Hello,

I think i've had a similar injury - I could bike and walk just fine, but it gives out after 10 minutes of running. I kept re-injurying it by trying to run until I finally gave in and took 6 weeks off of running. Which wasn't too hard for me to do, since it was the off season, and I could bike as much as I wanted.

If it happened to me a month before an IM, I would forget about run training and bike like a maniac for a month, and save the runniing for race day. But this is based on my previous experience, and may not be the right answer for you.

If you've got a decent running base, its amazing how long you can maintain by cross-training. I vote for being conservative, and letting the injury heal.

Stopped Clock

Thanks.....switching to the bike was kind of what I had in mind.

When you tried to run through it, did you always know it was there and just run till it hurt or did the pain go away causing you to think it had healed and then it would come back after 30 minutes and/or hills?

I only ask because I can't really risk reinjuring it with only 6 weeks to go......

With my calf injury, the pain would completely go away after a few days, so I would think it would be healed. So I would try an easy run, and feel fine for 15 minutes or so, and then get a sharp pain again. I would stop running immediately, but by that point the damage was done and I'd have to take time off again. This was in November and December. After taking about 6 weeks off running (with lots of cycling) I was back to my usual running in no time.

I never did get it seen by a doctor, but from what I read on the web (hah!) I think it was most likely a minor tear near where the achilles tendon is joined to the gactrocnemius (sp?) muscle. This injury is supposed to heal completely in 4-6 weeks, and that's what it did.

Good luck in IMAZ. I see you're in Dallas. I'm in Austin, and came up to Dallas for Prairieman half IM and Ironhead last year.

Stopped Clock

Thanks alot. That was what I was wondering because I'm the type that would be inclined to try to run on it if it felt ok.....and from what your saying thats exactly the wrong thing to do.

Even at six weeks, I should be good to go as l;ong as I can summon up the discipline not to run...which isnt easy.

I agree with you about being able to maintain a running base, I did White Rock Marathon two years ago only having run 11 miles in the four months leading up to it due to a knee injury. But like you said, I rode and swam a bunch.

Thanks for the encouragement.......

RCT

I've had this problem a few times. Once 7 weeks out from Boston. Always takes me a month for the injury to heal to a level where I can run on it, then I need to build back slow from there. Starting back sooner or harder & it just recurs & delays recovery. Icing/heat helps me too.

In the meantime work the bike (though you might want to avoid big gear work & standing for the first week), swim, strength train, stretch (but not the calf) & keep your weight down. Lots of areas to funnel that frustration constructively towards.

Do a search for this ST thread "Calf strain- HELP!". That was a thread of a couple weeks ago on this subject with some good advice/ experiences.

www.tpmassageball.com

unless, of course, you are in the AG 35-39.

use both the ball and roller a few minutes before and after training.

see you there.

Again, this advice is only if you are not in M35-39: I did a similar thing two weeks ago in prep for IMAZ. Basically, I hammered my legs on the bike doing hill repeats and then decided to do the marathon the next day as a training run. Of course, I got caught up in the spirit and ended up doing 25.5 miles before jumping out, but not before my calves were so tight I could hardly walk.
I stayed off of running for a few days, did a small run, and they felt fine. However, after a 3 hour ride, I attempted to run and they balled up within a mile. I decided that my calves just couldn't handle running for a few more days so I kept to biking and swimming and would only do small easy runs that did not follow any strenuous biking. They felt better, so I did a 18 mile test run yesterday with no problems.
If these are your symptoms, just give them time. I also got a massage and started doing ice baths the week after they seized up on me.

If you are in my age group, M35-39, continue to run yourself into the ground. You need high mileage and hill repeats. The pain is only in your head....just kidding

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56-11...the only way to fly

This must be contagous...I tweeked mine this weekend it is all RC10's fault since he was there and I took off way faster than I normally would.

It didn't really grab like the first time I hurt it about 8 years ago when I did a sprint 5 days after IMUSA.

No swelling, no knots, mine seems to be really deep like Post Tib...


I am doing ART and Massage we will see what happens

Training for CDA though.

Like runboorun said, get a couple of massages and do ice baths after workouts. That should speed recovery. Good luck, I'll see you at IMAZ.

-C

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

I pulled mine a month ago. I would let it rest for 5 days and then run and reinjure it within 1-3 miles. I finally just took two weeks off from running and yesterday was my first day back. I just walked most of 3.5 miles with a few jogs here and there. I plan on coming back VERY slowly this time. I am really afraid it's just going to pull again. I have been stretching my calves a lot, massaging them and taking Advil off and on. I have an Olympic race in 3 weeks and I don't think I'll be able to do the run. I may end up walking/jogging it. I am really dissapointed since I really thought I had a chance at PR'ing and or placing in the top five. Good luck!

Thanks for all the good advice.

I've got a tp massage ball and will start using it. I am in the M35-39 but not to worry, I don't think I pose a threat to 99.9% of people on this forum.

I guess I'll be biking, swimming and lifting for the next 5 weeks. See you guys in Arizona-if I have to hop the 26.2. : )

RCT

I did the exact same thing about 6 weeks before IMFL last year. I tried to run through it and ended up on crutches with 5 weeks to go.

Based on advice I got here (search for the post) I didn't run a step until the race and set a PR. It can be done.

The amount of time it takes to heal varies greatly. Search on calf strain here and on letsrun.com, I found a lot of helpful info.

See you April 15.

Wow....thats cool. Makes a great story too. Maybe I'll be as lucky. Thanks for the encouragement.

Heading to IMAZ and I think I have a calf strain as well. I've never had one before so I'm not sure what it's supposed to feel like. When I run my right calf feels like it's sore, no sharp pain though. Is that what you feel? Though I did locate a sensitive spot on my outer calf muscle when massaging it, hurts if I press down on it.

Laurente

Want to try something different. This is not mainstream, at all, but try 'strumming' across the sensitive area repeatedly. It will hurt like stink, but if it's localized spasm, it will begin to hurt less. Then move a cm or so and continue, until you cover the whole sore area. Let me know how it works.

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I have struggled with calf injuries for the last 7 years. And BTW, that's when I started cycling heavy....I used to be a semi-pro runner doing 100 mile weeks with no injuries and then BAM, every 6 months I'm down...It just hit me...I moved my cleats as far back as they would go and I'm feeling unreal...and today the Inside Triathlon magazine came out with an article all about this cleat position...wish I would have read this years ago.....check it out...go check your cleat now and see how far forward they are.

Yup, thats what it feels like, except mine is very sore and feels like its being beaten with a club every step I take, especially when pushing off. My stride ends up becoming a hobble before I have to stop entirely. If yours isn't at this stage yet, you might be able to recover it before tear it up too much.
I've had them before when I was younger, and they went away after a weeks layoff....not the case anymore. Im trying to give it as much rest as possible and doing heat and TP massage ball.
Good luck with yours, let mw know how it goes.

RCT

I actually tried that technique kinda by accident last week in a hot tub at the gym in hopes of getting more blood flow to the strained muscle. I was pushing at it as hard as I could with my knuckles. You're right, it hurt like a son of a ***** but it seemed to help some.

However, I haven't run on it at all, so the "improvement" may be wishful thinking.

Thanks for the idea though...

My cleats are actually rear of neutral already. I can ride pretty much pain free so I don't think I'm ankleing or riding toes down which I could see putting strain on my calf on the bike.

But seeing that this is Slowtwitch, where everyones seat is too high, I can see why you might suspect that!

: )

TRy it again. Then do some more 'normal' massage along with stretching after. There is a guy out here who advocates this and I've found it really helps when I have REALLY sore muscles. It duoes hurt, but it seems to relieve the spasms and are likely causing the pain.

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I had a similar problem last year - luckily not before a race. My calf felt like muscle soreness from overdoing the weights. I could only run about a mile. I tried ART - http://www.activerelease.com/ - and it worked. Took about two weeks. This was after I had tried complete rest TWICE and the problem had come back. I had convinced my husband to try it about 6 months previous so when I couldn't run he pushed me to go. Maybe a good masseuse would work as well.