Thanks cat. I'll give that a try.
BTW, foot feels OK today. More and more, I'm convinced it was simply a case of TMTS, but it's been helpful to think about all the other issues that might be involved, and to begin taking more preventative measures so that I will be able to begin building up distances again in the near future. Here's a young skinny guy who also got hurt by impatience, from
http://strengthrunning.com/2011/03/7-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-st/:
"Success in Distance Running Takes Time
A lot of time. Greg McMillan tells his elite runners that it takes 2-3 years to start seeing their potential. This amount of time is on top of their high school and college running years – so it’s really about 10 years. Distance running success is about consistency and a gradual, yet progressive, pattern of training.
One of my previous problems is that I jumped from 40 miles per week to 70 in three months. I got hurt. After six months at 60 miles per week, I tried to jump to 90 miles per week. I got hurt. I disregarded the basics of gradual training. Be patient and recognize that modest increases in mileage done over a long period of time will have you running fast over the long-term. There are no shortcuts."
Not that I'm comparing myself to a sub-three hour marathoner, but the percentages in his ill-fated mileage jumps are similar to what I tried. I jumped from 10-15 mpw to 20-25 mpw, skipping the 15-20 mpw part. Dumb. If even young, skinny guys can't get away with it, then who am I to think I can, right? Running seems to be a different animal from cycling or hiking, where you really can just jump in with the only risk of getting sore (provided you got the right gear and set-up). I guess it's the higher impact, not necessarily my age or body type. Just gotta take it slow and enjoy the journey, as so many have recommended.
Damn, another long post, and I was hoping to keep my comments to quips today. Oh well, at least half of that was a quote.