i have torn my calf muscle. how long before i can run again?
long background explanation follows if you can be bothered to read it. feel free to ignore it and reply 'tomorrow - you'll be fine'.


i started running again a couple of weeks ago (i have not run for two years. i have previously run a number of times for a few months at a time, but always get out of the habit because of injury or work commitments).

for the first time ever, i went and got a pair of shoes fitted properly before going for a run. they felt amazing.

i ran twice, for three miles each time on paved road (i tried to run some of the time on grass but it is crazily uneven). not sure if that was too much straight off but it felt good and i was not going hard. i could feel some tightness at the top of my achilles tendon after the first run. three days later, when i ran again, it still felt tight, and started to hurt after 1.5 miles. i stopped, stretched, and then walked for a bit. it went back to being tight, so i continued running.

it still felt tight, so i put heat on it the next day, massaged and stretched. and then ran up the stairs at work the following day and felt it tear.

could not walk/flex it for 4 days; 2 weeks later it feels ok but the muscle is still tight and hard.

what comes next?