Run Smoker, Run!

Call Me Jimmy

stats

23 years old,
smoker,
pizza eater,
coffee drinker.
I don't weigh that much but for some reason my stomach sticks out...
I'm about 5 foot 6

background
I went for a run this morning, 1.54 miles in 12 minutes. My dad says that's very good for someone of my... situation.

need help
Guys I've lurked this forum a lot and have seen some great advice and achievements.
I need to get a schedule together that is suited to me (lean, but extremely unfit).

Can fitness be achieved as a smoker or will they have to go out the window now. (i know the answer just want someone to say it's ok to smoke and run.

Can anyone give me some specific advice on how far I should run and how often etc. best things to eat/drink. etc

it has started
My first run today, 1.54 miles in ~12 minutes. Legs/ankles especially were the worst, breathing was ok, everything else felt fine.

RayCun

Start with the couch to 5k (the free Robert Ullrey podcasts are handy)
Throw out the smokes

theboyblunder

I started out exactly like you (minus the smokes) in 2007 and did 1.43 miles in 12 minutes for my first run and nearly died.

I would run 3-4 times a week at the start, gradually increasing the distance (10% per week max). When you can run 5 miles comfortably then enter a race and get a program.

You know that you need to ditch the fags . Best of luck!

menoscemo

I started running last year with the goal/intention of running the Dublin City Marathon, but in reality I was just doing it to help me stop smoking.

I knew if I had a goal and was running regularly I would find it easier to quit (I had failed at quitting 7 or 8 times before). To be honest I had no problems quitting this time, the running gave me a great distraction and once I was running 3 or 4 times a week, the last thing i wanted was a smoke because i knew it would affect my times and training.

So my advice would be set yourself a long-ish term Goal (both in terms of race and time you would like to achieve)- , start training for it and use it as a way to quit the smokes. You will never look back!!

And best of Luck!!

RacoonQueen

As you get fitter you'll probably start cutting down on the smokes anyway it will, most likely, get easier to give them up. Good luck with the training and the quitting(you ARE quitting smoking )

Krusty_Clown

Unfortunately, the smokes will have to go. Over time, your legs will become more conditioned, and the next thing to limit progress will be your cardio system (heart, lungs, etc). The smokes will also inhibit your recovery. Best to chuck them. I've struggled for a long time with the smokes, and it's the running, and the motivation to do better that keeps me off them for long periods of time. I still reward myself occasionally, but I shouldn't. It's dumb.

DustyBin

Giving up the fags is the biggest single improvement you can make to your health, bigger than starting to run, or give up drinking, or cutting out crap food, or anything. At least that's what I was told by a medical type person.
Reformed smokers (like me) are the worst for preaching, but they're unsociable, unhealthy, expensive, and they stink. Get yourself some form of nicotine replacement and stick the fags in the bin.
Best of luck with the running.
I'm off them since August '09 when I started this exercise stuff - it's great

Call Me Jimmy

Thanks for the support so far. I'm actually gonna go out and have a smoke now :P
but I can definitely see me cutting them out as my running gets more structured.

The couch to 5k is interesting but it seems just a little too light. I know i shouldn't do the run I did today each time but there's slightly too much walking in the couch to 5k.

After my run today I wasn't dying or anything, my legs were just a bit sore. So if the legs are the first thing I want to improve, what are people's opinions on the couch to 5k?

EDIT: In a half-hearted defense of smoking - Easy Company in world war 2 were probably the fittest soldiers in the war and they smoked. But as my bro pointed out to me, so did everyone else.

RayCun

Well, you could start 2 or 3 weeks in to the couch25k if that suits you better. Against that, the most important things at this stage are to be consistent in your running, and to learn to run slowly enough that you can run the time without breaks. Jump ahead too much and you might strain something and have to stop for a few weeks, or not be able to pace yourself through the longer runs. It's up to you really, you have to judge for yourself how well you can handle it.

And really, as another preachy reformed smoker, the sooner you stop the better. I think they've taken Zyban off the market (that's what I used), the next best thing I found was the Allen Carr book.

Call Me Jimmy

Yea, maybe I sold myself a tiny bit short. I ran the 1.54 miles today non-stop, slowing to a jog at points but a sprint at the end when I could see my house.

You're right about the possibility of injuries if I kept that up, so I will try to take it slow and maybe I will use couch to 5k and just start a few weeks in instead.

On a side note, my dad gave me a stop watch and I was pressing 'start' and 'stop' and I could just see the addictive nature of running consistently and trying to beat times etc.

Krusty_Clown

It's better to follow an easier program and add miles in, then it is to follow a tougher program and drop miles because you can't complete them, or worse, suffer injury. Start with the c25k, and if you don't feel the need to walk, jog comfortably. Then move onto a 10k program, and sign up for a 10k race.

Call Me Jimmy

k

pgmcpq

Smoking's gotta go - can't really see how you can make progress without give them up. I'm a bit reluctant to suggest this as it is expensive - and I don't know that it works for everyone ... but what worked for me (about 5-6 years ago) was a product called SmokeAway - it is a homeopathic program (I never really listened to the CD and that nonsense). I combined this with substituing in a fake cigarette ( Bravo was the name I think - tasted awful) every second time. Worked for me and the guy who recommended it to me.
Good luck.

PS. Just re read your OP ....at 23 there are things you can get away with that you just won't be able to do in 10 years - trust me on this !

Call Me Jimmy

Yup, smoking has got to go. Did week 4 of the couch to 5k and it knocked the stuffing out me. Couldn't breath and my ankles felt real sore again - I think there is some sorta misalignment.

EDIT: Just had a smoke... long way to go!