Has anyone had this happen?
Yesterday I was doing a comfortable 18-miler, working my way down from 6:45's to 6:25's at midway with the thought that I would get down to 6:10 or so by the end. (my goal marathon pace in February is 6:00)
Right after I turned around I my left hamstring went from fine to a bit of a pain to so bad I had to stop within about 1/2 mile. I ended up calling a cab to take me home.
It hurt way up high, almost at my butt. I iced it several times during the afternoon and evening, took a double dose of Aleve and this morning it felt quite a bit better. I rode a stationary bike for about an hour, then iced it again.
I am hoping that it is just a cramp and not a pull. There is no swelling, no bump or bruising. It is tender to the touch, especially near the top of my leg, but not nearly as much as yesterday.
I read that if it is a cramp, it should be ok in 2-3 days, but if it is even a minor pull I may be out a couple of weeks or more. I have trained for this marathon like never before (980 miles in the last 10 weeks, a high week of 140 and 8 runs of 20-30 miles so far) and at age 42 think I am in better shape than when I ran in college (I was pretty mediocre).
Anyway, anyone ever had a similar experience? This came out of nowhere.