clutch pedal tension

[Marco Canta]

the clutch pedal on my 97 se-r has always been stiff.
it seems like it has gradually become stiffer
throughout the years, however.  there was a time when
depressing the clutch ignition switch was a struggle.
i adjusted the pedal freeplay which alleviated some of
the pressure but it was still pretty stiff.

last week i was driving, and when i started the car,
the pedal seemed to have gone stiffer again.  then it
happened as i was driving.  i put extra pressure to
depress the clutch.  there was resistance at first,
then that release.  the pedal became much, much
softer.  the freeplay is much larger this time as
well.  it didn't seem like there was a snap or break
during the release.  i actually like the pedal
pressure now, but fear there might be something
terrribly wrong.

haven't had time to bring the car in for service since
i work 10 hr days.  any comments or suggestions?