So I guess I am looking for a some advice in helping to keep realistic expectations on my journey back to health and figured I am not the only one who has gone through this same situation. I am an ex high school XC and track runner who also ran briefly in college before quitting sports to "enjoy" the college experience. I was never very fast by ST standards, a PB of 4:38 for the mile and high 16's for 5K, but gave all that up and spent the better part of the past 10 years having fun and focusing on pretty much everything but my health.
A couple of years ago I found myself very overweight and smoking roughly 1 to 1-1/2 packs a day. I decided to start running again to get myself back in shape and have been running 15-20 miles a week for the past 2 years. I never managed to quit smoking and last year decided to start triathlons as a way to hopefully fix that but still never managed to get there. I have now been smoke free for 1 week, it isn't easy but I am hanging in there and looking for anything I can to help keep me motivated. I have been focusing on running this winter and have been consistently running 30 MPW for the past couple months. I am following the Barry P plan and am going to continue to increase my mileage and will be attempting my second marathon this fall.
My question is how realistic is it to shoot for a BQ time in the next 2-3 years? Is the damage I have caused too much to overcome or is it realistic to think I can get back to the fitness I once had? I know it will be a long journey and will take some time I am just looking for some advice to help me set realistic goals and keep myself motivated. If it helps give an idea of where my fitness is at I completed a couple of Olympics last year in roughly 2:50, with run splits ranging from 47:50-49:05, and a half iron late in the year in 6:15 with a 1:58 run split.
I don’t know if I can provide any advice on qualifying, since it seems that you have a more experience as a runner. But I was a 15 year smoker, now 4 years removed, and can’t imagine where I would be today if it was not for running and more recently triathlon. As much as I would love to run Boston or compete in Kona someday, personally my goal every day, even after 4 years, in not to smoke. I figure if I keep hitting the pavement everything else will take care of itself. My reach goal is to compete in a full IM in 2 years, but I’ll have to see when I get to that point. Congratulation on quitting smoking! Keep it up and always remember, just don’t smoke. BTW, a helpful website for me was http://whyquit.com/.
If you are finding cold turkey to be too difficult…I used Chantix to quit and it was great for me. I understand that some people have some weird dreams, but I haven’t had that. The only thing that I’ve learned with it is not to drink too much beer and then take it before going to bed. I sleep walk when I do that. Otherwise, it has been amazing a helping me quit. I’ve slipped a couple of times over the past year, but I follow up with a day or two of chantix and that seems to get me back on track.
Good luck
This is impossible to answer, you could BQ this year but for most it takes a few cracks at a standalone marathon until you get it right. I had 3 failed attempts until I got my BQ. I would not focus on a BQ so quickly. Start with running a 10K at BQ pace, then a 13.1 at BQ pace, then 30K at BQ pace. Get a marathon under your belt where you go easy for the first 13.1 and then average BQ pace for the second half. Then I’d say you’re ready.
Congrats on quitting smoking. I’ve seen first hand the absolute devastation smoking can have on a family.
I have been trying to quit for about a year now. Picked it back up when I went to Europe for the holdays but smoked my last one in Salzburg New Years night. I just went cold turkey and I know that if I do some true drinking, I am almost assuredly finished. I didn’t smoke as much as you but I am also just starting to be “competitive” after a couple years of rec biking. My first IM is in April and I feel like it is totally doable and then some. Quit, and train as much and hard as you can because I feel it is a great way to kick the habit (and it is equally addictive and I find myself feeling blue when I don’t get to train for some reason so be ready for a whole new ride).
I do not think the cravings ever totally go away and that’s what many others tell me as well.
11 year smoker before i stared, only sports i did was basketball then i tore ligaments in my knee so decided hiking/mountain climbing then finally this sport, still smoked the first 5 months, i was down to 2-3 sticks a day from more than half a pack while i was getting fitter, i started to not like the taste of smoking…this was in 1995 when i was 21,last cigarette was the second day of school and just totally quit fast forward to this year going on my 17th season smoke free 
i think with you totally stopping you body has already started reparining itself, chances are you`ll be faster with more training. clogging your lungs with tar/nicotine will surely give you issues not only during training/races, think 20+ years down the road, so better to stay smoke free and enjoy the reaquired benefits. good luck!
Smoking is a funny thing. It seems to take a toll on some way more than others.
I’m 56. Up through 1993 I was an alcoholic and a 2 1/2 pack per day smoker for 13 years. I quit smoking cold turkey in 1994 and quit drinking a couple months later. (I now drink too much again, but nothing like before. Haven’t touched a cigarette since I went cold turkey.) I reached a point where, when I’d lay down to go to sleep at night, I thought I was going to drown in all the crud in my lungs. It got to be awful. I got motivated.
The first day of being cold turkey I viewed as an investment in myself. The second day, I didn’t want to waste the first day’s investment. And so on and so on until, after about 3 weeks, I wasn’t thinking about it anymore. I didn’t use any crutches. They didn’t much exist back then anyway.
I got into cycling. Met a guy at church who introduced me to it right as I was going cold turkey. I loved it right off and it helped give me extra motivation to quit. This is one of the areas where I noted that smoking takes more toll on some than others. Right off the bat I was faster than some of the folks in the local cycling club despite the long smoking habit and the fact that I was using a hybrid bicycle! I was sucking wind just to breathe any time except when I got on the bike, then something happened and I seemed to be transormed. The fact that I met this cyclist at church made me feel like God had a hand in introducing me to cycling as a way out of my addictions. I had a new addiction.
I stuck to recreational cycling for a number of years, but really got into doing fast centuries and was regularly doing them in well under 5 hours on my road bike. Had a few major crashes and mishaps along the way, the worst of which was getting hit by a car and seriously injured in 2002. After a couple years of rehab from that, I discovered time trialing and triathlon relays. I’ve won my age group at the state championships for six straight years and I’ve done the bike leg for iron-distance relays at Beach 2 Battleship three times – none worse than 4:35 and one just a bit over 4:31 – all at north of 50 years old.
Just before this last Christmas, my best friend from college who was a year younger than me passed away from lung and brain cancer. We were partners in the indulgences of smoke and drink. He left it until several years later to finally change his ways and never got into a lifesyle of fitness and activity. I don’t think he smoked or drank near as much as I did, but he stayed at it longer. He paid a price for it that I have been fortunate not to have to pay.
It’s hard to say what toll your smoking has taken, but it would seem certain you’ll be better off putting it behind you as quickly as possible. Finding a replacement addiction via cycling or running or triathlon or … is a fantastic approach, in my opinion. I say, make qualifying for Boston your goals and dedicate yourself to it. That will make the cigarettes nothing but roadblocks and you’ll become anxious to be rid of them.
Good luck!
I can only share my experience. I was a light smoker (1/2 pack/day) from about 1992-2007. I started running in 2005, while smoking and did my first marathon in 2007 in 3:51(ish). I continued to smoke and really ramped up my training in late 2008 and finally quit in March of 2009 (this included chew). In October 2009, I BQed. My experience taught me that you can overcome the damage you have done in a short period of time, and quitting definitely makes a difference. Between quitting and dropping some pounds you should give it a good shot, especially with some of those times back in HS. Its never too late to quit. Good luck.
PS. The day after I BQed I had a cigarette…havent had one since or even remotely craved one.
Once again, this is not scientific, but my own opinion.
If you are finding cold turkey to be too difficult…I used Chantix to quit and it was great for me. I understand that some people have some weird dreams, but I haven’t had that. The only thing that I’ve learned with it is not to drink too much beer and then take it before going to bed. I sleep walk when I do that. Otherwise, it has been amazing a helping me quit. I’ve slipped a couple of times over the past year, but I follow up with a day or two of chantix and that seems to get me back on track.
Good luck
I’ve had positive results with Chantix, too. Also consider reading Allen Carr’s “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking.” It gave me a great perspective on my own addiction.
First off, congratulations on quitting smoking. As someone who takes care of clogged arteries of long-time smokers, along with dealing with the limb loss, strokes, MIs, aneurysms, etc. that it also contributes to–that’s when the lung cancer doesn’t kill you–you have made the single best decision you could make. That’s for your athletic performance but more importantly your life. Forget your run times—you’ll get more training volume in the long run by being alive rather than dead, I assure you.
Second, I remember a wise anesthesiologist once telling me that when a hard-core smoker stops smoking, their pulmonary function actually gets a little worse as the body adjusts. So you may find for the first couple months that it’s harder to maintain the pace. That’s OK! Stick with it.
Finally, keep in mind that the average person tries to quit 6 times before it sticks, so don’t get discouraged if cold turkey isn’t working for you–despite popular opinion, it doesn’t work for the vast majority. Stick with it, and look for help if what you’re doing isn’t working. Group therapy is actually one of the most effective–better than Chantix, even.
Good luck on your decision. It’s the best one you could make.
Was similar to your life experience. Track (400 & 800-2:00 and change), XC and basketball in High School, the bball in College (D3 so nothing too crazy). Quit basketball Junior year in college to “enjoy” myself and began a trip that sent me over 240 pounds and a pack a day smoking. At 28 yrs old (10 years smoking) decided I wasn’t the same person and wanted to get back to it.
Starting off, I didn’t think it would happen. Kept smoking, but that desire slowly decreased as mileage increased, bot from the searing pain it caused, but also from the lessened dependence as I think my body just didn’t want as much nicotine since it was getting endorphins.
It took some time, but at 33 I qualified for Kona this past year and did well (185 pounds). I think my run fitness was well ahead of full tri fitness though. As a natural runner I think my run fitness would have been there a year or two earlier to make a run at Boston, but that’s just speculation as I’ve never run an open marathon.
Good luck! One piece of advice is make sure to take your time ramping up distance. I pushed it too quickly at one point and had some serious IT Band issues. Its easy to get overzealous as your youth comes back to you and you realize you don’t feel as old as you are when you stop smoking and cut out other bad stuff.
Good for you for quitting! I quit about 30 years ago- best single thing you can do for yourself. I’ve always heard that when you quit, your lungs get back to pretty much their previous state. Remember, you are an ex-smoker, not a smoker trying to quit. There’s a difference
Thank you all very much. I really appreciate everyone taking time to share your thoughts and stories with a stranger looking for advice. I will just continue to follow the plan and build my mileage and hope that I can get back to the level of fitness I once had. Either way I know the most important thing is that I quit smoking and am once again focused on being healthy. I have managed to drop 50 pounds over the past 2 years so hopefully with time and some more hard work I can get to where I want to be and reach my goals.
Good for you for quitting! I quit about 30 years ago- best single thing you can do for yourself. I’ve always heard that when you quit, your lungs get back to pretty much their previous state. Remember, you are an ex-smoker, not a smoker trying to quit. There’s a difference
Oh man … is there ever. I forgot all about this. I forced myself to immediately start thinking of myself as a non-smoker. It really helped. “No, you don’t need to have a cigarette because you’re a non-smoker.” You’re absolutely right about this! It’s key!
Congratulations on quitting smoking. Any cravings at this point are psychologic and something like wellbutrin might be of help. Since you have already been a week without smoking nicotine replacement might not be the best idea, but your could use gum or lozenges as needed for extremely bad cravings. Chantix is an option as well, but since its already been a week…I’d probably just try and stick it out, it will get better with time and the exercise will help. Also, avoid situations that are going to produce cravings…drinking, bars, friends that smoke, etc…
As far as any damage from smoking, as far as most research has shown most of smoking’s effects on exercise performance in the short term are related to a couple of different things, one being the carbon monoxide content, which one week out is no longer an issue. The second is that smoking may effect the number and function of mitochondria in your muscle tissue, but this is likely not a permanent change and can be overcome with exercise and abstinence. It is unlikely that you have had a significant permanent decrease in your lung function from the period of time you have smoked, you might have had a slightly greater than expected age related decline in lung function while you were smoking, but it would be highly unlikely that you have caused any fixed obstruction to your airways. I imagine that if you had spirometry performed you would find the results are normal. So, I wouldn’t worry too much about having caused permanent damage to your lungs that is going to significantly limit your exercise capacity.
Is it realistic to BQ in the next 2-3 years? Well, I guess that depends on a lot of different things, based on your times, and weekly mileage, it sounds like you’ve got a long way to go…I’m guessing you’re about 30 something meaning you need a <3:05 marathon to BQ, which means you’ve got a lot of work. Impossible, no, but it certainly depends on a lot of factors. Namely, can you increase mileage to get the training in needed without getting injured, etc. I think it has more to do with your training than with that your used to smoke. You had a pretty decent VO2max at one point, so your body is capable of it, the question is is 2-3 years enough time for you to get back to were you need to be.
Yeah I just turned 33 so I know it is going to take pretty close to a 3 hour flat marathon to qualify. I know with where my times are now I have a long ways to go and that it will take quite a bit of work. I am planning to continue increasing my mileage throughout the year and will just see how things progress. With what I was able to do in the past I fell I have the ability so I will just see if I can get back to that level after smoking for almost 11 years. It is nice to know that others have been able to regain their fitness and will hope I can do the same.