Well went to physio this morning and the diagnosis is that the muscle fibres close to the bone have become strained thus causing the tightening of the soleus - a common overuse issue particular if you have had calf tears in the past.
Regular stretching and another week of no running (but gym/cross-trainer/bike & walking allowed) before starting again on short 'flattish' stuff.
Been in the same boat for a month. Just managed to do a half hour steady run without having to limp home. I often get this in the winter, so it may be a question of warming up a bit first.
I tore my calf on my recent winter BGR failure after 18 hours in and it was horrible. The physio advice was lots of stretching lots of the time, plus ice and support. I was very dilligent and wore a tubigrip all the time (and the skins calf things for running), stretched gently for half an hour twice a day - a real chore. But one month on and i'm running again. Not top speed or anything but the advice worked. Going for three mile walks in my runnig gear, with little jogs along the way helped both exercise and test the calf and i was able to pay c;lose attention to my recovery. Warming up a little first is a great idea. It hasn';t helped dim the disappointment of missing out on my attenot which was going so well, but it's sure good to be running again, much earlier than i thought i would be.
Good luck with it
ST
I tore my right calf muscle (medial gastrocnemius, I think it's called) in a skiing accident in February. Very painful. Couldn't even put weight on my right foot for a while. Serious limping for several days. Fortunately, though, the holiday insurance agreed to pay for three physio sessions whilst I was out there (in the French alps) and each day I was able to do a little more. I kept as active as I could as the muscle felt worse after periods of sitting down, but I also elevated the affected leg when resting and sleeping.
Couldn't run for almost two weeks. Kept up my swimming though. Calf strengthening and stretching exercises & self-massage.
The reason I post this is to encourage others with torn calf muscles that they're not Always as slow to heal as some people on this thread have experienced. I've been fortunate and managed to resume running after two weeks, ran 26.5 miles off road after 3 weeks and did a fell race today (just under 4 weeks since the accident). Yes, I can still feel the injury a bit and need to keep stretching and strengthening it, but it wasn't the disaster that I'd first thought it would be.
Hope this helps someone else.
Leaf