1 year
All kinds of mile stones around here. 30 mile week, 100 mile month, and now 1 year smoke free. On July 2nd, 2007 at 10:18 pm, I put out my last cigarette and went to bed. I haven’t smoked since.
I wish I had some sage advice to give you all on how I managed to do this. But I don’t. It was tough, it got a little easier all the time, and now it’s bearable. The initial days and weeks last year were hard, and emotionally draining. I don’t recommend it, unless of course you are a smoker, then I for sure recommend it.
Most of the time these days, I don’t want to smoke. I don’t even think about it. Periodically though the urge does strike me. However it’s not as strong as it used to be. I also have this total fascination with running, making smoking impossible.
Looking back over all the posts I wrote early on, makes me not want to go back there for any reason. I am happy that I quit, and proud that I made it a year.
I would be remiss if I didn’t at least give some credit to my online friend Maggie. I don’t know her in real life, but she happened by my blog when I started talking about quitting and chantix. She was a few weeks ahead of me, and it was awesome to read where she was at all times because I knew I was right behind her. Very inspirational. Thank you Maggie.
And thanks to John who lit a fire under my ass and got me running again. And Eric for making me stick to running in those early days when it’s so easy to drift away.
Thanks to all my friends who posted congratulations to me on the blog, and thanks to all my friends that hung out with me and put up with me early on (though, putting up with me is an ongoing struggle only a few manage and really has little to do with smoking).
Thanks, all of you.
I’m so thrilled that I can’t even explain, Nathan. Really, wow, and congrats! Your ongoing support helped me so much in my quit, too, always knowing that you were right there just a few tiny steps behind.
We’d both quit successfully in the past and knew that it would be tough even with Chantix, but this time I met people like you, and it added an extra layer of inspiration. Because of you, too, I so badly wanted to be able to run and gave it a go until my ankle did its thing, but if I ever invest in the right shoes to do it, it will be because I met you along my journey to stop poisoning myself by smoking.
Seeing someone else so close behind make it is almost more exciting than your own milestones sometimes, you know? That’s how I feel, and I’m beyond overjoyed for you. Seeing you reach such a significant milestone makes mine all the more real.
Sincerely, many congrats, and thank you for such kind words. I just grasped onto people doing the same thing not realizing I’d meet some really awesome people in the process, and I’m glad I met you. I hope you do something nice for yourself to celebrate because you deserve it!
Maggie, I can’t thank you enough. Odd how paths can cross on the internet. I am better off for having known you.
Here is to us, staying strong.
Truly fantastic buddy.. One bad habit for a very good one. Pretty crazy (great) exchange in my book.
Congratulations for making the commitment and sticking to it for a whole year! If you had to switch habits from one thing to the other, running isn’t a bad habit at all :)
That is awesome :) Congrats, dude. That is quite an accomplishment. Seriously I thought it was going to come to an end December 6th, 2007 when the NAS had the aneurysm ‘n’ all.
Congrats, you should be proud. You stuck to your plan, Pre Lives.
That’s huge, man–congratulations. It does get much easier over time, doesn’t it? I quit 10 years ago; I still like the smell of smoke, and when someone in a movie or on tv lights up I can almost taste the first drag, but it actual cravings are an absolute non-issue to me anymore. It’s more like a funny “ah yes, I remember what that was like”.
Can’t imagine smoking now. I think I’d feel like crap if I did. Congrats, and good luck with the running.