Well, I made it about to the end of Week 1 before realizing I was trying to lift the same weights as I did at the END of last winter's Six Weeks of Hell, and without as good of a training base. I tweaked my right shoulder doing bench presses (still hurts, but getting better). Calf exercises consisted of 3 sets x 25 reps of seated calf raises with 115 pounds on the bar (similar machine shown below), followed by 3 sets x 25 reps of standing calf raises, which I do without extra weight but using only one calf at a time, with the other foot unsupported. Guess what? I tweaked my left calf.
After that episode, I had the kind of soreness I would've expected... But it just wouldn't go away. I'd think I was getting better, then I'd go to the gym for a light workout, and PA-TWANG! The calf would cramp up, or at least be painful.
Earlier this week, I started noticing the left calf felt "fuller" and tauter than the other, but didn't think much of it. It was Wednesday morning, when I got up at 5 a.m. to catch an 8:00 flight to Vegas, when I realized "Damn! That calf is really swollen!" I thought back to my Grandmother Alice's battle with blood clots in her leg when she flew to visit us for Christmas not too long after knee surgery... She spent several extra weeks in Toledo while on anticoagulants. I thought about the prospect of going to Vegas, getting sick, and being stuck there for who knows how long! Not a great prospect.
I blew off the flight to Las Vegas, abandoning a cheap plane ticket in the process. I took my youngest to Preschool and got to attend the Dad's Breakfast I otherwise would've missed. After that, I called my doctor. "Can I get in today?" "We're totally booked." "Okay, here are my symptoms..." "Can you be here at 11:15?"
Long story short, after an exam at my PCP's office and a Doppler ultrasound at the hospital, I was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), which is a big, nasty blood clot. My clot extends from my ankle up to my knee. Had it gone above my knee, I would've been admitted to the hospital on the spot. Such clots, if left unattended, can break off, travel to the lungs, and kill you in the form of a pulmonary embolism. I was immediately placed on two anticoagulant ("blood thinner") drugs and ordered to take it easy and elevate my leg. Tomorrow I return to the doctor for a blood test to see if my dosage needs to be adjusted.
For now, I have no idea why this happened, as I haven't had surgery or a long plane trip lately. However, I suspect that muscle strain, dehydration, and a low resting heart rate may have created the perfect storm for a clot to form. Stay tuned for updates.
