Bret

PM - with no pain, soreness or tightness in the calf, I ventured out for a very light run to test things again.  Felt some tightness within the first quarter of a mile - but kept the pace light and the tightness never increased.  Covered 3 miles and then did the foam roller and Aleve afterwards.  No lingering issues to note.  Will try to keep things light for a few days to see how the calf tolerates the stress.

PM - lunchtime run - did what is described by John Parker Jr. from Running Times as a "medicinal" run to rehab from the calf strain.  Walk/jog routine for 4 miles.  Evidently there is some kind of sheath that constricts the area of the micro tears that requires a theraputic approach to expanding it to avoid compartment issues.  Whatever.  It seems to work quite well.  I would run for a short bit - 100 to a few hundred yards - would begin to feel some tightness in the calf, and so I would stop and walk a little bit and then repeat.  When I would start to run again, there'd be no tightness initially and then when it would start to resurface, I'd walk again. Got into a pretty good rhythm and ran a little further at times - up to about 600 or 700 yards.  Finished feeling no real issues with the calf.  Stretched out with the foam roller and did some strength work.  Will do this until things feel normal again.  According to the article, I may be up and running normally in a few days. In the meantime, I continue to supplement with cross training.

PM - after work did 1500 yards of swimming with Riley.  Tough to get into the outdoor pool when it is cold outside - (but the water is 79 degrees).  The kick drills have to be helping my quads - really brutal.

PM - lunchtime - 5 miles.  Had a good run today with no pain or discomfort in the calf to speak of.  I started out with a plan to do the walk jog intervals I did yesterday - but after doing a few - I realized I was not feeling any tightness in the leg - so I decided to run a mile without stopping, and then after that, I just ran the whole way with a smooth controlled pace.  Felt good and normal. 

AM - did an easy 3 miles before work to test the leg again.  Had massage on the calf yesterday evening and it felt good again this morning. 

PM - 6 miles on the treadmill due to a rainstorm outside.  Decent pace and I pushed it a bit to a MP in the last mile.  Calf seemed to be good.  Will try to resume normal training with some moderation to keep stress level low intially.

PM - At lunchtime 6 easy light miles at 75% of HR max - pretty slow.  Wanted to get a true recovery run in to avoid too much stress too soon in my resumption of training.  No calf problems whatsoever.  WhooHoo.

After work I did 1750 yards of swimming at the Y.  Felt a bit tuckered out by the end of the day.

AM - did 3 easy untimed miles this morning before work.  A bit chilly (49 degrees).  Trying to get some easy miles in to gradually get a build up done.  Will do another run later today.

PM - 7 at lunch - slow and easy. 

AM - easy 11 mile bike ride with Riley - getting her comfortable on the bike with clips.  Beautiful morning.

PM - 13 miles of easy running - probably should have scaled it back a little as my legs felt pretty heavy about halfway through.  Decent week after the calf injury recovery.