how long should my post-track break be, 2,3, or 4 weeks

Christ! Take a few days off, take a few weeks off, take the rest of your life off...are you really asking how long it will take for your brain to recover from too many hard track workouts? Really? Run when you want to run, and when you don't want to run don't run.

I wouldn't normally recommend this, as I haven't done it myself, but I seriously would recommend marijuana. You need to de-stress, and someone yelling "RELAX!" at you isn't gonna do it.

Run. Enjoy running. If you don't enjoy running, find a different pursuit.

hsxc987 wrote:

So I just wrapped a crappy junior year at states last weekend. I had a bad cross country season, decent indoor season, and bad outdoor season. I ran way too many hard track workouts, and finished the season feeling extremely burned out, both physically and mentally. I want to completely recover, and start focusing on base for next season. Will a two week break be sufficient, or do I need a full month? I want to recover completely from my burnout year, but I don't want to spend more time off than necessary. Thanks for any advice.

Dis-regard the *hole above.

Play it by ear, take two weeks, and see how you feel. You should want to run, so start running when you feel like it. Two weeks should be enough, eat well, sleep lots, then start back slow.

Good Luck.

My general opinion is that 4 weeks may serve you better. Even 6 won't hurt. My reasons are the following. From personal experience, and I have over 30 years of competitive running to bank from here if you are open.

Over the years I have always been concerned with getting better and addicted to the process that I could not nor should not stop it. When after training and getting injuries that lasted near 2 months, (better performances) followed in short order. This was surprising to me.

It didn't take long to tune my body ,having more of a sense of effortlessness and joy for the movement then in the months earlier. I grew and major prs just after the long break. e.g.8 weeks nothing but swimming. - PR 15:16--6 weeks later was 15:00 and 8 weeks later 14:48. This was post 8 weeks and a slow comeback.

The voluntary 4 week break or longer has changed my ability to train getting major results and made it easy to have performance increases that surpassed the prior period of performance.

I hate the long break and don't want to do it, but if I am not seeing results or getting worse, training should stop. I have found 6 to be better than 4. It seems it has to do with the endocrine response to protracted hard training. I have found 6 weeks better than 4 and should include a conservative comeback accelerating on the honest sense that I am always fresh and not reaching. Progress returns quickly,as health is reinstated.

Good luck-

Suggestion - break FOREVER

the bigger question is why you had a disappointing outdoor season. Was it too many intervals and not enough miles and tempos?

I think hs track coaches tend to hammer kids with intervals because that feels more serious - my son had a great, great xc season cause he was running a lot of miles - his fitness started to fade in indoor track as his miles were cut in favor of short intervals, and by the time track came around he was out of shape - cause he was running just half the mileage he ran for xc.

Does that sound like your story?

Or are you racing the workouts?

I don;t think it will matter if you take 1,2, or 4 wks off - if you want to run you will be fine.

The problem was undoubtedly that I did too many ridiculously hard tack workouts. Last spring, I had a great season, and I ran about 50mpw with two workouts per week. This year it did about 30mpw with three hard workouts every week. And in response to the mental aspect of extended breaks, that isn't the problem for me. I have only taken a week off so far, and I am already itching to start running again. I guess my question is physically, how long does it take to recover from a long season in which you overtrained?

Salazar has this right: two weeks off and two weeks light jogging/running.

hsxc987 wrote:

So I just wrapped a crappy junior year at states last weekend. I had a bad cross country season, decent indoor season, and bad outdoor season. I ran way too many hard track workouts, and finished the season feeling extremely burned out, both physically and mentally. I want to completely recover, and start focusing on base for next season. Will a two week break be sufficient, or do I need a full month? I want to recover completely from my burnout year, but I don't want to spend more time off than necessary. Thanks for any advice.