Brief Answer:
Calf muscle injuries tend to recur due to scaring and are worse with age- some advice below

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,

I carefully read your query and understand your concern.

You are experiencing calf muscle strain and this tends to become chronic in runners. This means that once a patient has a calf muscle strain he will be more prone to future strains because previous strains cause injury and scar tissue which predisposes to future episodes.
Also, this is more common with age as young runners get these less often than older runners.
A very likely cause is also increasing the work out too quickly (the intensity or the distance). In your case, you are trying to increase the distance you are running in a week so very likely you are increasing it too fast.

Being regularly checked with a sports doctor probably would help you to do the proper adjustments to prevent or reduce similar episodes in the future.

As general rules:
- you should not increase the running distance more than 10% in a week. In your case, I would even recommend less than that, as you do get calf pains more frequent recently.
- running up heel may trigger calf pain so you may need to avoid this when you recently had calf pain.
- regular stretching exercises are important to prevent strains.
- regularly warm-up before running
- calf massage if you have pain and also foam roller to relax hardened calf muscles.
- medical compresses for the calf- these can be used while running to improve the blood flow in the calf muscles
- make sure you do drink well and also take salts and minerals to help the muscles function better
- strengthening exercises such as heel-lifting done regularly may help the calf muscles to be stronger and prevent strain
- make sure you use proper shoes for running. Flat shoes predispose to calf pain.
- pay attention to your body- if you have pain, do not continue to run. Start to run again when walking feels comfortable and make sure you do not increase the workout too fast
- you may benefit from a visit with a physiotherapist who would check if there is any weak muscle that needs to be strengthened with specific exercises. Hip muscles may need to be strengthened as well as they play a major role when running, together with the calf muscles.
- finally, as mentioned previously, a sports medical professional would be of great help as he can examine you and determine problems with muscles and if certain muscles need exercises to be strengthened. He will also be able to give you proper advice on the running technique and how to safely increase the running distance.

I hope this answers your query.
I remain at your disposal for further medical assistance.

Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General and Family Physician

---