Sambatc,
There are a few things in the motivational paper that aren't in the document material. Go the extra mile and learn a little bit as to how an aircraft flies and some other general aviation-related basic knowledge. It'll only help later on if not now.
As for the distances, they're not hard if you have any general sense of geography. They name a few cities in the material so maybe start by seeing how far away they all are.
Best of luck!