I received the clearance from my ortho on Thursday to resume running.  I changed clothes and headed out the door on Friday for a planned easy 4 miles.  Holy shit.  It was far from easy.  Within half a mile, my lungs were screaming at me and my legs felt like jelly the whole time.  I don't think I ever felt "good" but I did finish.  I put in 5 miles today and it was still tough but it felt better than Friday and, unlike Friday, my heart rate was normal this time rather than through the roof.  Feels wonderful to be back out there.

I've never experienced this before.  Last winter I took 4 months off (zero cardio) and then ran 3 miles non-stop without any issues.  Another time before that I took almost a month off and then ran a 50 miler.  I'm not a super human, so I wonder why my experience is different.

Glad to hear you're running again!

Does your ortho know that's what you had in mind when he cleared you for running?

Any aches in the sfx?  Be careful. I know how good it feels to be cleared to run, but I also have experienced setbacks from doing too much too soon on healing bones.

Foot felt fine.  My chronic hamstring problem has, of course, never gone away.  After three years of stretching and rolling and physical therapy and suffering, I'm finally going for an MRI later this month to see what's up with it.  Even six weeks off with this stress fracture didn't help.  If anything, it got worse with time off.  As for how much I should be doing, he said to start off with about half of my normal mileage.

I've never experienced this before.  Last winter I took 4 months off (zero cardio) and then ran 3 miles non-stop without any issues.  Another time before that I took almost a month off and then ran a 50 miler.  I'm not a super human, so I wonder why my experience is different.

Glad to hear you're running again!

+1. I also have taken 3 months off completely and easy runs still felt easy. Faster stuff took longer to get back to normal though.

Feels good to be running again, nonetheless!

Great news LTH.  Just take it easy if you can.  Six weeks is not too long and your old body probably appreciated the break.  FWIW I had 5 months off due to the hamstring surgery.  Took my first run on April fools day (fitting).  A simple 3 mile run at what was my easy/moderate pace had my HR near 190 although I was not breathing really hard and my legs were not rubber.  I was sore for a few days though.

One thing that you may want to consider.  The prolonged rest for me allowed some tendons to get stiff, primarily the Plantar.  I now have 11 days off with heel pain that I attribute to PF and tight calves.  Stay tuned into your joints and muscles as you ease back in, every other day runs for a week or so.  Don't jump back into a 6 day schedule just yet.

Glad to hear your getting an MRI on your piriformis.  That should illuminate your backside issues.  After my surgery and extended break, I have virtually no butt pain at all.  Keep us posted.

Congrats & good luck!