Triathlon - Old Fart Expectations? (alternate title: HTFU??)

Background: I'm 47 couch potato that has been running a couple of years (10 milers and 1/2M races) and have done my first two sprints this year. 5'7" and 172 lbs...pretty thick...not too fat....could use to drop 10.

I hear all of the local athletes post their workouts, 1/2IM and Oly race reports and I'm in awe. After a "long" run on weekends (8-10 miles), some very light brick workouts during the week, and a swim one evening, I'm pretty spent and sore. Doing more seems really hard.

My fitness has improved in the last year but hearing reports of folks running sub-8 min/mile race legs on a 1/2IM when I'm struggling to run 9 in a short foot race is discouraging. While I really enjoyed the sprints, I was pretty wiped out afterward. Embarrassing when I hear the local athletes used the sprint as a warmup to their real workout.

Am I expecting too much? Is a lifetime of potato living just going to take a while to overcome? Should an old fart be able to recover better?

Similar situation here.

I’m a 40 year-old Clydesdale (6’ 1” 220 lbs) who struggles to keep my running speeds under 10 a minute mile pace. I was in a tri last Saturday and managed to maintain around a 9 minute mile average, which is smokin’ fast for me. I attribute it to needing the bathroom really bad during the run. I once ran a single mile in 8:02 during a sprint race and about died right on the track. Holding that pace over multiple miles seems like a pipe dream to me.

From a young age, I’ve never been gifted athletically. I’ve now accepted that I’m never going to be an elite competitor against anyone but myself. I can (and have) improved my own performance over the past few years. That’s the only benchmark that I can worry about; as long as I’m improving then I’m on the right track. I’m carrying about 60 pounds less fat than I was 11 years ago, so regardless of how fast I run I consider myself a winner.

So kudos to you for taking the necessary steps to remain as active as you can. Don’t worry about speed, as you will get faster. Your body will get better at learning to recover. It just takes longer for some of us than others.

Enjoy the process; this is supposed to be fun.

Is a lifetime of potato living just going to take a while to overcome?

I think that's part of it. Since you've been running only a couple of years, you will likely continue to improve for a few more if you stick with it. And each year you may be able to handle a higher training load.

And, yes, recovery is slower for us old farts. I'm 48 and have been a runner since I was 14. It seems to take me twice as long to recover from training.

So try not to compare yourself to those other locals, esp. if they are younger and esp. if they have been in the sport longer than you. Instead compare yourself to where you were two years ago, and one year ago, etc.