Sun Goddess, I like to go running because I can take mw dog with me (although I ave to be careful when it gets hot!)
and tgeezyband, I go run 3-4 times a week, that's a good rythm for me
but it's weird because I have reached a certain limit (in time and distance) that I can't get past, if you know wht I mean
but I haven't been running for so long, so maybe I need a bit more time to build up my condition
That is good, if you have a bike you should ride in between the days you run if you feel like it, and when you get done don't just stop, leave time for you to walk and your legs feel normal again and stretch. I used to be naughty in cross country and when I got done with races I didn't cool down or stretch properly, and as a result I eventually got shin splints in each of my legs, which were a pain to run through.
As for the distance and time problem, if you want to speed that process up, you can have days when you run for speed, like say every 3 mins the next min you have to run that 1 min faster than your average pace, or if you have gps watch that measures your distance, run hard for lets say 5 sets of 200 m, jog don't stop in between each set for 3 or 4 mins, these types of things go under cross training, and with those 200 meter hard runs, there are many forms of cross training, you could look that up on google I guess.
Really running is more mental than physical, your brain is constantly saying stop, once you start thinking I got this I can go further than I did last time you will eventually start going faster and longer. Running with a friend is good as well.
I wonder if I can make a runners type thread or something, because I could give some more info, without going off topic a little.