Day One

I was down to 10 a day. That means I eliminated all the non essential smokes

but kept the most essential, most important ones. In a way, that almost

strengthens the addiction in the end, because every one of those ten

was somehow "meaningful". Keep vigilant and fight the thought that

ANY freak fag is meaningful. Hell, what is meaningful is all the oxygen

you're gulping, and what a great runner you now are. There are some

radically dedicated exercise heavy weights here...hope you join up with

them!

Exactly,stay focused, and remember - this is all so temporary. Soon you will have kicked addiction's butt.

Just gotta get through the early days. It may not be all sunshine and rainbows, but still very doable. Else none of us would be here.

And a belated welcome and congrats on the great decision!

Okay, so maybe you were already a great runner even while smoking. I had a gal pal when in my 20's and she was a running coach and smoked! But surely this can't be good for the body. Reminds me I need to get an oil change or my truck is going to get REAL sluggish. Maybe not smoking is like a big oil change for a runner.

When I called you "old scoucer" I thought you were, like, 30 or 31 years old. True, it was just a joke. You look like you are in your early 30's.

I bet you are exhausted from your efforts. This part so sucks. Write a detailed description of this nightmare (no, not in your own blood!) - but get really graphic. I promise you, it will be a great read later on, and you'll want this account so in the future you can read it. You don't want to forget this demonic pain. You don't want to pass this way again.

My competence in ALL OTHER AREAS of my life fell to scary and dismally below par levels the first 8 days of my quit. But I wrote a stellar account of the pain. It convinced me that I want this to be the final quit, done and dusted.

Be kind to yourself. Once it's done it's done. I'm five weeks and feeling great, and am very happy. That's you five weeks from now. GTQ. Guard The Quit.