Injured

Not badly, but enough to take me out of running for maybe a couple of weeks.  Eight days ago I started out on a fairly energetic (for me) 5-mile run.  I felt strong and ran pretty hard, but when I reached about mile three I felt a pain in the right hamstring.

I stopped and walked a bit and tried running again, but the pain reappeared.  Another try, and it was worse yet.  I walked home, actually fairly slowly, because by then it even hurt to walk.

Six days later, last Tuesday at Mayo Clinic, I tried to run two blocks from the parking lot to the Hilton Building for my morning blood draw.  I made it, but the thigh was hurting a little at the end, so it's not really ready to run yet.  I'm waiting a few more days.

In the meantime, I'm hitting the bike fairly hard.  Today I rode about 13 miles at about 10 mph on my not-so-speedy old hybrid-tire bike.  It might be a little faster if I inflated the tires to their recommended pressure, but the trails are bumpy and I prefer the softer ride and less stress on the tires.  Plus I'm training - who cares how much I have to work to make the bike move?

Why did this injury happen?  I think I pushed too hard.  Fourteen fairly ambitious miles on Sunday, followed by four on Tuesday, then five (became three) on Wednesday.  I have been increasing three things all at once: the weekly miles, the distance of the weekly long run, and the run/walk ratio.  Putting those together, I have probably increased the total running too rapidly.  Ten percent per week is the maximum recommended by marathon trainers, and I will have to do a better job of keeping track.