Why are my outgoing e-mails sending SLOW?

I receive e-mails fast but sending a simple 1 word e-mail takes about 1 minute. I have checked with my server and they say everything is fine on their end and my settings are correct. I checked my download speed - 989 / upload speed - 491. I identified this problem Sunday. I am using AVG anti virus which has no filters for outgoing messages. Any ideas why outgoing e-mails are so slow?