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Anonymous
Sure, this is a common overuse injury particularly for new runners. It's something of a rite of passage for those of us who didn't grow up doing sports constantly.
It's easy to fix. Keep straining it and doctors will make you miserable trying to repair it. So stop running for a while, if that's making it happen.
It needs to be stretched, and your heel needs cushioning.
Stretch your Achilles in similar ways to your calf -- and if your calf is too tight, your Achilles is vulnerable. So make sure you do your calf stretches, then do an Achilles stretch. Here's an example. Use the street curb, and plant the ball of your foot on the curb edge and your heel on the ground. Leaning that leg forward increases the stretch downwards.
Stretch before and after the run. I like to run for half a mile before doing that first stretch so I'm warmed up a little bit. (BTW, my stretching philosophy is everyone is truly different, but include this one or two stretches at least.)
Get real cushioned running shoes ever 500 miles (at the very most. 350's fine too.) If you have ancient shoes, get new ones now. Go to a real sports store with brands like Brooks, Mizuno, Saucony, and New Balance. Without that cushioning, this injury will automatically recur (for some of us,a nyway) if you're running more than 20 miles a week.
Take it slow, listen to your body, stay healthy. Running 40-50 miles a week is sustainable, feels great and keeps me extremely low body-fat.
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