I don't understand. Just came in from my planned 5 miles and only ran 1.6 miles before my calf started throbbing like you would not believe. I tried to push through but then decided that was a bad idea so I hobbled back home. My calf has only hurt one other time like this and that was back when I was just a few weeks done with the C25K.

Why is it doing this? It's not like I'm logging that many miles. My max is 20 per week and I rarely ever hit that. It feels like everytime I'm about to start training for something, something starts acting up. I just want to be able to get out there train, increase my miles and do it all injury free. I'm so frustrated right now, if I wasn't a grown ass man I would probably give in to the frustration and just go in a corner and cry... hell, I might do that anyways.

Anyone experienced this and figured out what causes it? How to prevent it? I feel like I do a pretty good job of keeping my legs strong through cross training exercises. I know my form isn't perfect but I don't think its so bad that it would cause injury...

If it only happened one other time before, then I would look at what you did during the week. What were your workouts before tonight? Did you run intervals? Or hills? Could it be something to do with your shoes?

I'm not sure if this will help or not, but I had a calf tear once and I pretty sure mine started with worn shoes. While running, it started hurting and I pushed through it. That was a very bad decision! It got way worse and took much longer to heal. Which shoes were you wearing? I researched the minimalist and lower heal drop racing flats, and they tend to put a lot of stress on the calf until you are used to them.

I would start from this.  How you land affects how the shock is absorbed.  Those who land toward the heel put the shock on their knees and ankles while those who land more forefoot (almost no one is an honest to goodness midfoot striker - claims to the contrary notwithstanding) put the shock on the calf and Achilles tendon.  If you are wearing minimalist shoes or shoes that are worn out and are a forefoot striker, you'll place even more shock on your calf and Achilles tendon.

Another possibility is some kind of muscles weakness.  Frequently, it's not the muscle that's hurting that is weak but a supporting muscle.  If the supporting muscles is weak then the muscle that's getting hurt is getting hurt because it's having to do double duty so to speak.  Thus, if you are going to do a strengthening routine, it is important to strengthen all of your muscles rather than just the one that's causing a problem.

It can also be simply an individual training limitation.  We all have it.  There is a certain amount beyond which none of us can train without getting hurt.  How much varies greatly by individual.

Last but not least.  I took a look at your log since it's public.   Assuming your log is an accurate reflection of your activity, you posted 0 miles between January 23 and March 24.  That's two months of not running.  Then, on April 3, you posted a run of nearly 90 minutes and on April 17 you posted a run of 2 1/2 hours.  If those figures are accurate, then forget everything I said previously.  You're trying to do way, way, way too much.  Again, if your log is accurate.

That log is no where near accurate. Those 2 long runs I forgot to turn off my watch and it kept running. I also ran during those months it said I didn't I just didn't upload to here and when I finally got around to uploading from garmin it would not go that far back. I consistenly average 15-20 miles per week.

I would start from this.  How you land affects how the shock is absorbed.  Those who land toward the heel put the shock on their knees and ankles while those who land more forefoot (almost no one is an honest to goodness midfoot striker - claims to the contrary notwithstanding) put the shock on the calf and Achilles tendon.  If you are wearing minimalist shoes or shoes that are worn out and are a forefoot striker, you'll place even more shock on your calf and Achilles tendon.

 

Another possibility is some kind of muscles weakness.  Frequently, it's not the muscle that's hurting that is weak but a supporting muscle.  If the supporting muscles is weak then the muscle that's getting hurt is getting hurt because it's having to do double duty so to speak.  Thus, if you are going to do a strengthening routine, it is important to strengthen all of your muscles rather than just the one that's causing a problem.

 

It can also be simply an individual training limitation.  We all have it.  There is a certain amount beyond which none of us can train without getting hurt.  How much varies greatly by individual.

 

Last but not least.  I took a look at your log since it's public.   Assuming your log is an accurate reflection of your activity, you posted 0 miles between January 23 and March 24.  That's two months of not running.  Then, on April 3, you posted a run of nearly 90 minutes and on April 17 you posted a run of 2 1/2 hours.  If those figures are accurate, then forget everything I said previously.  You're trying to do way, way, way too much.  Again, if your log is accurate.

I had a bad calf pull 8 years ago and added a calf raise machine at the gym. 2 months ago I added a 2nd calf machine and overdid it. After my long run the other day 1 calf seemed twice as big as the other because of the swelling. I went for ART last night which helped. She suggested a foam roller which I hadnt thought of, plus I'm icing.

I do this after every run and after every leg workout.

 

Most people these days suggest to NOT stretch cold muscles before running. However it may be beneficial to stretch afterwards, or during (stop & stretch after a brief warmup period).

I tend to stretch after a run, (1) standard leaning against the wall calf stretch, (2) same position but slightly bending knee of extended leg, stretching the achilles.

Perhaps you're just not cut out for minimal shoes? I never have calf issues but when I was running in the Kinvara, my calves were very, very fatigued. So I have up on the minimal trend and I'm much happier in 8-10mm drop shoes.