Hi there. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a trainer or anything, just someone who started running on my own about 8 or 9 years ago. The first thing that you must do is go to a RUNNING store and get fitted for a good pair of shoes. If you are serious about doing this then it is important to have the right shoe. When I started I had nothing but problems until I went and got fitted by a professional and haven't had any problems since. Consider it an investment in your health.
When I started running this is what I did. I walked for 5 minutes for a warm up and then started jogging slowly and made a goal like a stop sign up ahead. I would jog to the stop sign and walk to catch my breath and then set another goal. I did this for 30 minutes and then walked to cool down. When I started out my goals were only about 1/2 a block long before I had to walk and I really thought I was gonna die. I tried to keep the same goals for about a week or two and then increase the distance to a new goal. In a matter of weeks I was running for pretty good distances to where I didn't have to make a visual goal anymore and just stopped when I needed to. I always try to go for a time limit instead of distance, like 30 or 45 minutes. Take it slow, don't push yourself too hard at first and you will definitely see results. Within 6 months I could run 9 miles. You just have to be committed to doing it even when you don't feel like it. I would try to go 3 or 4 times a week at first and then do what you need to do to maintain. Good luck!
