First Half-Marathon...suggestions?

I've run about six half marathons in the last few years with my next one in May. My advice to a newbie long distance runner is to take things slowly; don't do too much too soon - you don't want to get injured. As you increase your distance don't go up by more than a mile a week (risk of injury and burnout). When you do your long runs, run at a comfortable pace which allows you to run constantly without stopping to walk and catch your breath - you'll want to be able to do this on race day (yup, two or three hours without stopping!) And enjoy yourself and all the delicious endorphins running brings!

Awesome! Good for you! I am running my first Half-Marathon this October in Detroit and I just starting running in November. I never saw this coming but I ran my first 5K on New Years Day.

The best advice that I was given was "Dont push too hard too soon" I was told to not increase my distance more than 10% each week to avoid injury. My personal trainer has also told me that if I am running more than 45 minutes, then I need to keep my heart rate in Zone 2 since I have cortisol issues.

Find friends to run with. This is the BIGGEST help I have had with my training. There is a Run Club at my gym and we run as a group 3 times a week. It makes a world of difference when you have supportive and motivating people surrounding you.

Good luck!!

Have fun, be consistent, vary your running terrain, mix it up with trails, hills and speed work.

I started running January 2012 for a half-marathon in June 2012. I hated running too!!! I finished in just over 2 hours...pretty good considering before January I couldn't run 20 seconds without getting out of breath! I only ran 3 times a week. Two shorter runs during the week and one long run on the weekends. One of the runs during the week was a semi-long run, the other was just a 3 miler. I read several books including one by Hal Higdon and adapted several training plans to meet my needs. I think everyone made some good suggestions so far. If this is your first half-marathon don't worry about time, just try to finish. Slow and steady. Also let your body tell you what it needs. If you are not feeling good and miss a couple runs, don't freak out. But try to be consistent and don't miss more than a few days of running.....believe me your body will feel like it never ran before.

The run/walk is a really good program (jeffgalloway.com).
I've used Hal Higdon's program to get ready for marathons, but he has half marathon plans as well, for different running levels. (halhigdon.com).
Good luck!

I ran my first in November and am gearing up for another in May. Congratulations! The couch to half program is really good. I had less time than you do to train (15 weeks) so those extra 9 weeks will help a lot. Definitely go slow and listen to your body. Also, make sure you get fitted for good shoes. Hit a running store and if you can afford to, buy 2 pair. Even if you don't buy them at the same time, if you can swing it, getting one pair now and another in a few weeks or month will be good. You'll want to switch off through the week as you train.
Oh and Glide may be your new friend! I use it in several places where my clothes rub on my really long runs.

Cross train!!! I started training for my half taking place this sunday the 17th (!!! so excited!) while I was also doing cross training and had no problems. I then quit the cross training in the middle of the training program and developped IT band syndrome (painful) and had to take a break and really feared I wouldn't get past it. I then started cross training again and doing lots of squats, strengthened my glutes and the ITBS disappeared. Having talked to people who have had ITBS, I have been very lucky and I have now completed the training and will be running on form this sunday. Listen to your body, if you start having doubts then do something about it then and there, don't keep pushing through it. Also, although I hope your shoes work for you, I would never recommend buying shoes just because they work for someone else. Go have your running gait analysis measured and have shoes recommended by a professional!!!

Good luck, you can totally do this!

I just did my first half marathon in October, and it's a pretty great feeling knowing you just ran 21.1km. Not a lot of people can do that! My advice is to get shoes that are fitted to you, and pay the extra money for a good pair. They're worth their weight in gold. I also really like the Nike + app, as it keeps track of your runs, calories burned, distance, pace. It gives you motivational feedback, and you can make a game out of it by joining challenges. I found it a great way to keep motivated.

I think this is a personal preference whether you run straight through, or do run/walk breaks. As a new runner, I really appreciated the 1 minute walk break. It was kind of like a mini goal when I started to get tired. I'd look at my watch and see that I have 2 minutes of running left before a short break - "Oh, well I can do two more minutes." And then after you have a chance to catch your breath and have a sip of water, you're ready to go again. I probably ran faster after a one minute break than I would've if I'd gone a little slower but continuously.

Now with all that said, I trained with 10:1 sets, but the day of the race, I ended up just taking a one minute walk break through water stations. So it was more like I was doing 15:1 sets. The adrenaline keeps you going!

Your goal should be only to finish it. There is nothing wrong with walking when you need to walk. Don't worry about going fast. Have fun!

Sounds like you plenty of time to work your way up to the half and lose some of that weight as an added bonus. It was a little over a year between me finishing C25K and running in my first half marathon. The key for me was extended my runs, working on distance more than speed so that my endurance was where I needed it and the speed came naturally. Just enjoy the journey and keep your eye on the goal and you should do great!