Happy Calves - How I overcame my leg cramps!

I want to summarize my experience in fighting and, I think, finally overcoming leg cramps as I have increased my running mileage. I'm not yet where I want to be in preparing for the 13 mile run in my half-ironman. I am running a comfortable hour at a time. I need to increase that to about 2 hours. I am definitely on my way to that goal. The short bullet list, ordered according to my sense of importance is:
1) Massage
2) Massage
3) Massage
4) Hydration
5) Minerals
6) Stretching
7) Warmup

Did you get the point about the massage? I really think that is the key. It is important that the muscles be completely relaxed when you do the massage. So, I sit on the floor with my knee flexed and my foot flat on the floor. Also, I repeat each stroke 30 times for each calf. I have found 3 ways to do the leg massage. 1) By hand. Using lot's of lotion if you have hairy legs like mine you press in with both thumbs at the back of each leg starting at the heel and sliding up to the knee. This is the way I massage my legs when I am in Florida since I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to carry something like a massage stick onto the plane. 2) Using theStick. No lotion is necessary. You simply grasp the stick with both hands and slide it up the back of each leg. 3) Using a foam roller. The technique is known as Myofascial release. This concentrates specifically on those painful "Trigger Points" that can develop when you run.

So, there you have it. For now I am running practically pain free and looking forward to the increase in my mileage.