Begging to run....again. Any advice?

I used to run about 15-20 miles a week on the street. Then I had kids!!! Finally they are older and in school so I started running again (this time on trails) about 6 months ago. I started by hiking, then hiking and running what I could, then running the whole thing. My runs were slow, I used a HRM to be aware of how hard I was pushing. At that point my longest was maaaaaybe 6 miles and I was doing 12-15 miles a week. As I got stronger I started working up more weekly miles and introducing one speed day a week, and increasing the length of my one long run. Just take your time and log what you do, (so you can track progress) & build up slowly.

I honestly didn't run that much until the last few months. I started slow and ran/walked a mile. Then I would build up from there. Don't worry about your speed...it will eventually come. But I alternated my cardio with the elliptical as well. I would stream movies and watched them on the elliptical on the days I didn't want to run. Now, I run all of the time, averaging about 20 - 25 miles a week. My longest non-stop is 9 miles right now on the treadmill and 7 miles at the beach (hard sand).

My must-haves: good music on my iPod, running shoes, and an awesome sports bra.

You can do it. Just start slow, take your time, and push yourself only a little bit when you are ready.

I think the most important thing is to keep in mind that you can't do what you did before. You really need to pretend that you're a first time runner so you don't risk overuse injury. Don't run more often than every other day, don't increase mileage by more than 10%, etc. Of course, if you follow the Zombies 5K app you shouldn't be in any danger but it's frustrating when you're slower than you were and get tired much sooner.

I re-started running in May after several months off for an injury and decided to give the Zombies 5K app a try. I already owned the original Zombies, Run! app so I thought it might be fun and I loved it! I was a little beyond the starter stuff so I'd flip the run and walk intervals, keep running instead of the knee lift/squat intervals or whatever. Since I started running 3.5 years ago I've been a run/walk intervals runner. I've completed more than a dozen half marathons and lots of smaller races using that method, usually at 3 minute run:1 minute walk intervals. Using the Zombies 5K app I worked to increase my running intervals. Yesterday I ran 8 miles in 1:31. I walked the first two minutes, ran the next 12 minutes and then shifted into 6 minute run:1 minute walk intervals for the remaining time. I think if I'd just decided to go back into it on my own I'd still be running 3:1, so I'm really happy I used the program. I'm now using the Zombies, Run! 3 app for my runs.