric, in my mind, is race performance. Otherwise you end up racing your training, which doesn't help.

Third thing, I think you have a problem pushing yourself; this issue is most likely related to inexperience. Knowing how to push oneself is something that takes time and effort. Some people never get all that great at it, some people are really good. I have found that people with a competitive sports background tend to be more prone to push than those without. Again, this is neither bad nor good; it just shows an area you need to improve upon. How you do it is trickier. In terms of physical training, I've found that tempo runs are a good way to start out with it.

I also think the intervals are good for that as well, but I think you should replace those with a tempo run once a week or every other week, as it will give you better long-term gains. The intervals are good when trying to prepare for a specific race.

Also keep in mind, this does not always mean you're going to see gains in terms of training pace. I often run the same training pace for a year, yet still see race times go down.

And as Jorge said, more miles. 

Insufficient and inconsitent base building, if I may be so blunt. Two months isn't much, and you didn't run much at all for some period before that.

Now if you had run consistently at 25-30 MPW since you started in 2006...

Reading your logs you seem consistently dissappointed with your pace.  You complain a lot about how your legs feel, etc.

Don't worry about it so much.  Also, as noted by others, you wont see much change in a few months.  Maybe after 6 months of consistent running, maybe a year, but it takes years of running to get any significant gains.

 Some days your legs will feel heavy, some days they wont.  Just rack up the miles and do a race once in a while.

Run more.  From you logs you haven't run much since you started loging.  Build a good base and then throw speed work in.  Granted some people can run faster while building base than 12 min miles but you have to start somewhere. 

If you think you are slow you always are going to be.  Running is going to hurt sometimes, that is just the way it is.  I really doubt world class runners are comfortable for most of a race.  It hurts even for them.

Your weight, height and age may have some impact on how fast you run. However, the most significant thing is that you simply don't run very much. IMO doing intervals when you have an insufficient base is almost useless. After you've been running 25-30 miles/week for at least 6 months, then intervals may have some benefit. That kind of mileage can be attained by simply running between 3 & 4 miles every day. Plus that bit of daily exercise may help with your weight loss goals. If you can add 40-50 miles/week of biking it should also help with the weight loss. The biking can help build muscle in your legs and combined with the weight loss should help you get faster as a runner.

At this point in time just get the weekly mileage up. Don't be at all concerned with your speed. When you've been running 25-30 miles/week for 6 months you should be able to start intervals and tempo runs that will be helpful in getting faster. It takes time, committment, and hard work.

Consider me adequately humbled.

I'm just glad to know there isn't anything "wrong". My memory of good ol' 2006 (my first year in tris) are probably fuzzy and well, I am two years older....

I'm just going to do what Dorie said, "Just keep running...." (okay, so it's just keep swimming, but it's the same thing).

I do know that I need to add in other cross training factors, but frankly, right now I'm going to concentrate on training for my marathon and listen, I'm just going to try very hard to be happy, healthy and satisfied with what I've got....I may not be fast and I'm still striving to be the fittest and healthiest I can be and you know, it's all I can do and I'll keep trying.

Thanks for the analysis.

There is a book called "Running Within" by Jerry Lynch & Warren Scott, that deals with the mental aspect.

How old are you? I'm 52 and started running at 45. The biggest help for my running came this year when I just put away the books and the plans, and just ran a whole lot. Early in the year I ran every day at an average of over 10 miles/day. I didn't start out running that much - it took several months of building. The average runner can probably handle starting out with 2-3 miles every day, then add a half mile to each run every other week. Within a few months the body should adapt to daily runs of 6-8 miles or more.

During my period of higher mileage running I did a race of some sort every two weeks. No taper before and no day off after. If the race was short, 5K or less, I would run after the race to bring my milegae up to around 10 for that day. The key is to do all the daily runs at a very easy pace and do the races at an all out effort. Part of the mental toughness to race hard comes from forcing yourself to do the daily runs regardless of the weather or having slight aches and pains.

I'm still not

yea. keep talking you veterans and experienced people!!

this is very encouraging to hear. I'm 28 and running has always made me crazy. I'm overweight and new to the tri thing too. It's the thing I have the most issues with. Everyone is saying run a lot.  What's a lot? and do you keep this mileage up during the season??

I've decided to train for a half marathon (feb 15) during the off-season. In hopes to jump start me on the path of running and get my legs under me. I want to be consistent...at the very least.

Hey there! I'm glad you responded because it's nice to know that someone else is intimidated by all the fast people too.

This is my experience.....we will all get there. When I first started tris in 2006, I never thought I could be good at triathlons. Well, I wasn't great, but I saw improvements from my first one to my fourth one....so there is hope!

On a serious note, the experienced and veterans are right....it does take time and you do need a base to build on. I think that running in a group helps or running with a friend helps. I have a hard time pushing myself when I run alone too.

But the thing to take away from all this is this: you just have to keep doing it. I know that lots of veterans here are giving me a hard time for expecting changes so quickly, that I'm not building a large enough base etc....but I AM running more than I normally do (not as much as they think I should perhaps) and I hope to eventually build up to running 5 miles comfortably and it will slow and I will get there eventually.

As for "seniors"....I think it's really admirable and inspiring that you're doing it at all and at 52....my best tri buddies are older than me and they are always encouraging me and I just look to them for inspiration.

We can do this!! I'm learning patience and waiting for my body to catch up.

I am so not the expert or the veteran here. What I am is the everyday person who is trying to be a better athlete/triathlete. I can only say this, everyone is right about saying "build a base".

I would say, do what you can....you know your current limits then start building on it. For me, I was barely running, so I started with 2-3 mile runs and since I was inconsistent, I started with running 2-3 times a week. Of course with the help of this running group, I have a weekly plan that I try to follow. BT has lots of good training plans you can look at. I would say you need a plan. I think training for a half mary or whatever race you're looking at is a good way to keep yourself motivated.

You can do it. I believe in you. I've been there, still there.

As I mentioned, I did not start out running 10 miles/day. I had done several marathons over the past few years. I noticed in the build for one of those marathons that when my weekly mileage exceeded 45, that ALL my running improved. My goal race was a marathon in May. My plan was to build to a minimum of 45 miles/week, then maintain that for several months. I started the build in September 2007 for the May 2008 race. Because I had some decent base already, by October I was able to run 6-8 miles daily. For someone starting without a base it may take several months to get the mileage up. Many running plans alude to having a base, but don't really describe how to get it. Even if you're just starting out, you can run every day. Just go at an easy pace. Don't force yourself to run faster. The goal is base building at this point - not speed. If you can do 2-3 miles/day already it's a good start. Run every day, be consistent, don't make excuses for weather, etc. Conservatively you can add a half mile/day to each run every other week or so. When your daily runs start getting up in the 5-6 mile range it may be possible to add a mile. I was running 6-8 miles daily in October. It took until January for that to build to 9-12 miles daily. I cut it off at that point and did not attempt to increase even more. I did nothing at all for speedwork except the races I've mentioned - every two weeks. I happen to live in an area with a very active running community that has inexpensive races much of the year.

So what happened? In the course of doing the daily runs and the bi-weekly racing, my speed improved. I went from MOP to much closer to the front. Many of the early season races were in the 5K/10K distance and since I was running 10 miles/day it seemed very easy to push hard in the races. So far this year I've set 13 PRs, including a BQ marathon in which I was 3rd in AG.

It seems many people want to run fast when they have not layed the groundwork for doing so. Build up the weekly volume, maintain it for 3-6 months, then start on speedwork. A signature line I've seen on ST says, "Speedwork is icing on the cake and you don't have a cake yet!" It takes time to build the cake, but the rewards can be sweet.

Nice run, but go back to Scout's post in this thread to learn and remember that training pace is not the focus.

Can we be realistic?

Because for a new person running everyday even if it's 2-3miles a day is not. Add on top that I don't enjoy running like that. It's hard on my body. As I said before, I'm 60-80lbs overweight. Not to mention every thing else that we are trying to do tri wise then add in time as the icing on the cake. My half plan starts with 3 days per week then goes to 4 days. And to be honest, 4 days is what I'm willing to give to this area at most.

 So, with that being said saying I work up to nearly 6 miles every time I run. Do you keep that up during the tri season? Opinions?

x2

x2

x10!!!!!!

That should be a slow progession though, but consistent none the less. Consistency especially starting out is the key.

x negative 100 on the second paragraph, the first paragraph is iffy and varies.

 During the base phase your mileage slowly increases 10% a week, but you should consider taking a recovery week and drop it 20% or so, every 4th week or so. As the intensity of running increases the mileage or the amount (mintues) spent goes down.