So.. Tonight..

Let me first say I hate to run! My motto is "I would rather walk 10 miles than run 1!", that being said, when I do decide to run I do more of a run/walk so I don't get burned out too quickly so that may help you? As you get better at it you can up your running intervals and lessen your walking intervals. Good luck!

You should take a look at the Cool Runnings couch to 5K plan. You can find it online. You have to ease into running, starting out with a goal to run two miles right away is probably not realistic and a good way to lose motivation.......baby steps!! And most importantly, get yourself the right shoes!!!

I also suggest the Couch 2 5 K App for the iphone. Good luck!

I am by no means an expert, but someone told me once to just RUN. Run as far as you can until you literally can't anymore. And then do it again tomorrow. You'll be sore, but keep pushing. I can run forever on a treadmill, but outside is so totally different. This summer I signed up for a 5K in October. I trained by running telephone poles. Run one. Walk one. Then when that's easy, run two, walk one. It got to the point where I could finally run the whole thing right before the race. I would love to say running is easy. (It's not.) I would love to say I love running. (I don't.) But I'm proud to say I did it. You can too!

If you go for as long or as hard as you can, you will get injured and be back where you started. If you think you're fit, you could try skipping the first couple of weeks, but believe me, in most people's experience the plan progresses perfectly fast enough and many people even end up repeating a couple of weeks mid-programme.

If you get to the end of a session and feel you could have done more, I recommend either carrying on the recommended ratios for a couple more repeats or tagging a power walk on the end, but I honestly believe the C25 progression works well for most people.

I've put all my beginner's running tips here, hope they help:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/20-things-i-wish-i-d-known-about-running-when-i-started-103936

Here's another way of thinking about it. If you add in walk breaks you can do it for longer. The longer you exercise for, the more calories you burn and the quicker you lose weight. If you run as far as you can then crash, you'll only get those few minutes' burn.

Running 10% more in one week than you did in the previous week is a sure fire way to get injuries.

I'd suggest that the first time you go out running, try and run until you start flagging. look on the C25K plan at whereabouts you are along the path. If you can run for 5 minutes, there's no real need to do the first week or so.

The reason that these training plans take a long time is because your body needs to get used to it. I'm currently following a plan that will see me through to next September! I've learnt the hard way about doing too much too soon, putting my training back about a month after pushing too hard for a couple of days.

Best of luck.

OMG 25 lbs in 4 or 5 months is terrific! No shame there! Ive lost 15 in 4 months so your doing great! Anyway, I have been working on the jogging as well. It sounds like 2 miles could be a lot to run just starting out. I took me forever to get to 2 miles now I am up to 3 1/2 to 4 a day. A good tip I recieved is to not be afraid to do the old walk abit then jog, then walk. It helped me bunches. Slow and steady wins! I run a slow 4.5 mph but if I ran any faster I wouldnt last 1 mile. good luck to ya. Let us know how it goes!

first, although we would all want to lose more weight more quickly, losing 25 pounds in 4 or 5 months is a solid pace...evidence that you are doing something right...and, trust me, you ARE WINNING!

second, at least for me and I suspect most others, I didn't gain all of the weight I wanted to lose in a day, a week, a month or even a year. however, I sure am losing it faster than I gained it....but that doesn't mean I lost it in a day, a week, a month...and I won't be at my goal at the year mark (though I will be pretty close). This is a new lifestyle for me and I realized a while ago that it didn't matter how long it took me to achieve my goals because I would be sticking with a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life and as long as I stayed on the journey, I would achieve my goals. I have already achieved many successes on this journey and I will achieve more because I know I can.

third, I think its a little silly to try to start off with a 2 mile run WITH HILLS. I'm all about being FIERCE, but I'm also about being SMART. If you push yourself too hard too quickly, injuries are more likely. Understand and ACCEPT that this journey is a process. On my journey, I did no exercise for the first almost 3 months, added some cardio after that, increased my cardio over time, added resistance training a couple months later, then added interval training, and over time, I have increased the intensity of my workouts. There is NO WAY I could have done in April what I'm doing now...without risking significant injury.

Really look a C25K and hop on at a later week if you must. I'd never run before and it's taken me 2 months to be able to run 2mikes in one go. Congratulations if you manage it but watch for injuries - I've had none at all, not even anything minor following this interval training.

Start slow. I haven't read any of the programs here but when I started, I couldn't go more than a block w/o shin splints, back aches or calf cramps. I ended up walk/run/walk/run.

Slowly I was able to run a bit longer w/o pain and eventually I'd get tired before having to stop.

I've found being lighter does help. And I've found that doing other things like interval weight lifting and jumprope really helped my stamina.

OK from someone who's had to put up with an injured spouse for the last 8 weeks, DON'T OVER DO. Listen to your body, if you are in pain STOP. My husband was hurting after mile 1 and went on to do 4 MORE MILES. He ended up giving himself a stress fracture in his tibia and is not allowed to run until next year! That said, what I did was run what I could and then walk, then run some more then walk. I started a couple of months ago and could barley do a few blocks without coughing up a lung. I can honestly tell you that I ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving and I RAN THE WHOLE THING!!!!! I went in with 2 goals. To run the whole thing and do it in under 40 minutes, both of which I met. I NEVER thought I could run that far, but damned if I didn't quickly get myself up to it in about 6 weeks. I don't run every day and I listen to my body. When it hurts I stop and I use ice an anti inflammatory pills when required. If you don't already have one I would suggest a HRM. That is also another indicator if you're over doing it as your HR will skyrocket past where you should be.

Best of luck!

okay so in terms of say a drink.. do i take one with me or will it just weigh me down and should i just wait until i get back as i won't actually be out for that long?

You'll be walking more than running. So take some water, and try to be out there for 20-30 min. But mostly walking.

If you running only, you won't be out there for more than 10-15 min

I take water whenever I run, even if it's a 20 minute run. No matter how much I hydrate before hand, 5 minutes in I feel parched.

Each to their own, though, so take a small bottle with you. It won't weigh you down that much, and can't hurt.