Need some running advice! Beginner

The problem is your stride. Your stride sucks because of your shoes. Throw your shoes away.

Do you throw your leg out in front of you, straighten it almost completely, and land heel first on the ground? I'm certain you answered yes. And that's your problem.

Some guy above me mentioned that he had the same problem with standard shoes and it went away when he got a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. This guy is basically Albert Einstein compared to your typical runner. Not that I specifically endorse 5-Fingers, but the point is that they take away all the things that shoe companies have added into running shoes to try and sell them to people. Note that I said sell them, and not make them better shoes. That's because given the choice between two nearly identical shoes, the customer will buy the one with "Shock Absorbing Springs" in the bottom. Not knowing that the added cushioning actually makes your running stride go all out of whack and causes injuries. (Seriously, springs? Stranger than fiction..)

Anyways, the idea is that normally without a shoe on you would run on your midfoot because running on your heel is super painful and awkward, and humans have been running (barefoot) for a very very very very very long time, prior to the advent of athletic sneakers (circa 50 years ago). Unfortunately, running shoes with huge soft heels make it much less painful to run that way, striking with your heel at each footfall. Now you're running in an unnatural way that causes leg injuries.

So the way to correct this is relatively simple, go figure out what proper running form is. There's two ways to do this. You could go look around on the internet, there's a lot of videos out there. OR you could just take your shoes off and go stride around the grass / street barefoot for a minute, since you actually already have near perfect running form (minus the shoes).

As for changing your stride, you can invest in a decent pair of running shoes with less cushioning in them, which will *help* correct your problem. Or you can just focus on proper running form and still use your old shoes. If you're going to focus on running form though, I would definitely recommend that at least for a few runs you stay at a slower pace than normal, which should keep you from getting winded which will cause your running form to revert. So run slow and concentrate on good form.

you must read the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It is inspiring and educating. It is a great read and will answer all of your questions throughout the great story of the book. You will never run the same again!!!