Where to Start

Did you know that a marathon is 26.2 miles?  Which makes a half-marathon 13.1 miles.  That's a lot of miles.  A couple hundred years ago that would be a full day's travel in a covered wagon.  Now people run it in a couple of hours for fun.  Crazy, I know.

I happened across this article today: A Woman's Guide to Half-Marathon Training.  The first sentence got me:

Training for a half-marathon turns you into a calorie-burning, lean-muscle-building, strong-and-sexy endurance machine. 

If I become any of these things, I will let you know.

One of the main problems I have with articles like this one is they always assume a much more advanced starting point than where I am.  None of them ever say, "First, you have to run for more than 5 minutes."  The running advice I need is more rudimentary:

• how to keep running when all you want to do is puke
• how to hear my NPR podcasts over my breathing 
• tips for not looking like Phoebe
• the best way to manage all the pain
• where to procure a bear to run from

If you have any good advice on these subjects, please share.