I had a great year of running in 2018. I followed the BarryP plan, averaging about 40 miles per week through the season. When CX season started, I decided to keep running (as opposed to years past), so I kept going with four mile runs on non-race days, and 2-3 mile warmups before races (averaging 22-23 miles per week from labor day through mid December. When cross season ended I took 12, yes, a whopping 12 days off of running (end of season break). This past week I was still in 'off season mode', but I wanted to get moving a little bit, so I did a few short runs. Monday I did my normal four miler and felt great. Wednesday I did the same and felt fairly hobbled afterwards. Today I did the same run and my hamstring popped mid-run. Now both standing AND sitting hurt, and my hamstring is tender to the touch.

It seems obscene to me that that short break would completely reset all the running fitness I built up over the year. And it seems ridiculous that with all the mileage I did this year (about 1500 miles in total) that I would have to reset to 1-2 mile runs after such a short break to build myself up again. Do others experience this as well? How much time can you take off and then still feel 'normal' when you start again? Would you expect needing a complete reset after a break like this?

Thanks

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.