I got a hernia in August last year. I kept training until early October then stopped until mid-November when I had surgery. Slow running had become too painful and I didn't want to worsen things before surgery. Post-surgery, I did nothing beyond walking until late December.

I eased back into training in January then was back to full volume by February. I lost some fitness but by now I would say I've surpassed my peak fitness from last year right before the hernia.

For reference, I did a half-marathon in October and I can run the same pace/distance now at a lower HR.