Memnoch's advice is pretty sound for a raging drunkard. For what it's worth, I recently answered some similar questions on another forum for a friends. Hope this info helps you out..
If you're serious about getting in shape then you need to embrace the concept of periodicity and cross training into your schedule. I've got pretty serious about a few workouts and have some nasty routines when you're ready for them. I also strongly believe that you should supplement any cardio program with at least one general-body resistance training program per week. It helps you gain the strength in your muscles and tendons to cope with the pounding that you're going to be giving them if you're running.
If you're curious I have a few of my past workouts which have proven results but that are tough to stick to as they are quite physically demanding. They came from the muscle and fitness past 'rock hard' series of summer challenges and I added in some dietary supplementation. If you're serious about getting in shape, dialling in the diet is key. If you only do the cardio, it should still reap rewards.
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Basically, my advice would be to chop it up during the week. Don't always run, mix it with stair climbing (bitchin for getting in shape), cycling (great endurance cardio, low tendon stress), or some active recovery like a walk around the city. This helps loosen up all the stuck lactic acid in your muscles and makes you better the next day. Starting off, yer gonna be sore - just accept it [img]smile.gif[/img]
Also I would consel mixing up the intensity and duration of your workouts. One day, go for a long steady jog of say 45 minutes to work on your overall conditioning. Next day go for a 30 minute run, use 5 minues to warm up nice and steady, then from minutes 5-25, sprint the last 15 seconds of every minute, 25-30 nice relaxing jog to cool down. Jump rope the next day and do a long steady conditioning, with 30 second bursts of double jumping... You get the picture.
I have a keen interest in physiology (heck I studied it) but one thing I know for sure is that there's no tried and tested formula. Everyone needs to work on finding a program that's right for them by establishing some clear goals, and then tweaking the workout, analysing whether it's working and adjusting as necessary to acheive your goals. It's ultimately very rewarding and I love it. Now I just need to give up smoking. Ha.
If you want something a bit different and all-round great for you, I'd strongly back the Navy Seal plan for physical fitness. I uploaded the Navy seals workout to my site. You can
download it here is you would like. It contains instructions for periodicity and measurements for 1RM using the 5RM method, let me know if any of this needs explaining further.
Above all, ENJOY the process and have fun!