My friend Tom.

(My friend Tom is awesome. He's a runner just like I am, and he's a great great guy. We haven't known each other for too long, but we 'get' each other. As a reference, Tom is a little bigger than I am, but that don't mean i'm not sitting at the table next to him at the end of the night. He drinks his beers 2 at a time, and if you cater jason's deli to the office, don't be surprised if he scarfs down 14 sammiches, 4 chips, and 2 cookies. When you're 6'10', and 280lbs, and built like rock, that's what you do when you're running the mileage we run. His note to me:)


I tried to post this on your blog but kept getting messages about cookies, so here it is in a format I am more familiar with....

I had a similar experience about 17 years ago when I was trying out for the Washington Bullets during summer camp.

After 3 practices in an unairconditioned gym, I was walking back to the locker room and noticed that I was cramping in my calves, but for some reason I had an ominous feeling like this was much worse than just a calf cramp. I stopped to stretch, and then just sat on the stage in the gym. After a bit I resumed walking and was cramping and stretching as I went. I made it to the locker room in about 10 minutes- all of 30 feet or so. When I got to the very middle of the locker room my entire body seized and I flopped on the floor and started jerking and writhing- the effects of a full body cramp. My stomach muscles were cramping, my calves, my hamdstrings, my thighs, my forearms, triceps, biceps, my fingers, neck- you name it, if it had muscle tissue, it was cramping.

The trainers came running in and said "Oh my God" and started working me over- flexing this pushing on that, dropping ice on me, throwing gatorade dwon my throat, calling an ambulance. You name it.

Meanwhile, there are 20 naked african american men walking around staring at the cracker laying on the floor doing the funky chicken.

The head coach at the time was Wes Unseld. Wes was agiant of a man. 6'9" probably well over 350 pounds of massive muscle and beer belly. He walked in a said "what the hell is going on?" The trainer said, "he's cramping"

Wes' response was "crampin' hell - That ain't crampin' - that's rigor MORtis."

I actually started laughing in the midst of my immense pain

Anyway, one trip to the ER, and two liters of IV fluid later, I was discharged and told to eat banans and get a massage.

I went back to the hotel, ate my bananas, rubbed my legs, and went to sleep.

The next morning I got up, got dressed and went to practice. I was very sore, but sore is a way of life for a pro basketball player. It usually works it's way out after 15 minutes or so.

I started the first drill- a full court down and back weave which ended with one of the players laying it up, or dunking. I had run 3 or 4 weaves when the trainer came out and started swearing at me. He immediately pulled me off the floor and told me that I was "not medically cleared to practice."

I responded that I had not worked my ass off for over 8 years to get an NBA tryout to get sidelined by a fucking calf cramp.

As you might imagine, I lost the argument, and was cut that afternoon.

Anyway, I can't really remember how long it took me to recover from the soreness, but I know it was pretty bad, because the night after I got cut, I went out drinking with my buds in DC and was still having a hell of a time getting out of the car.

I then went home and got married 3 weeks later, by which time I am certain I was all healed up.

I FEEL your pain, Brother.