So picking up injuries is pretty standard once you start to push yourself and since I have gigantor calves it’s not a surprise that they cause me grief from time to time. Last night, in an attempt to escape from Shaun T during the level 3 drills I decided I would run a 400m loop each time we got to the rest period. The first time was fine, albeit hard to do with my lumbering mass (I know I have lost a lot, but gravity doesn’t care, I’m still 235lbs of knee crushing animal) and for the first time EVER I ran outside with my shirt off and nobody called the cops, threw up or tried to roll me back into the ocean. Second time was easier, and I also did a few reps of the small hill at the side of the house. By the time the last section came around I thought I would just do one more 400 and be done. I got up the hill but by the time I reached the road my left calf was screaming to stop. Not the kind of crampy, work through it and don’t be a wimp kind of pain, but rather the muscle fibers tearing and feels like a knife in your leg kind of pain. I jogged lightly back to the house to lick my wounds. A few hours later it was still very tender, my hope was that I would be able to sleep it off and to be honest the rest did it a lot of good but it’s still painful today. Good thing I have to take a rest day to attend a wedding.
Speaking of the wedding, I pulled out a pair of my wedding pants (since I don’t wear anything suitable for weddings at work) and was surprised to find they were too big. So I went to the part of the closet where my hopeful pants are. You know, the section where all your clothes that you like but will probably never fit into again live. Well, those fit perfectly. It’s very odd to realize that I don’t have a pair of pants in the house that are too small for me. I have kept pants from the last few years in the hope I would make it back into them but by this point I have surpassed those waist sizes too.
There is one exception.
I have a pair of pants I bought in Australia a few years ago. I love them. They remind me of a time when I was much smaller, although artificially so. I say artificially because before the trip I had been working out ridiculous hours, up to 2 hours a day on cardio alone. I was taking supplements for fat burning and all those other things people do to scare off whatever weight they have. It was always going to be temporary. But those pants are a reminder of what I achieved. I haven’t tried them on, I just know that I was around 15lbs less then than I am now, and even though it was a fake weight, those pants remain as my goal for my “real” end weight this time. If I can fit into those pants on a day to day basis I may just reward myself with another trip to Australia!
Don’t worry you’ll get there! Ya I know that knife stabbing pain you speak of. I often feel tingling in my arm and hand when I’ve done a lot of weight lifting with my arm. You should ice your calf and or use a heating pad. I use mine on my upper back and neck when ever I’m able to sit down!