ok BG, here's the deal.
good buddy from college who was never much of an athlete compared to me calls me up, says he's doing triathalons and shit and feels fucking WONderful, w/e.
tl;dr now i'm roped into running the twin cities marathon in september 2009 - almost exactly 9 months from now.
problem one: i haven't run competitively since high school, which was a long time ago.
problem two: i smoke like a chimney, and drink a lot on the weekends - probably carrying an extra 20 pounds over what is healthy at 5'8", although i'm not fat overall - just have a belly.
for you runners and doctor types:
i've found an 18 week program that can supposedly get a runner marathon-ready if they start it being able to run 3-6 miles without discomfort, and 15-25 per week on average. so i have until june 1st to get to that point. i can't run a mile, probably can't even clear a quarter right now without walking.
how viable is this, being a smoker? can it even be done in 9 months? i do plan to quit smoking this weekend, and my gym membership starts back up tomorrow. i've also cut down portion sizes on meals, and am making the heathier decision when choosing meals when possible.
how likely am i to actually just keel over and die? (this is the likely outcome i've heard from a few nurses etc.)
is there anything concrete i can do to increase my chances of success, other than the things i already have covered?