Come on, Lungs!

Umm.. I have a confession to make. I know why I'm so bad at running (as opposed to running/hiking, which I can do all day). For a long time I have been an on & off - mostly on - smoker. For the last couple of days (2d16hr40min) I have not smoked. I've been wearing my patch, which I hate - it itches. I also have a back up of lozenges, just in case there's need for a booster. I just came back from a run. It was terrible. I could breathe less than normal.

I know my lungs need to adjust, and cells all throughout my body are figuring out what to do with all this extra oxygen they've found themselves with, but it's very demoralizing!! I walked quite a bit on exactly the same route I did on Saturday, because I couldn't catch my breath. It's also warm out, and I haven't eaten all day (yes, yes, bad, I know). I usually do better on unfueled (bonk) runs, but I also usually run in the morning so intake wasn't as long ago (dinner). I made myself go the full three (!! ssh) miles, when I could have easily turned for home on several occasions. I was also sure to run the last half mile to end on a somewhat good note; I don't want to feel so disheartened that I'm not wanting to go out again, because we all know that isn't going to help.

Physiologically, it's going to take time to adjust. My chest felt congested, my throat both aches and burns, and even ten minutes after getting home my breathing wasn't quite right. Tomorrow is my first scheduled speed work (I use the term loosely here), so maybe that will help clear things out a bit.

But yay for quitting! This time it will stick.