<human>: Can you condense the text into three sentences or less?

My most recent running goal was to be able to run over 30 minutes continuously(My distance was probably about 3.3 to 3.4 miles, since my mile pace is roughly 9 minutes give or take, and I didn't slow down). 
 
 Anyhow, now that I've hit that mark, I want to move up to a half-marathon, so I've got a few questions: 

 First, what have you found to be the most effective training methods? I've also been wanting to lose weight, so my workouts have been running one day, weight lifting the next, with a rest day on Tuesday or if there's a special occasion. I'm curious how you guys bump up your pace and endurance time for the purpose of half-marathons. 
 
 Secondly, how do you guys measure out your routes to try and figure out distance? I have a route at home that I know is really close to 3.1 miles. At school I just run in a big loop around my neighborhood and I'm not sure how long that is. Since I want to spend a little more emphasis on steadily bumping up my pace, I feel like distance is a key thing.
<bot>: How do you guys train to become able to run a half-marathon, and what's the most effective way to measure the distance of your running route?