Hi,
(ExRower)here’s what I’d do:
-I’d start off by taking a few days off if the pain is too acute until it’s no more than a 3/10 before you run again, but if you wait too long, time may become your enemy and that same problem may still comeback to haunt you and other problem may arise too so try to keep being active without increasing stress levels on your muscles too much
while making sure no to lose too much fitness either since you don’t want a heavy DOMS response either
-don’t run first thing in the morning. If you can,do it in the afternoon while your overall body temp is higher and muscles warmer and more supple. If it’s late you’re worn out because of your daily activities, skip the run for that day. Your don’t want to run on tired legs.
-keep running on grass for as long as it takes and keep distances relatively short and do intervals if needed.
-eventually start by running on track or pavement once every two weeks, then once a week and so on and let the pain be your gide as to when you can increase frequency of running on hard surfaces
-don’t jog
-don’t run any faster than 70 percent either if it’s too acute…50 to 70 is a good speed
-avoid sudden stops…just unwind and slow down progressively when you want to stop
-don’t do any plyo
-forget about strength training your calves and running, even on consecutive days.
-don’t run on consecutive days and try to keep it to regular intervals between 2-3 times a week for now
-if you have to do strenght training for legs, do it on the same day after your runs but not the day before as you want to have fresh legs and the less stiffness possible due to soreness
-if you have to start with 500 m total distance per workout without the pain increasing either while running or on the day after, so be it. Be careful not to increase distance after just one or two workouts because stress is cumulative even if you can’t quite percieve it because your muscles have become somewhat numb due to constant pain.
-as soon as you feel some increasing pain, it’s time to stop the workout
-if you feel good on a given day, don’t run more than initialy planned… see if you can feel that way for at least a week as stability is a good thing to build on in your case, then increase distance by 100-200 meters and see how you feel after a few days and etc…
if pain goes up, back up to previous distance for one workout and try to build back up and so forth
-in my experience now is not the time to get any massage therapy or foam roal as anything is percieved as a stress, even therapy.
-avoid stretching until while your calves are like rocks, just let time do it’s job a lil’
-when your calves get less stiff, you can start with massage therapy right after running while your muscles are still warm (once a week). idealy don’t run on the day after therapy cause you can be a lil bit more sore until you recover completely, so give yourself a day off.
-don’t go for long walks too, you don’t want to fatigue your feet and back and avoid standing in place for too long.
-break in new shoes before running in them
-make sure the ones you curently run with are not too old too.
-always run with long thights and/or put some sleeves on your calves while training.
I know it can seem like a long process, but you will be better of doin’ it that way than having to deal with chronic pain or even maybe considering quitting.
I think it’s more than enough for now :O)
Good luck and get well! hopefully soon.
