"Gentle" Running

I've been continuing to exercise by doing 40-min power walking sessions most everyday of the week, only taking one (or sometimes two) days a week off to rest my body.

I've also been adding in jogging.  I'm starting off very carefully with jogging, only jogging about two or three times for about 45 seconds during each walking session. 

When running, my back feels straight up & down, like it should, and my feet hit the ground UNDER my body, instead of out in front of my body, which is how running always felt to me.  My hips are stronger, my core is stronger, and thus running actually feels "natural" now.  Running has NEVER felt "natural" and "fun" to my body before!  I've always had so many muscle imbalances in my hips, core, and back, that it was always a struggle to put one foot in front of the other.  But not anymore :)

I'm terrified of going out too strong or running too much and getting injured.  That is the story of my life.  I'd run strong for a few months and gain mileage and feel pretty good, but then some muscle would suddenly decide it had had enough and would get pulled or strained, and I'd be laid up, practically unable to walk, for a week or two, and by the time I was healthy enough to run again, I'd lost all the ground I had gained and would be back at square one.  I remember once when I was slowly adding sprints into my runs and I pulled my groin muscle and was almost unable to stand by my own power, much less walk, much less run.  Even with ice, Ibuprophen, and rest, it lasted about 2 or 3 weeks.

So I'm going to take this running thing very slow! And I'm still doing mostly power walking and will continue to power walk, and maybe make my jogging repeats last a little longer each time, while focusing on my footfalls, my posture, and trying to envision a "gentle" running stance.  Running has never felt "gentle" to me, but it does now, which just goes to show how out-of-alignment and messed up my body has always been!