You likely feel slow and that is totally okay. On the channels I follow, there has seemed to be a new push for slow runners, but the paces they give are still fast for some of us. Everybody is starting from a different place and any pace means you’re getting out and putting in the work which is more than most people can say. There should be no shaming on pace, if anything running slower can be harder since you’re likely carrying more weight and in a distance event, you’re doing it for much longer.
For example, a lot of slow runners talk about their 14–15-minute pace. When I admitted to some people that I was concerned with the 14-minute pace required to finish the Marine Corps Marathon, a few people indicated that it should be simple and walkable. It needs to be understood that these paces are still fast for a lot of people. According to TrainingPeaks, yesterday I ran my fastest mile of 2025 and 3rd fastest mile since tracking in 2020 with a 15:24 pace.
Furthermore, a lot of training plans will expect you to have different paces. When I started, and today when I’m fatigued, I have 1 pace. Even when I am not fatigued, I do not feel like I’m on a bike or in a car with multiple speeds to choose from and that’s okay. Run at a level that for the most part, feels comfortable. You should be breathing deeply. You should feel like you’re working. You might feel some soreness. But you shouldn’t be pushing yourself so hard that you’re wiped out or miserable. It’s just not worth it.
If you do feel like you have more control, you will likely keep your longer runs at the lower end of the spectrum and use the shorter runs to either do intervals of high intensity with lower intensity breaks or more of a tempo run where you’ll run a more moderate pace straight through. Later on, these 3 types of runs will be a foundation to building fitness.