My 2nd nicotine-free anniversary is on May 8th. Once again, I have taken an early reward. Again, it's due to the timing of events beyond my control.
Since I have quit smoking, I have experienced a much greater increase in aerobic ability than I had ever expected. I used to have about a maximum distance of 5 miles on my beach cruiser bicycle, and that was about all I could do. Since I've quit, I have taken that thing up to 20 miles on a ride. I've also developed a greater capacity and liking for other forms of exercise: yoga, hiking, running on an elliptical machine at the gym, etc. I've kind of avoided running, due to arthritic knees, but there are plenty of other choices. (BTW, all this exercise has been the reason for my "sweaty guy" avatar right now.)
So, a month or so ago, an ad for a local "sprint duathlon" popped up on my facebook feed. Since the race was scheduled for the same week of my anniversary of no nicotine, I kind of decided to make this event my reward for this year. It would consist of 1.5 miles running, then a 12.4 mile bicycle ride, and then another 1.8 miles of running. I did some research on how to train for running without destroying my knees with frequent running. I already had the aerobic ability to complete runs, but needed to do some work to strengthen the muscles in my knees.
So today as the big day. I did my first adult racing event with a big group of people. I rode my favorite bike--my blue beach cruiser with no gears
, and ran the distance. Actually, I ended up running an extra mile because I got confused and missed a turnaround point. I still made it to the finish line before they cleared the course, and I wasn't even last! Haha.
...And that, my friends, is what smoke-free lungs can do, even after 25 years of abuse. Yes, there is life after smoking, and it's really good.
I'm so sorry I mean (Best). 
..I wish you all the beast 
