M36 triathlete attempting to be a runner now. Used to be able to get a 2:51 marathon out of tri training, now can’t even maintain 60km weeks in a row. I tried last year to go from 50 to 100km and got a soleus strain (grade 1 I think). Ran with it for a while because pain would often subside during a run, but then never really go away. I actually ran a marathon in the fall and didn’t feel it during the race. Returning to running brought the strain back worse. Took a couple of weeks off and finally got physio. Learnt how to strengthen with loaded calf heel raises and working on ankle dorsiflexion which all seemed to work for a while.
This year I started a run build again (while doing strength work) and bang, a strained soleus again a couple of weeks ago at the end of a 65km week.
So what are some long term success stories with chronic soleus strains?
I’ve started reading about eccentric heal drops/Alfredson method, has this fixed your soleus?
Did self massage actually help?
I went to the sports med clinic for a running analysis. The therapist identified the problem quickly enough, and advised a combination of strengthening exercises (same one you’re doing it sounds like) and stride adjustments (faster cadence with less leg swing, basically).
The strengthening exercises seemed to help…some. The faster turnover proved difficult (for me) to adopt permanently. Just didn’t feel right. Long story short: the strain returned.
I had been effectively retired from triathlon before all of this, so running wasn’t really a required element of my training. Now I’m effectively retired from running also.
But I’ll be interested to follow this thread nonetheless.
Since my come back to the sport in 2014 after a 8 year hiatus, I’ve had several soleus and/or calves strains. Never did I suffer from them before, but I was 40 yo by then.
I was never able to train continuously for 4 months, and the strains always went from one leg to the other. Never two times in a row in the same leg. It was out of control for 4 years. I though about quitting the sport several times, thinking that my age and my past in the elite level (noPRO) already weakened and destroyed my body enough so that was it.
I got in contact with a new coach, almost desperate, with the main goal not to get me in shape but to recover (at these muscles level) from scratch.
I do not want to tell all the story here, but he prescribed walks-run intervals (starting at 30s run-2min walk) at 9’/km (I had to wear the GPS not to run faster!), in grass and bare-footed. And specific gym exercises (nothing extraordinary, the typical eccentric for soleus, calfs, and lots of rope jumping (starting without the rope…)). And progressed from there, scaling-up in time and intensity for many months.
I have not been free of injuries 100%, but the recurrence of them really has gone down. In the mean time I’ve done an IM and several HIM running them without issues.
Also, it has been of great (GREAT) help having regular massages and daily self-massages to soleus and calfs right after the training session (my physiotherapist taught me how to, but there are many videos in YouTube). No stretching at all.
I switched to Carbon plated shoes several years ago. Guessing 75% of mileage is in carbon plated shoes. Really starting with the Zoom Fly 2, Zoom Fly 3 and have been running in the Hoka Carbon X2. I used to get PF regularly and calf strains occasionally. But have not had either since. I typically do not run over 50km a week so not a high mileage person.
After having chronic calf heart attacks and achilles issues for the past 15+ years (mostly in the soleus due to tight calves) what seems to have worked for me (47yo now) was focusing on several months of base where I did nothing but slow long runs. I built my weekly average from around 30 to 55-65 miles per week. The slow runs were about 3-4 minutes per mile slower than my 5k race pace (6:00/min race pace so my typical runs were 9-10/min but sometimes even slower - pace was not really important). Once I got into the build for some reason my calves loosened up and were less tight/sore than ever. Just upping my mileage also helped me drop 10 seconds/mile off my 5k race pace. I have cut my mileage back and have added strides and tempo and interval sessions to get some leg speed back but have kept a 2.5 - 3 hour long run. It should be noted that because I was running so slow it sucked up so much of my training time (~12 hours) that I wasn’t able to fit in biking or swimming.
M36 triathlete attempting to be a runner now. Used to be able to get a 2:51 marathon out of tri training, now can’t even maintain 60km weeks in a row. I tried last year to go from 50 to 100km and got a soleus strain (grade 1 I think). Ran with it for a while because pain would often subside during a run, but then never really go away. I actually ran a marathon in the fall and didn’t feel it during the race. Returning to running brought the strain back worse. Took a couple of weeks off and finally got physio. Learnt how to strengthen with loaded calf heel raises and working on ankle dorsiflexion which all seemed to work for a while.
This year I started a run build again (while doing strength work) and bang, a strained soleus again a couple of weeks ago at the end of a 65km week.
So what are some long term success stories with chronic soleus strains?
I’ve started reading about eccentric heal drops/Alfredson method, has this fixed your soleus?
Did self massage actually help?
My calves are not bulletproof, but they have been way better and more resilient since these switches a few years ago:
compression socks for long or fast runs
trails for as much of the time as possible
barefoot strides on grass when I can
hand-held foam roller wand thing to roll them out in the morning and evening
increasing cadence and decreasing stride length (still a work-in-progress)
decreased run frequency - I never run three days in a row
Bent leg toes rises EVERY day after swimming . . . every day! I do straight leg toe rises and bent leg. Been doing it for about as long as you have been alive! Also helps prevent PF.
