when I saw this I was happy as I remember way back reading one of your race reports and you mentioned IN A RACE REPORT that you had a smoke before the race and I was like...WTF? I mean, not to judge on the smoking before but you said that you did so. I know someone who is 330 marathon runner who brings smokes in a fanny pack so she can smoke at races. I also know an ultra runner who smokes and runs with a nic patch so he doenst loose time stopping for a smoke and right after that is the first thing he does...
I hope you do it,.
who is this ahole damien? weird.

after my cold is gone, i'll have been long enough without a smoke that an early morning cigarette would probably taste like one of damien's posts - pretty shitty, and utterly pointless!

biggest urge yesterday was while making dinner after my run, but the food was delicious without my sense of taste being weakened by smoke, even though i'm still stuffed up! :)

off to the pool..

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

When you have the urge, find your man and have a good kiss or more... Take your mind off of the bad urge and enjoy the good urge

What Damien is doing is nothing compared to what the addiction will be doing to you over the next few weeks (and years).

Best of luck. If I hear the screaming over here on the west side of Cambridge, I know who it's coming from...
;)

Brad

---

3SIXTY5cycling.com

that's a great idea steveandbarb! :)

still just habit-based urges right now - no actual desire to have a smoke. even if i get to the point i *think* i want one, i'm keeping it locked in my mind that CIGARETTES DO NOT SOLVE PROBLEMS.

going for a walk with my honey before the rain sets in..

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

walk with the loved one plus sharing a cigarette is a great bonding experience. Smoking and walking will solve a lot of problems.

good grief, is that honestly the best you've got? i'm disappointed in you...2/10 at best.

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

I quit cold turkey about 27 years ago. Remember, you're not a smoker trying to quit. You're a nonsmoker.

keep me updated and I will try to get a score of 10/10 someday. Hope you had a good pooper.

i've termed myself an ex-smoker :)

went out to get groceries and saw a fellow lighting up when we were on our way home. the idea didn't appeal - no desire to have one.

all ashtrays have been packed away since yesterday morning. threw out a couple of empty packs tanker had been saving (he was collecting tax stamps from different states we've visited) - only thing left is a lighter or two around the house for candles & lighting bonfires in the backyard.

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

Damien as in Lucifer? You're too funny but you're not helping anything other than my abs! :)

As an on and off smoker for near twenty years now, I understand how many times and how easily one can take it back up but I do believe that change takes time and growth and support so whatever it was that made you take it back up back then, well, you said it yourself, you are not that same person any longer and in true ST fashion you have all the support you need right here this time around, the last time.

There is a book by Mike Magnuson, a proffessor and a cylist, that was a two pack a day smoker and heavy drinker and weighed in at around 400 lbs who at the age of 39 changed his life entirely by riding his bike, quitting cold tukey and riding centuries, dropping something like 200 lbs and dropping the local cat 1's within a year or two. The book is called Heft on Wheels and I'd recommend you spend some time reading his story as I have a feeling you will be awestruck at what is really possible and he talks with detail about his thoughts on smoking and drinking and his prior life which is what I connected with. Whenever you might feel the need to spark up, read a chapter instead and you'll see. It helped me on the right track for sure.

Just a suggestion and either way, hats off to you Missy and remember, Anything is Possible.

_________________
Anything is Possible

---

_________________
Anything is Possible.

Whenever you might feel the need to spark up, read a chapter instead and you'll see. It helped me on the right track for sure.

Just a suggestion and either way, hats off to you Missy and remember, Anything is Possible.

_________________
Anything is Possible[/reply]
feel the need to spark up, then spark up and puff it away. One other guy suggested kiss and fuck. I would say spark, kiss, and fuck away. Nothing like two ashtrays fucking and kissing.

thanks for the suggestion! i must admit i'm not much of a reader of inspirational stories, but i will certainly keep it in mind. still haven't felt like lighting up yet, which i think is due to having broken mental associations with it, and tanker agreed this morning that he hadn't really had any cravings either...perhaps a feeling that "something is missing", but no actual urge to have a smoke.

first day back at work, but noone in my office smokes (boss used to), so no real triggers here except stress...and i can always go for a walk instead :)

pfft..."ashtray" only applies to people who smoke. I DON'T, and neither does tanker! :)

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

If you haven't already, check out the book "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr. It can be a bit cheesy, but the mental tricks and mindframe the book helps you with are worth it. It's a positive approach to quitting.

Not to be a Debbie downer, but the cravings never completely go away. What happens is that they become fewer and farther apart AND you become much better at managing them. Know that this IS do-able. And seeing yourself as an ex-smoker is the right frame of mind.

once nicotine is out of your system (under 12 hours from now, at most), cravings are all psychological - if you say they "never go away", that means there is still a mental connection between an activity/feeling and smoking for you.

i do not associate smoking with comfort anymore.

i do not believe it will bring stress relief.

i do not think it will make pain go away.

i do not believe it will increase a feeling of pleasure.

so, why would i crave one? the answer: i don't!

i bit my nails for 10 years - i'd have the urge to do so 20 times a day or more. one day, about 9 years ago, i stopped. i've never bit my nails again since, and don't ever get the urge to do so. i broke the psychological "need" to bite them, just like i no longer have a "need" to have a cigarette.

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

Hey, I'm just sharing my personal experience--and the collective experiences of many nicotine addicts (yes, that's what we are). At some point the bravado goes away and you hit a weak point--what's your plan then? It's very hard to differentiate between psychological and physical cravings--the mind has a powerful effect on the body--and though it may be mental, it manifests itself in physical ways.

While this is a site for smokeless tobacco users www.killthecan.org there are smokers on there who join for the support.

I don't want to get in an argument, but share what has worked for me. It's a good thing you're doing so keep up the good work!

i appreciate your encouragement, and i'm not trying to argue, but i do believe that different people can have different experiences with quitting. yes, i know i'm an addict, which is why i know i can't succumb to the "just one more" trap. one puff will start the withdrawal all over again, or just drag me back in.

my plan when having a "weak moment" is to remember exactly what i said in my last post: a smoke won't make it better, it will only add more problems, and "just one" will always be too many.

example: i was wrestling with moving that ungodly beast, the conti trainer tire, from one wheel to another yesterday afternoon. it was a frustrating task, and ordinarily i'd go through 2-3 smokes in the time it took me to unhook the bike from the trainer, pull the wheel, remove the tire & tube, move both to the new wheel, put a new tube and my road tire back on the original wheel and put the new wheel on the bike, then hook the bike back up to the trainer.

i swore a bit, and the thought occurred that i'd usually have a smoke when getting frustrated. instead, i put the wheel down, had a sip of water, then went back at at. key point: the thought was that i USED to have a smoke, not that i WANTED a smoke. it wasn't a craving, just a habit-urge, and that was under 48hrs smoke-free. that's what i mean by breaking the association, and i don't think it's "bravado".

i also don't think it would be a healthy thing for me to get involved in that forum - i'm not having cravings, so i don't think i particularly want to read about people that are, or are dealing with them through another form of nicotine delivery. i'm just done with the junk..

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

You are totally right, everyone is different. And so is their quit.

Best of luck.

I bite my nails... it's an anti anxiety thing. Would LOVE to stop that.

Great job with the not smoking :-)

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

thanks! i wish i could tell you how i stopped biting my nails - i just decided one day i wouldn't do it anymore, and it stuck. hoping i've achieved the same mindset here!

1 more hour until the max time it takes to get nicotine out of the human body (72hrs). still no cravings, still feeling positive, and had a nice run, little spin, and swim this evening. time to make some dinner and head to bed to end day 3 :)

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

It's all mental now. :) And you seem pretty strong there so you will have no problems. :)
If I can offer some advice. It is critical for the next couple of months (at least it was for me), to break all those habit-inducing activities where it is too easy to smoke. For me, it was giving up camping and going out to the bars for a year. I didn't do either because I knew it would be too easy to get sucked back in. I also had to stop hanging around smokers for a while as well. Some of them were really supportive while others wanted me back smoking.
Sounds like you guys are doing a fantastic job. Keep it up!

M~

thanks! barely even having thoughts about smokes at this point :)

i don't really have any particular habit-inducing activities that i can avoid - i used to have a smoke after every workout, and i did have a habit-urge after my run last night, but still no desire to smoke. i'd also typically have a couple while making dinner, and the habit-urge was pretty strong while doing so on sunday, but it was mostly just my hands being used to doing a million things at once. actually kind of relaxing to have one less thing to juggle..

i don't go to bars at all, because i don't drink anymore (i spent st. paddy's at the pool - sent tanker to the pub ;) ...i won't be camping until july, the week after muskoka long course...i also won't be at any motorcycle rallies until civic holiday weekend, and didn't have any cravings just taking my moto out for a ride on saturday. that one was important - the last time i quit was fall of 2004, and it was starting to ride motorcycles in spring of '05 that got me smoking again...but it looks like i've broken the adrenaline-association as well. i just haven't felt that i wanted one at any point, and the "something's missing" sensation is starting to go away as well.

i'm proud of tanker right now, though - he had a really rough day yesterday, but managed to tough it out without caving! :)

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.

I bit my nails for 15 yrs. I finally quit by trimming my nails each morning with nail clippers. Whenever I'd put a nail in my mouth, the smoothly trimmed nails reminded me not to bite them. When they were ragged from biting, it was easier to absent-mindedly chew on them.

I'm kind of a germophobe, so looking back, I can't believe I ever bit them. Disgusting.

Brad

---

3SIXTY5cycling.com

I smoked as a teenager, up to half a pack a day at one point. Back in those days if you didn't smoke in high school then you just weren't cool. Quit at age 20 and never looked back. I remember it being very hard to quit. My secret was to not have that very first smoke in the morning and extend it through the day. For the first couple of years I even missed not smoking after dinner of if drinking/partying (Yeah I did a lot of that in my youth).

until about 2 months ago i was closer to a pack a day...cut out a couple here and there through my workday, and stopped having one before we'd even leave the house (waited until we were in the car)...probably about 3/4 of a pack per day up until friday.

it's been eerily easy so far...and i can't say that i really miss it..

cheers!

-mistress k

---

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.