I Just Did a Really Crazy Thing . . . (Running Moms Chime In)

Google "Couch to marathon training". It'll have websites that give you step by step plans on how to get up, get moving and get ready for a marathon (and a half marathon!).

Good luck!

Good for you!! You will be fine. There is plenty of time to train. Here is a link to a beginner running program that is 8 weeks. Once your base is established, you should be able to start training for longer runs. Since this is your first time, don't worry about your pace as much as endurance. Pace will come in time. No shame in walking parts of it either, plenty of people alternate between running and walking in the events.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-520--93...

Good luck and have fun! Look for a running group in your area, they will be a great resource and give you someone to run with and keep you motivated.

I personally didn't do this trick, but a good friend of mine did and it seemed to work for her: She wore a timer she picked up at the sporting good store that would beep every so many minutes she set it too. So she started out running for 2 full minutes and walking for 1. She kept that up and every week she'd step it up to running 3 minutes, walking for 1...next week, running 4, walking 1 etc... until she reached a full mile. Then she started running 1 full mile, walking for 2 minutes, running a mile, walk 2 etc.. till she kept working her way up to the amount of miles she could run w/o walking at all. I believe it took her almost a year to be able to run her first full marathon. So, with you only doing the half marathon, start now and you should be good to go! Plus, the adrenalin of race day will feed you more than you think. I will never forget my first 5K, it's only 3 miles worth of running but it went by so fast and my legs still wanted to go when I crossed the finish line! It was fun running with all the other people:) Good luck!! It sucks super bad in the beginning, but keep your mind focused on the end goal and you'll get hooked on signing up for even more races:)

That's great! I've done a couple of 1/2 marathons, but I did them in my twenties. I'm not going to give you advice, because although I work out a lot, I'm a little too undisciplined to actually "train" for something. I've done sprint triathlons the last 3 years, and I didn't train at all. My goal for these things is just to complete them so I can prove to myself that I'm not really old. I literally dog-paddled most of my way through the swimming at the back of the pack, after not swimming for 6 months.

So if you're in reasonable shape, you can probably fudge your way through 13 miles. But expect your knees to hurt for a couple of days afterward.

Have fun!

Increase miles slowly, 10% increase in mileage weekly. If you start with 1.5 miles this week, you'll be at 13 by February.

Cross-train.

Try to work some hills and short sprints into your runs, once you've gained some strength and stamina. Look up fartleks (real word, I swear!).

And good luck! Do you have to run wearing a princess dress and tiara?

Congrats!!!! That's awesome! Well since you are familiar with the P90x make the plyometrics video your friend on the days you don't want to run, I also reccommend (if you can afford it) signing up for a high intensity kickboxing class-especially during the winter. For running I choose to either do interval training or a very simple regimen where I run for 1 or 2 minutes(or however long you can) and then adding 1 minute of running time every day after that.
Forgot to add that swimming 1 mile is the equivalent of running 4 so I totally would take that up too!

My brother's gf just did the couch to 5k program and will also be running in that half-marathon. Good for you!!!

Wow, you are braver than I am. I took up running in January (and LOVE it by the way--hated even the idea of it my whole life until I actually decided to DO it, and I LOVE it).

The 3 posts before mine (as I am typing anyway) gave you good advice. And yes, fartlek really is a word. :)

To start out from zero, jog slowly for a minute, then walk for a minute, jog slowly for a minute, walk for a minute, for 30 minutes or a designated distance (like 2 miles). If you can't do that, go for however long you can (30 seconds each and repeat for example). Within a week or so, you will be up to a minute walk/minute jog... then move it to 90 seconds job/1 minute walking. I went from NOTHING (I couldn't even jog a minute straight) to running 3 miles within 6 weeks. I am slow. But I get it done. I am 43, so you can do it, too.

Also, subscribe to Runner's World. My husband gave a subscription to me for Mother's Day (along with a new ipod to use on my runs) and there is SO much motivational stuff in there, and tips on how to increase speed/distance for ALL levels of runners. It is really helpful and motivating. They also list interesting races across the country (and sometimes around the world).

I haven't yet run in any actual races. I am a little timid on that score. I run about a 17 minute mile right now... well.. I did until about a month ago. With the hot/humid weather we have been having, it just isn't that safe to go out and run for an hour... and I haven't been keeping up. I wish I had room in my house for a treadmill (even though I HATE treadmills--outside is the way to go).

My SIL did the Disney Princess with her sister last year. She is 42, and has only been running for about a year and a half or so. You will love it.

congrats on your new goal!

ETA: OH. And keep a journal! It can be very helpful and motivating to see your progress written down on paper. (It can also make you feel guilty when you miss a run). Track how long you ran (time) and how far you ran (distance) and how you felt before/after. And how you ate (eating poorly beforehand can mess up your performance). If you do fartleks or other speedwork stuff, track what you did. Then on your next run without speedwork, you can see how well it worked (or didn't).

And first and foremost: buy/wear quality running shoes. If you get numbness (like I did) you may need a different pair of shoes, or a different lacing pattern, or sometimes, just loosen how tightly you are tying them.

Keep us posted on how you are doing~

I do the Galloway run\walk\run program. Check to see if there are any groups in your area. You have plenty of time if you follow his program.