@theknightlight There's already a ton of great advice in the thread, so I'll just second all of that. Also, kudos, you're acknowledging your fears at the same time that you express a willingness to try anyway.
Here's what you need to know: We were all you at some point, about something. Trying new things is hard, and scary, especially when it's a skill that takes time to develop. Nobody is good at something the first time they do it, and the dirty little secret is that we all look and feel awkward and dumb and silly. But you know what? That's okay! Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the awkward stage of starting a new thing.
Now, what I think I can add about running: I'm 46 and I've tried to get into running off and on for 20 years. One that was brought to my attention just a few years ago is that "running" doesn't have to mean running. What I mean is that a lot of times we picture running as this fast, high intensity activity. We think of people sprinting in a race, or a person galloping full-tilt to get away from an axe murderer or a grizzly bear.
The thing is, you can start running slow. It's as much about your gait as it is your speed. What was helpful for me was doing a C25k program, after a friend told me to slow my pace way down and focus instead on my form and stride length. I listened to him and that did wonders for me. I had been trying to run at the fastest pace I thought I could sustain for the different C25k intervals. After considering my friend's advice I adjusted things this way: I continued to move my legs in the same way - i.e. I was applying the same gait I used when either jogging or running, rather than walking - but I was going at a much slower pace instead of trying to run at whatever I personally thought was the fastest pace I could safely manage.
Once I started doing that - moving my legs as if to run, but going at what most people would consider the pace of a fast walk or moderate jog - I found that it was much easier to sustain workouts. It kept me from getting so tired and sore that I was left discouraged or even too sore/tired to practice consistently. At the same time, it positioned me to get perceptibly better with each new session. Once I stopped trying to kill myself every time I went on a run, I started to actually see tangible progress from one session to the next, and especially so from week to week. Once I slowed way down and focused on my form, it was that that actually put me in a healthy position to work on getting a little faster here, a little faster there, until I felt like I was actually running instead of operating in slow-mo.
And girlfriend, that tangible awareness of your own physical improvement pays massive dividends on your confidence levels!
Here's what you need to know: We were all you at some point, about something. Trying new things is hard, and scary, especially when it's a skill that takes time to develop. Nobody is good at something the first time they do it, and the dirty little secret is that we all look and feel awkward and dumb and silly. But you know what? That's okay! Nothing lasts forever, and that includes the awkward stage of starting a new thing.
Now, what I think I can add about running: I'm 46 and I've tried to get into running off and on for 20 years. One that was brought to my attention just a few years ago is that "running" doesn't have to mean running. What I mean is that a lot of times we picture running as this fast, high intensity activity. We think of people sprinting in a race, or a person galloping full-tilt to get away from an axe murderer or a grizzly bear.
The thing is, you can start running slow. It's as much about your gait as it is your speed. What was helpful for me was doing a C25k program, after a friend told me to slow my pace way down and focus instead on my form and stride length. I listened to him and that did wonders for me. I had been trying to run at the fastest pace I thought I could sustain for the different C25k intervals. After considering my friend's advice I adjusted things this way: I continued to move my legs in the same way - i.e. I was applying the same gait I used when either jogging or running, rather than walking - but I was going at a much slower pace instead of trying to run at whatever I personally thought was the fastest pace I could safely manage.
Once I started doing that - moving my legs as if to run, but going at what most people would consider the pace of a fast walk or moderate jog - I found that it was much easier to sustain workouts. It kept me from getting so tired and sore that I was left discouraged or even too sore/tired to practice consistently. At the same time, it positioned me to get perceptibly better with each new session. Once I stopped trying to kill myself every time I went on a run, I started to actually see tangible progress from one session to the next, and especially so from week to week. Once I slowed way down and focused on my form, it was that that actually put me in a healthy position to work on getting a little faster here, a little faster there, until I felt like I was actually running instead of operating in slow-mo.
And girlfriend, that tangible awareness of your own physical improvement pays massive dividends on your confidence levels!