Couch to 5K- Do you think you can Run?

If you had asked me a year ago - Can you imagine running 5k. I would have said it is never going to happen. Even once I had lost a significant amount of weight and I was fit, I always made excuses- running is too hard on your joints, I have bad knees.
The reality is running is great exercise and it can be done anywhere and if you slowly work up to it, your joints will be fine. My husband is and on again mostly off again fitness participant. He says he wants to run, but the problem is he thinks he can walk out the door and start running. Maybe he could, but he shouldn't. I really believe you should start out slow, let your body and joints get used to the hard surfaces you are running on. Try and run just on trails if you can. Walk for 5 min, Jog for 1 min and gradually increase the amount of time you jog and decrease the amount of time you walk. But work into it so you want to jog. If you walk out the door for the first time and try running are you going to have a good experience? Are you going to feel good the next day? Probably not. Will you look forward to your next run or will you find an excuse not to do it? Likely you will find excuses. Alot of running is mental fortitude, so work your way into it and you will find you will love it!!!
I also find from a weightloss and maintenance perspective nothing bumps up my metabolism more than running. I know walking does it for some people but I think my metabolism is so messed up from years of dieting on and off that walking just doesn't cut it. From a toning perspective there is nothing better, legs, abs, butt, chest, arms. One key thing to remember is to walk for a bit after the run. Do some knee raises, lunges-get your full range of motion back. Stretch!! hip flexors, calves, hamstrings, quads, IT band. If I do a short walk and stretches after my run I don't feel stiff at all the rest of the day or the next day.