I am just getting into running also and have been using the Couch to 5K program along with Robert Ullrey's pod casts. It's a really good way to get started but I also echo the caution to go at your own pace. It is taking me MUCH longer to get to the 5K than I thought.

I have also been doing Chi Running and I think it is really key to my being able to run. I am totally new to running at age 59, although my fitness level has been pretty good through cycling. About 8 weeks into my walk/run program I started to get some pain at the top of my hip (IT band or gluteus medius) and Chi Running really helped me discover what I was doing that was most likely causing the problem. (Needing to stabilize the pelvis, avoid over-striding and heel strike). I started out with the book but I did take a workshop. I don't have the DVD, but if I couldn't take a workshop I think I would use the DVD. I am a visual/kinesthetic type of learner and also have a hard time learning a physical skill just from reading about it.

In the workshops one of the universal challenges of everyone there was to avoid over-striding and heel strike. In that way it seems to be most different from "power running." The other thing that most of us were not doing was really letting ourselves lean from the ankles to allow gravity to do the work of propulsion. I agree that there are a lot of things to focus on, but maybe just choosing one at a time and trying to keep awareness of it for a portion of every run will help.

Good luck! If you use the DVD, let us know how it works for you.