As published at News957.com: Can eight weeks of training turn a fat, lazy smoker into an elite level athlete? Obviously not. How about an average athlete? That may be pushing it, too. But gains can be made, and I proved that this weekend. On Saturday, I joined more than 600 other people in the Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run. It's five kilometres through the waterfront area of south-end Halifax, from Pier 21, down through the port lands, up to Salter St. and back on the boardwalk to the seaport. The weather was beautiful: sunny, cool, with a little bit of wind. The course was nice and flat. I got a decent night's sleep and had some lunch. After two months of three-times-a-week training, I knew that I was in as good a position to finish strong as I could be. Of course, I'd be stronger if I'd quit smoking. Yeah, that's the part I keep putting off. Anyway, the Bad Ashes team from the Learn To Run program gathered outside Pier 21 an hour before race time. We got