Quitting cigarettes...and running

Re: Quitting cigarettes...and running

• entropicbeauty member

  

  January 2012

  Hey! Goodluck! I don't smoke but I think it's great that you want to get healthy

  

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• maribeth721

  

  January 2012

  I quit smoking last winter and did a 5k in the summer. I started training for the 5k in the spring so I had, had a few months smoke free. I don't think I could have ever done it while smoking. It's good motivation to stop! You will feel the difference in how much easier you can breathe when running.

  

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• meganb1977 member

  

  January 2012

  Big thumbs up for quitting smoking!  There are amazing statistics of how much healthier your body will get, and how quickly.  You go, girl :-)

  Whoever said it was supposed to be happily ever after is a big fat liar.

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• daniandron

  

  January 2012

  Thanks ladies! I'm going to start my brisk walks/jogging this weekend. I definitely notice the difference in my breathing when I haven't been smoking.

  

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• arwo

  

  January 2012

  I haven't been through this personally--but my mother used running to help her quit smoking back when I was a kid. Now she is an incredible runner. She started by working up to running a mile without stopping, and then slowly built on that. (This was in the days before C25K.)
  
  She's run 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, ultramarathons....

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• annie912 member

  

  January 2012

  I quit smoking January 1 last year, ran my first 5k on February 10, ran my first half marathon in September and will be running my first full marathon this September.
  
  I would say it took me a couple of months to feel like I wasn't going to hack up a lung, and honestly about 6 months before I really felt like a non-smoker.
  
  I tried quitting numerous times (smoked for almost 15 years and was smoking anywhere from a half a pack to a full pack everyday) but it never stuck. Running gave me something to replace the smoking with. If I wanted to smoke, I either went out for a run or went online to read running articles, look for races to sign up for, etc. I guess I traded one addiction for another. I'm actually running a half marathon the morning of the wedding.
  
  Good luck! I can't overstate how awesome this is for you.

  

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• blgrout

  

  January 2012

  I quit smoking 2/27/11 after smoking 1/2-1 pack a day for about 10 years. I didn't workout at all in the first month after I quit, mainly because I ended up with pneumonia (not from quitting, just bad timing).  When I first started working out I stared with Zumba and after I didn't feel like I was going to die anymore (about 2 months), then I started running.
  
  Now, almost a year later I feel like a non smoker.  My lungs are happy now. I highly recommend you start a C25K program to help you and motivate you.  It helped me learn how to be a runner, per se. 
  
  And great decision!  If you can stick to it, you won't regret it.  And running is WAY healthier than eating, which is what I wanted to do when I quit.  I gained about 10 pounds from quitting, but it's come off now. 

  

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