Pain in the Calf

[klynam]

I've just started the 26 week training guide to prepare for becoming a SEAL. I am very much mentally prepared and nothing is going to prevent me from making it through BUD/s. However, recently after running even distances as short as a mile at a slow pace for a warm up, my left calf is very tight and sore and it is hard to walk on it. I hadn't been running very much for about a year, so I'm being careful to not increase my mileage to quickly. I try stretching out my calf before and after running. The only thing that seems to make it better is to massage my calf, but as soon as I try to run again the stiffness returns almost immediately.

Has anyone else ran into this problem? Advice?

[jlhota]

Go to a PT, they'll fix you up.

[tfranc]

Just ignore it and keep training. Chances are it will go away on its own. If it happens to become so painful you can’t train anymore, reassess. But for now don’t give it more attention than it deserves

[GrilledcheeseGuy]

I experienced something similar and made my own diagnosis that it was my achilles tendon. This probably isnt your injury but I completely stopped running for about a month and did light stretches and submerged my leg in ice water about every three days. Now I can run up to 6 miles and experience no pain. I still ice every other run because an injury is not an option.

[GonnaBeFrog]

A lot of times it can be something as simple as the shoe you’re wearing. I’d try mid top shoes if I we’re you. Another thing can be your stance when running, no different than having a round back when deadlifting or knees in front of your toes when squatting, bad stance can lead to injury. And pin point when it starts kicking in, is it right away when you’re sprinting or is it over time when running distance. You need to get your body used to the pounding of the skeletal structure, so maybe a light ruck walk and only sprint once a week and don’t go huge distances at first. Get your body used to it. It’s always good to stretch a bunch, warmup, eat sufficiently and get lots of rest. Sounds stupid but that all plays into injury prevention. And look, you’re not at BUD/S so don’t treat it like you are and push through the pain, there’s a time and place for that. Pushing through soreness is fine, but if you get shooting pain, just stop. An injury is disqualifying so it’s not worth it. Be smart and careful. My in person coach is Jeff Nichols and he knows his stuff. Highly recommend his videos.