My four year plan to quit smoking, run a marathon, and get pregnant
It’s always been a dream of mine to run a marathon, just to be able to brag about it, or to prove to myself that I can do it. There’s no other sporting challenge quite as iconic, and yet most people who complete it are not elite athletes. If other people can do it, I know I can do it, if I set my mind to it.
But I’ve never enjoyed running. Even in high school, when cross country was my sport, it was always laborious to me, something I had to do. Afterward, sure, it feels great (and doing sports meant I only had to take PE for one year). But while I’m actually running? Terrible. Pure suffering.
I quit running in college because with all the school work and living on my own for the first time, I just didn’t have enough willpower to force myself to do another thing I didn’t want to.
I haven’t made things any easier for myself in the past decade since high school. I’ve barely exercised, except for a little bodybuilding when I first came out as trans 8 years ago. Worse, I took up smoking weed for my anxiety, and I’ve been having trouble trying to quit.
That’s why I signed up for a 5k on New Year’s Eve this year. I’m going to do it, whether or not I’m in shape by then. At worst I can walk most of the way.
But, because I’ve got a competitive streak, even when competing with myself, I’m going to train. November and December I’m really going to lock in: I’m using Nike’s 8 week training program. October is all about getting my body ready. I’ve got to quit smoking and start running every other day.
I’ve tried to quit cannabis before. I spent two months of the last year, April and September, being abstinent and fighting off withdrawal cravings. I set the goal for a month, but I went back to smoking immediately after. Quitting permanently has never been on the table, and it still isn’t. After my race I’m going to smoke a fat joint, then go back to no weed when I train for the next one.
See, I’m also addicted to making plans. I can’t just run a 5k in 2026. I want to run a 10k next year, then a half marathon in 2028, and then finally a marathon. Then I’ll be in great shape and I can go off hormones and get pregnant. (Turns out I jumped the gun on my pregnancy blog, oops. I might make a separate running blog, or just post about my running on here.)
I know stuff will come up along the way, because plans never go perfectly. But if I say I’m going to do something, that greatly increases the odds that I will do it. So here's me saying it, even if it is to strangers online. MARATHON!!