brian, welcome to the blog and way to kick some ass.
your ankle problem could be your shoes... see earlier entries about shoe selection. seriously, if you're going to run regularly, get shoes designed for serious runners. odds are, if you bought them from anywhere other than a running shop, they're not going to be the best thing for your feet.
ankle pain might be caused by improper arch support in your shoes, which causes your foot to rotate inward or outward with every step. we call this pronation. i overpronate gratuitously because i have no arch at all, so i have to buy 'motion control' shoes. they help. bad shoes will fuck up the alignment of your entire body, causing ankle, knee, hip, and back pain over time.
stretching:
1) think muscle groups: hamstrings, calves, quads, groin, ass. also twist your torso around to get your back loosened up, and maybe even do some forward arm circles. google to find good stretching techniques, or i'll show you this weekend in the hotel room, naked.
2) NEVER stretch cold muscles. jog for a few minutes to get the blood flowing... otherwise it's like pulling a cold rubber band.
3) a good length of time is something like 30-40 seconds per stretch. i read that stretching more than a minute or something can cause injury, though.
this is a good start:
http://www.pccoach.com/newsletters/May05/stretching.htm
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