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Back when I was trail running, I loved talking about the mileage I was doing. Then someone would ask me about my time. That's when the obfuscation started. "The concept of time is a mystery." "You have to take your time out there, really soak it all in." I'm not built for speed, but I can trudge it out with the best of them.

How I run in my mind

The last couple of months have really put me to the test, pushed me to the Edge, Knocked me to my Knees I am so proud to be associated with you all, I own a debt to you. Your strength, your Compassion, your support and your stretched out arms pulling me Back out of the Dark smoky life I was in. 22 days and i will achieve some thing that has alluded me for several years now. Life right now is not perfect and I believe it will never be, and I am good with that, I don't need perfect to stay quit, I must be able to fall off of my saddle get up, wipe off and get right back on. Overcoming the downs in life will not become an excuse to my self harm. I once told a good friend of mine that was have bad relationship problems that before she could give love to another she must first learn to love she self, take responsibility for her well being. Once that was done the relationships she entered would be kind and loving. Damn getting off track what I am saying is I take responsibility for my well being and smoking is not a healthy relationship I desire to be in. I am loving my self, I care for my future and that I will have all the love of Family and Friends is just a Perk of loving my self. Damn

Nope!!!!

Congratlations on nine months @Linda and thank you for the support and friendship you bring to all us aboard the train

Yay @Steven Drojensky, another month under your belt! Well done

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

I don't think an addict ever stops having cravings. Less often as time goes on, but I've read profiles of people who gave in to a craving after 5 and even 10 years. But you managed to stop yourself even under the influence of alcohol. That's a huge success.

Linda, you answered the bell. You didn't smoke. Your quit is intact and stronger for having met the challenge. Cravings and smoking thoughts are a part of the process. Dealing with the cravings without caving is what successful quitters do. Good work Linda. Glad to hear you had a good time at the wedding.

NOPE!

Nope!

Awww. Love on that sweetie! I’m glad that you were able to bring her home.

I come here and read the new posts almost everyday. It helps me to not just forget about trying to quit, and it also helps me to stay quit longer at times. I'm glad this site is here.

Start date 9/24 start wt 179.0. Goal is to be under 174.0 for 3 days in a row by 11/1. Current - 10/7 - wt 177.0 Exercise - Shoulder pain this morning, so just stretching and Movnat mobility training . Eating Breakfast - 2 strips bacon, banana Lunch - Chicken/bacon wrap, grapes Dinner - Small amount of bbq ribs Snacks - 1 soda, Ice cream

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

Thank you all so much!!

Start date 9/24 start wt 179.0. Goal is to be under 174.0 for 3 days in a row by 11/1. Current - 10/8 - wt 177.6 Exercise - HIIH 15 KB swings, 15 lift n press, 15 weighted situps, 15 horizonal lat pull, 15 overhead rock throw, 30 pushpus, 20 seated dips + 15min stretching. . Eating Breakfast - 2 strips bacon, banana Lunch - Chicken/bacon wrap, grapes Dinner - Culvers Snacks - 1 soda, Ice cream Good full body w/o tonight.

@JH63 Glad your staying in touch with the train!! Keep reading

Thought of the Day!! - thank you for everything you add here congrats on this milestone my friend!

NOPE…

Congratulations Linda. You're doing great.

You were tested Linda .... Alcohol and Nicotine .... You kept your quit ....this IS something to be proud of ..... You are still very early in your journey .....but as time goes on it does get easier ... We must never let our guard down .... Well done Linda ..

I’m so glad that you took that minute to think before you lit that cigarette up! It’s great that you’ve seen that for an addict the temptation never truly goes away and that we all need to remain vigilant when guarding our quits. You did great!

Never doubt your instincts, you did what was right for both of you, if only for 2 months or 2 years, you are together. People thought I was crazy for spending thousands on a dog but they did not understand how important he was to me. They also did not know that I save money just for taking care of my pets. I would rather put that away for them than silly things for me. Their love and company is such a joy in my life. K

You owed it to her and to yourself to do whatever you felt was best at the time. If you hadn't tried you may have always second-guessed your decision and wondered if there was more you could have done, which would make it harder to ever have peace of mind about the situation. Now she's home with you and, since dogs live in the moment, that's all that matters to her now. Give her all the love and let her call the shots, and just let her know that you're there for her either way -- as Doreen said, she may just decide to stick around for a good while yet. Sending hugs to you and Cookie.

Just to be different. lol

Thank you for sharing. I've bee fortunate so far to not have had a great deal of stress. during my quit. I'm sure at some point that will change and I'll remember your words.

What a Cutie ... Whatever time you have together is a gift ....you have been so lucky to have had each others love for 13 happy years ...and will have wonderful memories..... Cookie might decide to stay around a good while yet .. Hugs to you both

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NOPE!!!!!!

NOPE…

Ohhhh boy do I have a story to tell. Some of you know me and some of you don’t. However, I can’t expect you to remember me. It’s been an incredibly long and arduous journey. But it’s been my journey and it’s been a decent one so far. I’ve gone by many names in the past; some born from shame, some merely from forgetting my login information. Probably the most prominent username I’d been known by was HonorAmongstThieves; although many of you endearingly referred to me as HAT. Well, I could not pinpoint any username on this website, so I had to make a new one some time ago, which, as per usual it had remained dormant due to being a smoker. You see, my quit smoking journey unintentionally began on 1 January 2011. It was New Years and I only hd a couple cigarettes left but I didn’t want to go out so late to buy more. I decided to see if I could quit. And I did for about 4 months. I relapsed; which I would soon learn would be a recurring theme in my life. On the first night of my quit I came across a now defunct website, the QSMB, which is where I met many of you trying to accomplish the same thing that I was. I didn’t make an account until I was 72 hours free of nicotine in case I couldn’t hack it. I learned many techniques and coping skills that did help me through my initial 4 month quit. But alas, I was weaker than the cigarette and I fell back into my old ways. This is much how the past decade had gone for me. When I got wind of wanting to quit again, I’d lurk around, quit, be active for awhile, and then eventually relapse again. I met so many wonderful people through that website. I was even around during the great migration to this website, though I relapsed and when I came back, that website, to my surprise, was completely gone. But that’s alright because change is good. I began doing the same things here, lurking, quitting and being active here, and then relapsing. So many amazing and wonderful things have happened in my life over the past 11 years that I have tried to quit. I have worked incredibly hard to make changes in my life and I’m proud to say that I am not the same immature young adult that I was 11 years ago. Even then, I still kept smoking. Quitting. Relapsing. It’s a vicious cycle. Through all the personal struggle, the drama on the QSMB, the difficult and often painful pangs of growing and maturing, it’s all been worth it. But like Frankie said, “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, to few to mention.” Still, if there was one thing I could change about my life, I would never pick up those first cigarettes. They took too much of my life, my health, my money, my looks; too much of everything. I always wondered if I would ever be back to this place, other than lurking. Even now, I still do. It’s been hard. So many countless, blurry nights where I told myself that I hated myself. That I would never change. That I told myself I didn’t have what it takes to be a better person. Even those days aren’t that long ago. But I made gradual, sometimes baby-step, changes in my life and I’m a better man now. A better husband, father, provider. I often look back to that fateful night, 11 years ago and cringe with regret. If hadn’t relapsed, I’d be preparing to celebrate 11 years of freedom from nicotine. It was exactly that thinking that kept me bogged down, unable to advance. It seemed so far away. So impossibly out of reach. I’ve honestly had to fight myself from coming back to this board and posting, and being active. Not because it’s bad, lol that is NOT the case. I learned so much about quitting smoking from the people here…but I also learned about myself. I didn’t come back because I wanted to do it on my own. With my support group at home; my wife and children; my family and friends. My mentors and peers who believed in me. But I did tell myself I would be back. I told promised myself that I would not forget the people who helped me get to this point in my life, which certainly consists of many of you who tried to educate me. For those who believed in me and never gave up on me. I came back for you. Because I believe that I owed it to you to let you know how things have been. How much my struggle with nicotine impacted my life and my decisions to this point. But most importantly, I believe I owe it to you to tell you that, as I submit this post, for the first time in my life since I began smoking, I can openly and honestly say, unequivocally, that I am happy to be here to celebrate with you that I am officially one year free from nicotine! I have waited more than a year to share this post. It is literally 11 years in the making. I don’t expect to be a full time poster here, but I will try to check in from time to time. Just know that I am finally free from this beast. It’s an amazing feeling and I cannot imagine going back to it. I know it happens. I know that people who are many years quit sometimes relapse. Just know that I am doing well, I am happy, and I am nicotine free. What a time to be alive. Thank you for never giving up on me after my many relapses and thank you all for teaching me how to kick this habit. For any new quitters, it gets better. Take it one day at a time, or one minute at a time if need be. It’s invigorating to finally be on this side of the quit. For anyone lurking, what are you waiting for? The water is perfect, come on in. As Sarge always used to say, “eazy peazy.” Very Respectfully, Your old pal HAT

Awesome job. You are a quitter. The meme below has no meaning, I just thought it was cool.

NOPE!

I trail run/jog. My slow speed is just cause I suck at running/jogging. I'm good at neither speed nor distance. But I'm might borrow your reason sometime. lol

Nope

@Linda, it takes a good year to get past all the triggers you may face throughout any given year. Then there are the events that don't happen regularly that also can cause craves. You have to remember that you smoked for years and its just not realistic to think that in only 9 months time you would be over any craves so give yourself a break. You did it now the next wedding will be that much easier

Congratulations @AceWhite you're an inspiration to us all!!!

Well done getting past that Linda, you should be very proud of yourself

NOPE

Such a sweet baby, I am so glad she is home. Just love, kiss and spoil her. We never know when our time is over human or animal. She looks tired but happy to be home after being in the hospital. We all feel like that after were sick. I will bet she will be up and about tomorrow! K

Just curious what my quit counter looks like now. I think I put my quit time was 6:30.

WooHoo! Congratulations on 8 months Ace! You’re such an inspiration to us newbies, but also the veterans!

Congratulations @MarylandQuitter! And thank you for this site!!! It’s a life saver!!!

Congratulations and happy ate eight!

Congratulations on the 1 month quit! Off to a great start. stay strong. best wishes.

Perfecting my quit and helping others- Thank you for the recognition I like being center of attention

Love everyone’s commitment to their goals I have added some moderate weight lifting to my regimen.I actually use a very long barbell without the weights attached. Basically it’s the long pole which is quite heavy, and perfect for my needs I do front curls and lift it behind my back to tone and strengthen my upper arms. I also completed my two 2 mile power walks with a 3.5 % incline halfway both times, 3 % the other half. Speed remains 3.5 mph, which is a very brisk walking pace. The last 2 days my lower back bothered me while doing it, but I powered through the discomfort. No pain, no gain.