If you are confident it is your back, consider new shoes. When I ran regularly I would get a new pair every 6 months or so. When I first started I had some old running shoes and my back was killing me. New shoes made all the difference. Go to a specialty running store and get shoes that will work for you.
I would be concerned that most marathon runners care enough about their health and their own performance to not want to deal with second hand smoke during a marathon. Be considerate and don't smoke while running. As to not quitting, it's your health. But I suppose if you are going to continue to smoke you should at least be balancing a bad decision with a good one and keep running. Given how long it takes for your lungs to recover for each pack/year you've been smoking, you are putting yourself at a high risk for all sorts of problems you really don't want to deal with. It is not as though you'll be healthy tomorrow if you quit today. You will likely still have an increase risk of your heart going out on you while playing tennis even years down the line.
I promise you that smoking a cig will be the LAST thing on his mind if he's running a marathon. The only thing he'll be thinking about is: (start of the race) Jeez O Pete, I'm really doing this. (during the race) Where is the next water station and counting mile left to run. (after the race) Hot Damn! I freaking did it! Maybe not exactly but you get the idea. The changes your mind and body makes pre/during/post marathon is too incredible to be hampered by the want of a cigarette. But I do agree, ideally the op should just quit but it certainly won't hurt him to run.
Hey I'm TexasFight put that damn cigarette out.........Jcee: maaakkkeeeeee meeeeeeeeee as you're passing me up. You inhale all kinds of pollutants everyday esp. if you are running a marathon in downtown Houston.
Actually, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/content/When_Smokers_Quit.asp 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops. (Effect of Smoking on Arterial Stiffness and Pulse Pressure Amplification, Mahmud, A, Feely, J. 2003. Hypertension:41:183.) 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1988, p. 202) 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp.193, 194,196, 285, 323) 1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. 285-287, 304) 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi) 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi) 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, pp. vi, 131, 148, 152, 155, 164,166) 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker's. (US Surgeon General's Report, 1990, p. vi) I have plenty of time to quit
This is probably not accurate...the study was done almost 20 years ago and I'm sure there is more data over CAD due to smoking since then. Just speaking from my experience (of course, I'm not a doctor so some folks on the board will think my 1st hand experience means D!ck, so be it), but a large number of folks I've taken care of in the ICU have stopped smoking 10-30 yrs before they come in and still show signs of accerlated inflammatory response due to smoking. Their Coronary Artery Disease is MUCH more advanced than the non-smokers we see. For example the 50-60 year old former-smokers come in with multiple blockages that you'd see in a 80 year old non smoker...hell many times it's worse. Yeah there are a variety of other factors involved, but that's just a trend I and a lot of other healthcare folks have noticed. If you talk to any Cardiologist they'll all tell you the same thing...besides being a hard drug user (especially cocaine) the worse thing you can do to your heart is smoke.
That doesn't mean it's not going to make people around you angry during the marathon when you are smoking a cigarette right next to them. When you run a marathon, you are surrounded by extremely health-conscious people, so of course they are going to have a problem with you blowing smoke in their face when they pass you. I just don't get what smoking cigarettes while you run a marathon is going to prove, other than that you take pride in this habit.
Cigarettes are some of the most worthless things in the world. Hell yeah you should quit. The only thing worth smoking is pot, although that's not really very helpful when finding the energy and motivation to run a huge race. Why don't you just run the marathon high? Best case scenario you space out and the race is over before you know it. Worse case you take a wrong turn and jog off a cliff. But that seems unlikely.
Agreed. shoes make the difference. And go to a "running store" and get help from a pro. They should analyze your walk and how you distribute weight...ask about your aches, etc etc. Then they will pick out a shoe for you to try...this isnt about what shoe looks good, but feels right.
Yet they cost a fortune over a life time. Screw quitting for your health. Quit to save yourself some cash.
