It’s torn and probably pretty good if still tender 2 weeks later. When the tear heals it will form scar tissue, which increases the risk of recurrence. Generally speaking, the tear will heal over time (which varies depending on the severity of the tear anywhere from 1-8 weeks, but usually about 3-4) with rest. Of course, there are things you can do to accelerate the healing time as people have discussed. Ultimately, when starting back, I recommend wearing heel pads and getting a massage or two to break up the scar tissue. Also, avoid speed-work and hills for the first 2-4+ weeks after starting back.
i’m going to look into this. maybe i’ll do a “road test” or something. i ran behind a guy in a race about 3 years ago (a footrace) and he had this on his calf, and it seemed to stay fine. nothing fancy, just a big wide strip of kinesio tape or some analog.
Several blown hamstrings in my lifetime have taught me a few things:
A pull is a strain, a strain is a tear.
As another poster mentioned there are 3 levels, but level 3s I believe are rare and typically require a surgical repair as it means the muscles is torn apart. Level 2s are significant tears that will induce “bruising”, its not really bruising as in the type that results from a direct trauma, but rather pooling of blood from an internal injury. In hamstrings, pooling generally occurs just above the knee, calves in the ankles. Levels 1s feel similar to cramps and will subside with 2-3 weeks of RICE, level 2s typically require some significant rehab (for my hamstrings 8-10 weeks, honestly). Level 3s up to a year, hence the rarity, even level 2s are fairly rare.
See an ortho, by the way stretching an acute injury is about the worst thing you can do. It feels like a knot, but think about what your doing. If you take a piece of thin rubber and put a tiny hole in it, then stretch it out, what happens? Surprise, surprise…the hole gets bigger!
oh yeah…and recurrent strains come from improperly rehabbing the initial injury. This is why the same people get the same injuries in sports over and over again. If the sport isn’t your livelihood, take the time to let it fully heal. Just my 2 cents.
Is there a “mad quad disease” too? Perhaps experienced by those under 40???
I injured my quads during the past two years in a manner similar to what you described in your calf, one instance of which ended a marathon build prematurely last fall and one that threatens to do the same this time around.
It starts as sore knotted quads that are unresponsive to massage and it feels like I’m running on a pulled muscle (i.e., an awful “twinge” shoots up my leg with some footstrikes). In the case of my quad tear last year, the pain got progressively worse but I was able to run through it until my left quad/hip adductor suddenly worsened and I could barely walk for about 2 weeks, never mind run. I also had trouble kicking in the pool. It took several weeks to get better.
I did something similar but not as severe to my right quad this year, which finally seems to be healing up now (knock on wood). Hopefully I won’t reaggravate it as I try to cram some mileage in for another fall marathon attempt (gulp).
Sorry for digging this old post up, but I’ve been searching for help with long term calf injuries, and happened upon this forum.
For background: I’m 49 and used to bike race on the road in my teens, early twenties. Trained intermittently during the intervening years, not to any great standard, but basically kept myself ticking over. In 2006 I was upping my training; going to the gym and riding increasingly on the road. Unfortunately, I suffered what initially felt like a groin strain, but after it didn’t heal as quickly as expected, and after seeing a sports physio and my GP, it was diagnosed thru’ a MRI as a labrum tear in my hip. One operation later and after many years of on and off training I’d got to a point of not being sure I’d train again as my hip was still fragile. However at the end of 2011 I started mountain biking, starting off with little ambition, but from slow starts and through most of 2013 I’d built up to doing 30+ mile rides, on and off road.
I was very cautious, not increasing intensity or distance too quickly, and warming up/down and stretching etc., to help my middle-aged body stay healthy 
Anyway in September 2013, I was increasing the difficulty, as my ambition was starting to grow . I was finding, however, that towards the end of longer rides, my quads and calves were beginning to cramp. I attempted to fix this by increasing my fluid and food I took in before and during, but it still happened. Anyway in mid-September '13, I planned a 26 mile loop, with a vague idea of doing 2 laps (I look back now and wonder why, after months of building my training so carefully, I was planning a jump from 38miles max to 52; crazy!) anyway at the end of the first loop, my legs were quite painful, and obviously the sensible thing to do was to cruise home and live to ride another day. Nope, I did the second loop, cramping badly towards the end.
I cruised the last mile, just pedalling in a low gear, then did my usual post ride routine. However, when I sat down, my calf cramped badly; I stretched it out, but the pain remained, getting worse over the next 48 hours.
After 4 weeks I saw a sports physio, who gave me excellent advice. But even so, and even after the intervening weeks and months of no training, physio exercises (using a physio roll) the calf injury remains. It had got to the point recently, that I couldn’t feel anything under usual daily activities, so I tried (literally) 10 minutes on the turbo trainer, in a low gear, gently pedalling. It was fine initially, but after a week the calf feels very tight and quite sore. Now, even walking for more than 30 minutes causes tightening and pain.
Therefore… what advice could someone offer me? Especially on the following points:
Is 7 months an excessive time for it to heal?
Is my age a factor in that?
Is the tightness I felt after the last attempt at training, reason enough to stop training, or would regular attempts help, or would they cause more harm?
Physio roll stuff apart, are there any known treatments that could aid the recovery? In this thread someone mentioned “doc immediately and getting started on a therapy regimen”; what would this entail, therapy-wise. I’ve read stuff on Steroid injections; would these help?
Sorry for such a long post 
It’s all a bit frustrating; I’ve stopped bemoaning my lost fitness and now just miss riding my bike. Any help/advice VERY gratefully received!