Me! My heighest was 197 pounds, I still don't walk very fast-about a 18 min mile and I run about a 15 min mile. I'm running 4x a week now, 2x with a group and 2x by myself. It's only about 2-3 miles for the longest runs. I feel so good when I'm done and my brain isn't foggy.
I read a great book that gave me the inspiration to start running,
"No Need for Speed : A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running" by John "the penguin" Bingham. He was such an inspiration for me to get off my fat butt and start doing something. He said that his first running was down to the end of the driveway and back before he collapsed. He talks about how the you've won by having the courage to start exercising. I had a hard time doing the running by myself, I always found reasons not to do or I'd hurt myself.
I joined a running club that had some beginning running programs and a "back of the pack" group -slower runners, more then 13 min miles. They even have races where they keep half the good food hidden for the "back of the pack" group. Joining the running club and going to the runs has given me great accountabiltiy. I have to run on my own during the week or I won't be able to keep up with the others.
Do you live in an area with a running club?
Some running shoe stores have fun runs that leave from their stores on certain mornings or evenings each week, then they also usually have snacks for after the run. Here's an example:
http://www.fleetfeet.com/events/
My local fleetfeet has several runs each week. It's a great marketing thing for them.
Can you get together a group of women who might be interested in doing the Couch to 5K training, maybe post a note in your community paper or something?
It's important to have good shoes to prevent injury. Don't go to Walmart or Payless. For your first pair, go to a running store and let them show you how they fit them to your feet. They actually watch you walk with and without shoes, then let you try on several pairs and tell you to go run in them. I found that I've been getting my shoes too narrow. I didn't realize that the little toe jutting out of my shoe was bad. He kept getting me wider and wider shoes until we found one that actually supported the entire foot. It was amazing the difference. Once I learned the differences and what to look for, I keep an eye at on the sales at the different stores. One pair of $90 was enough for me-did I mention I'm frugal?
have fun!
Sarah