Smoking and Running?

I smoke a pack a day. I have been for like 8 years now. Is it still possible to run for an hour, (eventually), if I smoke cigarettes? I've had people tell me I can't, and people tell I can. I'd like to here from people who actually smoke that much and run that much as well. ??????

Replies

  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    I use to smoke but my time and distance improved dramatically when I quit. Before I could run for 30 mins with walking breaks. Now can run straight for over an hour. I don't think I would have been able to do it if I was still smoking.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ashhamp93 wrote: »
    I smoke a pack a day. I have been for like 8 years now. Is it still possible to run for an hour, (eventually), if I smoke cigarettes? I've had people tell me I can't, and people tell I can. I'd like to here from people who actually smoke that much and run that much as well. ??????

    Only one way to find out....
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    ashhamp93 wrote: »
    Is it still possible to run for an hour

    Yes.

  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Only you can answer that.

    For me, when running became a consistent part of my routine I quit smoking.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    I've ran as a smoker and a nonsmoker. I get way thirstier when smoking so my run always made me dehydrated, but I could do it.
  • Aed0416
    Aed0416 Posts: 101 Member
    This is going to depend on many factors including but not limited to smoking. Running for an hour is not something everybody can do. You will probably get to a point where you will have to choose between the amount you smoke and the duration of your run.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    I guess it would depend on whether your lungs are significantly damaged. If not, you should be able to. If you're developing COPD or something along those lines, I'd say the likelihood is much lower.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
    I don't think smoking and running are really compatible. When I started to run again, as an adult, I could finally quit smoking, and I felt much better.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I don't think smoking and running are really compatible. When I started to run again, as an adult, I could finally quit smoking, and I felt much better.

    lots of runners still smoke- I've seen racers light up after finishing marathons and half marathons.

    doesn't make it a good idea of course- but they do it.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    Yes. I've seen lots of smokers in the military, and we ran. A lot. Some were pretty fast. Most were not.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    You can, though your cardiovascular capacity may be slowed vs that of a non-smoker. On the upside, you probably won't end up outrunning your muscular fitness (often newbies get hurt because they have a strong cardiovascular system so they push beyond what their joints can handle).
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Does it matter?


    Let's be honest, smoking kills. Not only does it effect the efficiency and health of your lungs, but it can cause mouth cancer, lung cancer, costs a ton of money, smells absolutely terrible. I know you probably know the downsides to smoking.. i'm just saying... if you can, you should quit.

    if you must, i recommend switching over to a good quality electronic cigarette and working your way down nicotine-wise and then quitting entirely.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    running is the worst form of exercise.

    :laugh:
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
    When I trained for my first marathon eons ago, there was a guy in my group who was a pack a day smoker. He actually ended up doing pretty well (3:45-3:50-ish), but I think it was moreso to check it off his bucket list.

    That being said, please stop smoking!
  • NA1979
    NA1979 Posts: 223 Member
    In the UK, some professional footballers, worth millions and millions smoke, and they are elite level athletes...
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Does it matter?


    Let's be honest, smoking kills. Not only does it effect the efficiency and health of your lungs, but it can cause mouth cancer, lung cancer, costs a ton of money, smells absolutely terrible. I know you probably know the downsides to smoking.. i'm just saying... if you can, you should quit.

    if you must, i recommend switching over to a good quality electronic cigarette and working your way down nicotine-wise and then quitting entirely.

    Agreed. Additionally, while you might do fine running now at age 23 smoking a pack a day, you ain't going to be 23 forever. You're not exactly doing your future body any favors by pumping your body with that crap.

    I know, I know "we all die sometime." It's not the dying, it's the quality of life leading up to that point.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    When I trained for my first marathon eons ago, there was a guy in my group who was a pack a day smoker. He actually ended up doing pretty well (3:45-3:50-ish), but I think it was moreso to check it off his bucket list.

    That being said, please stop smoking!

    Imagine how fast that guy would have been if he wasn't a smoker!
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    emdeesea wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Does it matter?


    Let's be honest, smoking kills. Not only does it effect the efficiency and health of your lungs, but it can cause mouth cancer, lung cancer, costs a ton of money, smells absolutely terrible. I know you probably know the downsides to smoking.. i'm just saying... if you can, you should quit.

    if you must, i recommend switching over to a good quality electronic cigarette and working your way down nicotine-wise and then quitting entirely.

    Agreed. Additionally, while you might do fine running now at age 23 smoking a pack a day, you ain't going to be 23 forever. You're not exactly doing your future body any favors by pumping your body with that crap.

    I know, I know "we all die sometime." It's not the dying, it's the quality of life leading up to that point.

    No doubt. When I was 18 and in the Army I smoked and ran. It didn't really impact my performance - I did what I had to do and was young enough to do it. Luckily I was smart enough to quit when I was 22. Today, at age 47, EVERYTHING impacts my performance. I can't imagine smoking and running later in life...
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    dewd2 wrote: »
    emdeesea wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Does it matter?


    Let's be honest, smoking kills. Not only does it effect the efficiency and health of your lungs, but it can cause mouth cancer, lung cancer, costs a ton of money, smells absolutely terrible. I know you probably know the downsides to smoking.. i'm just saying... if you can, you should quit.

    if you must, i recommend switching over to a good quality electronic cigarette and working your way down nicotine-wise and then quitting entirely.

    Agreed. Additionally, while you might do fine running now at age 23 smoking a pack a day, you ain't going to be 23 forever. You're not exactly doing your future body any favors by pumping your body with that crap.

    I know, I know "we all die sometime." It's not the dying, it's the quality of life leading up to that point.

    No doubt. When I was 18 and in the Army I smoked and ran. It didn't really impact my performance - I did what I had to do and was young enough to do it. Luckily I was smart enough to quit when I was 22. Today, at age 47, EVERYTHING impacts my performance. I can't imagine smoking and running later in life...

    My sister has been a smoker since her teens. She's younger than I am (I'm 44; she's now 37) and she actually looks older than I do. And she's got that ragged, horrible cough. And she sure as heck can't even walk up a set of stairs, much less run.
  • michael302006
    michael302006 Posts: 1 Member
    I smoke a pack and half a day and breathe in asphalt all day at work. But I'm still able to run. I'd say if you're gonna keep smoking try not a hour or so before you go run.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I smoked and ran when I was in the military...and we ran a lot...granted I was in my early 20s. I quit a few years ago at the age of 38..I had difficulty walking my butt around the block at that point.
  • Aed0416
    Aed0416 Posts: 101 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I don't think smoking and running are really compatible. When I started to run again, as an adult, I could finally quit smoking, and I felt much better.

    lots of runners still smoke- I've seen racers light up after finishing marathons and half marathons.

    doesn't make it a good idea of course- but they do it.

    Really? I have never seen this, not even when living and racing in Virginia one of the most tobacco friendly states.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited April 2016
    Aed0416 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I don't think smoking and running are really compatible. When I started to run again, as an adult, I could finally quit smoking, and I felt much better.

    lots of runners still smoke- I've seen racers light up after finishing marathons and half marathons.

    doesn't make it a good idea of course- but they do it.

    Really? I have never seen this, not even when living and racing in Virginia one of the most tobacco friendly states.

    My wife did a 1/2 marathon last fall...there was a little designated smoking area on the plaza where the race ended...there were a surprising number of runners hanging out in there after the race. Certainly they don't make up the majority, but they do exist. All of them looked to be in their 20s.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    edited April 2016
    I smoked for 23 years, and quit 10 years ago because:

    Chemical / Amount (per cigarette)

    Acetaldehyde 980 micrograms to 1.37 milligrams
    Acrylonitrile formerly 1 to 2 milligrams. This product was used as a fumigant in tobacco. Its use has since been discontinued.
    4-Aminobiphenyl 0.2 to 23 nanograms
    o-Anisidine hydrochloride unknown
    Arsenic unknown
    Benzene 5.9 to 75 micrograms
    Beryllium 0.5 nanograms
    1,3-Butadiene 152 to 400 micrograms
    Cadmium 1.7 micrograms
    1,1-Dimethylhydrazine unknown
    Ethylene oxide unknown
    Formaldehyde unknown
    Furan unknown
    Heterocyclic amines unknown
    Hydrazine 32 micrograms
    Isoprene 3.1 milligrams
    Lead unknown
    2-Naphthylamine 1.5 to 35 nanograms
    Nitromethane unknown
    N-Nitrosodi-n-butylamine 3 nanograms
    N-Nitrosodiethanolamine 24 to 36 nanograms
    N-Nitrosodiethylamine up to 8.3 nanograms
    N-Nitrosodimethylamine 5.7 to 43 nanograms
    N-Nitrosodi-n-propylamine 1 nanogram
    4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone up to 4.2 micrograms
    N-Nitrosonornicotine 14 micrograms
    N-Nitrosopiperidine unknown
    N-Nitrosopyrrolidine 113 nanograms
    N-Nitrososarcosine 22 to 460 nanograms
    Polonium-210 variable[3]
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 28 to 100 milligrams
    o-Toluidine 32 nanograms
    Vinyl chloride

    Almost forgot...Commercial tobacco smoke is a mixture of more than 5000 chemicals.

    It's 2016, why are you still smoking? Please don't get mad and say you don't care if these things go into your body.....Asking because I DO care xo
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Aed0416 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I don't think smoking and running are really compatible. When I started to run again, as an adult, I could finally quit smoking, and I felt much better.

    lots of runners still smoke- I've seen racers light up after finishing marathons and half marathons.

    doesn't make it a good idea of course- but they do it.

    Really? I have never seen this, not even when living and racing in Virginia one of the most tobacco friendly states.

    I have. I regularly run 5 and 10Ks and there's always people who finish then go light up. Such a stupid, stupid habit.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
    Yes, but why would you want to? Quit smoking. You're killing your health, and you will certainly regret your smoking habit later in life once you get into your 50s and 60s.