Soldier to Triathlete

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you have great enthusiasm and a solid base. You'll do great.

My advise is to follow a structured plan that has workouts, recovery days, rest weeks, etc, laid out for you to avoid over doing it. I find when I do that, I am much less likely to get inujred than when I just wing it!

I too battle PF on a regular basis, and have to manage that one. I ramp up running miles slowly, alternate shoes, stretch my calves, stuff like that. I never give up tho! Lots of folks think that pain in the joints means "Oh, I am too old or not athetic enough (or whatever excuse) for this stuff". I say BS, just be careful and smart about your training and you can do it!

Good luck!

I am 33 years old, I am medically retired from the Army and i am very new to the idea of a triathlon. In 2008 i suffered an injury to my right calf muscle that to this day. My current strength is swimming, i am not the best at this discipline but i can hold my own. I do not own anything but a cheap mountain bike so i cannot tell you how well i can ride, but i am not concerned at the moment with the bike.

My concern is my calf, i have been stretching it, rolling it and icing it, bit i can only last 15 minutes before a sharp pain shoots from the middle of the muscle outward and up into my knee area. I have improved from 5 minutes, but needless to say i am a tad bit bothered. If i cannot run a triathlon is out of the question.

Anyway here are my stats,
I am 73 inches tall
198 lbs and losing weight

My current goal is the Shark Week swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco

klamb_satx,

Sorry about your calf pain, sounds awful. Have you seen a doctor about it? (Seems like you must have given the 2008 date) What about compressoin sleeves?

If it's fine for walking, you can do a sprint triathlon and just walk the run portion. Lots of folks do that . There are often also Aqua bike options for some races, for athletes who cannot run due to injury.

Good luck, hope you can find a way to enjoy the sport!!