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How slowly are you running? You say 'brisk jog' in your initial post so maybe slow down for now to 'slow jog' and you'll find as you get used to it you'll naturally speed up a bit and find the breathing gets better. But yes, perserverance! You'll get there...

I know what you mean - I did sit down with Excel and work out that I had long enough before my 10k to build up to 6 miles even if I had to build up really slowly. And I always have a vague plan for the next week or so in my head.

I think when you're just starting out (again) it's more important to listen to your body and if you feel like you should be running because the plan says you should then you may be tempted to push too much.

One thing I have found useful is logging my runs on Fetch - it keeps a tally of how many miles total you've run and watching the graphs etc build up is quite motivating.

Good luck with the first run - hope this wind dies down so you're not running into a gale!

I was in a similar position to you when I started again a few months ago after a 6 year 'rest'.

First day I went out and found I could manage a mile so I started doing that every other day and then once I felt ready (after a week or so) I moved up to 1.5, then 2 etc. just as I felt like it.

I never had a plan as such just aimed to run every other day, run at a slow pace (where I would be comfortable talking) and not increase run length by more then a mile at a time (mostly increased by half a mile).

I've carried on like that and am up to 2x3 milers in the week and a 6 miler on the weekend. It's taken me about 3/4 months to get to that point (was set back a bit as I was ill in November).