Resolving my leg cramps

I've gathered more evidence this week that the various massage methods work to relieve and prevent leg (particularly calf) cramps. It was a good week to test it out. I was in Florida for most of the week - home now - and was able to run each morning that I was down there. The weather is just about perfect with the morning temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Sunday morning I ran about an hour and 15 minutes. I felt two sharp "twinges" in my right calf on the lateral side. Shortening and slowing my stride each time was enough to allow me to continue to run. When I finished, I could feel a new trigger (tender) point near the site of the "twinges". Three times each day, I massaged both calves by sliding my thumbs from achilles tendon to knee 30 times each. I also concentrated on the new trigger point, putting just enough pressure on the point so that the pain subsided a little with the pressure. I can still feel the trigger point as I write this but the tenderness and swelling is definitely reduced from last Sunday.

Anyway, long story short, I was able to run for over an hour on Monday and Tuesday. I backed off a little on Wednesday and Thursday running about 45 minutes each day. But I finished Thursday's run with a pretty good kick. The great news is, I felt no further pain in either calf after Sunday's run. I am growing more and more convinced that massage will resolve these problems for me, allowing me to really enjoy the training runs again.