In my mid-teens and early twenties I was a ridiculously active person who happened to also be a pretty regular smoker. Eventually I put 2 and 2 together and replaced cigarettes with chewing tobacco so I could stay active without giving up the “benefits” of nicotine.
Two weeks ago, after almost 20 years of daily use, I reworked my math and decided to call it quits 4realz.
What’s the attraction?
Nicotine causes a rapid release of adrenaline which increases blood pressure, breathing and heart rate. As a result the body dumps glucose into the bloodstream giving you instant energy. WIN! Nicotine also stimulates pathways in your brain which causes the release of several chemicals including: acetylcholine (improves your reaction time and attention span), dopamine (makes you feel happy and enhances memory), and endorphins (make you feel happy and pain free). Kind of like this:
Why wait 20 years?
It’s not so much that I’ve waited for 20 years, but that I’ve been unsuccessful for 20 years because quitting nicotine is really f**king hard. Like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen and your pants around your kankles kind of hard. Seriously, every time I’ve tried to quit in the past, my body would revolt and go into withdrawal. I’d be irritabile, have difficulty concentrating, eat everything, get anxious, and grow impatient. Thankfully, this time around I’ve got some additional motivation to help me push through the physiological discomfort: wife, child, teeth.
Why quit?
For starters you could lose your face. If you don’t care about your face there are still other, less visible risks. Nicotine causes an increase in blood pressure, arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), and narrowing of the arteries that bring blood to and from the different organs in the body. Permanent blood vessel narrowing is possible with use of nicotine over time. This can result in reduction of the amount of blood the heart can deliver throughout the body and contributes to the development of heart disease. Less blood flow can produce dizziness and slower reaction times. In short, you won’t be enhancing your performance if you know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink. Oh yeah, there’s also cancer. But w/e.
How’s recovery treatin’ ya?
I’ve opted to ditch nicotine cold turkey with the hopes that science is right and running will activate dopamine reward systems the way nicotine used to. No chewing gums. No nicotine patches. Just me and my two feet. I gotta admit, the beginning was all…
But now I’m all…
Yeah, once I got over the initial “I want to rip everyone’s face off for no apparent reason” stage it’s been pretty smooth sailing. My wife no longer nags me (about chewing). My son continues to crap his pants. And I’m back to running 45+ miles/week. It’s fantastic really. The only downside to my approach…if I go too long between runs I begin to exhibit some of the same withdrawal symptoms I did when I quit nicotine. Such is life.
Got thoughts on a runner’s addiction? Share ‘em below or send me an e-mail at TiTy@y2kemo.com.
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