Running Injury

It could be he tore or strained muscles, ligaments, or tendons in his calf area. This could happen if he over worked his calves without proper preparation. It could also happen if he runs on uneven ground. The bruising in this scenario is from the bleeding from the damaged area. The ankle in foot could be from gravity alone causing the blood to pool in the lowest part of the body. Ice the area, this helps constrict the blood vessels and decrease bleeding.

The general guideline for adding mileage when you are starting out running is 10% per week so he's definitely gone way over that recommendation. Running inflicts a lot more pounding on your body than cycling so the risk of a training injury is substantially higher. You husband may want to pick an intermediate goal like a 5K or 10K and slowly work his way up to the half marathon. He may also want to consider events like biathlons which combine the cycling and running disciplines. That way he can still train for a longer event without having to put in higher running mileage.

He may also want to pick up compression sleeves for his calves. Cycling builds up the quads, glutes and hamstrings but the calves are not worked out nearly as much. Compression sleeves can provide some additional support fror muscles that are getting worked harder than they are used to and promote blood circulation to aid in recovery.

I'll second the pounding is a little much on his legs. Biking will give him strong legs and a strong heart, but will not prepare him for a half marathon training program... not quite.

Most beginner half marathon programs out there have a caveat - they assume a base level of running x miles per week for y weeks. Biking won't do that.

But he doesn't need a couch-to-5k program either (10% is a rule of thumb that's not terribly helpful in his situation, either). he's run a little less than 4 miles, 4x in one week, which is a perfectly reasonable place to try to start as a very fit beginner. I'd say check the schedule, check the base mileage assumed in the training program. If he's not in any pain, run the same schedule again - if the pain isn't going away or is increasing, back off. If the pain sharpens, back off. If the pain becomes assymetrical, get to a sports med doc ASAP. But if he's truly fit, this may just have been a "oops, started too fast, but now we're ok" and he can move forward. He needs to listen to his body, and make sure he respects any pain or discomfort appropriately. Don't let him use NSAIDs to "run through the pain". If he needs pain killers to run at some point, he's doing it all wrong (ask me how I know!!)

And his pride may preclude it, but if he's already registered or committed somehow to this specific race, he can always mix in some walking. People entirely walk half marathons, no shame in it at all. Walking will be far less stressful and he'll be less likely to further injure himself if he allows for some walking. Jeff Galloway is a name to google for more info there.

Good luck!

My husband had decided he recently wanted to begin training for a 1/2 marathon. The first week he ran 15 miles over 4 days. Last night he develped a huge bruise on his right outer calf and by the end of the evening, his anke was purple and swollen. He says it does not hurt. The day following his first day of running, both calves were VERY sore. Anyone ever had this?

Overtraining. He should have built up slowly if he had not run before. Run for three days per week, every other day, starting off with a couple of miles and gradually build up.

Overtraining could well have put paid to any 1/2 marathon ideas unfortunately.