Trails for Two

Guess I owe you all an update.

If you've been following me on Strava, you'll notice that I resumed walking to work a few weeks ago. That was because 1) it finally stopped being in the mid-90s when I got off work and 2), the nerve issue on the top of my left foot had settled down. I used new shoes for walking - Altra Escalantes - and laced them to not put pressure on the top of my foot. It looks goofy but it seems to work.

I was starting to develop a good rhythm. and the walks were starting to be more pleasurable - whether from my cardio system and muscles waking up, my feet settling into the new shoes, or both. It was a good thing.

And if you're following me on Strava, you'll notice that all stopped abruptly.

No, I didn't go and hurt myself again. (I know what you're thinking.)

But I did catch COVID-19 again. And unlike the first time back in March 2020, it got me good. Which means my immune system went into overdrive. It's been five days since my first symptoms and while I'm not approaching 103 degrees, I'm not back to normal yet, either. Oh, and Alita caught it, too. Her symptoms don't seem to be as bad as mine so far. Crossing my fingers.

All of this is to say, sorry for not posting and yes, I am starting to work back toward fitness again. I just hope COVID doesn't set me back too much.

Mark B wrote:Guess I owe you all an update.

If you've been following me on Strava, you'll notice that I resumed walking to work a few weeks ago. That was because 1) it finally stopped being in the mid-90s when I got off work and 2), the nerve issue on the top of my left foot had settled down. I used new shoes for walking - Altra Escalantes - and laced them to not put pressure on the top of my foot. It looks goofy but it seems to work.

I was starting to develop a good rhythm. and the walks were starting to be more pleasurable - whether from my cardio system and muscles waking up, my feet settling into the new shoes, or both. It was a good thing.

And if you're following me on Strava, you'll notice that all stopped abruptly.

No, I didn't go and hurt myself again. (I know what you're thinking.)

But I did catch COVID-19 again. And unlike the first time back in March 2020, it got me good. Which means my immune system went into overdrive. It's been five days since my first symptoms and while I'm not approaching 103 degrees, I'm not back to normal yet, either. Oh, and Alita caught it, too. Her symptoms don't seem to be as bad as mine so far. Crossing my fingers.

All of this is to say, sorry for not posting and yes, I am starting to work back toward fitness again. I just hope COVID doesn't set me back too much.

Oh my...if it's not one thing it's another!

It was good to see some activity on Strava.  I'm glad to hear you were enjoying it.

Hope this COVID thing passes quickly without any long-term effects.  Boy am I getting tired of this...and I'm sure you are as well.

Take care.  Hope you and Alita both recover quickly.

Sorry to hear that both you and Alita caught Covid (again).   Hopefully as you are seeing this, you both are feeling better!

I'm also sorry you and Alita got covid again. I hope you fully recover soon

I survived! And Alita did, too!

Bot wow. So. Much. Mucus. (Popping Mucinex and downing a lot of water were my hobbies.)

I'm confident we had the omicron BA5 subvariant. My symptoms ticked all the boxes. It put me down for several days, and it took several more to feel well enough to work remotely. I didn't test negative until two weeks after my first positive test, which was surprising, weirdly impressive -- and annoying. 

It really impacted my cardiac fitness. Just walking to the mailbox or going up the stairs would jack my heart rate. That seems to have resolved, thank goodness, but now I'll be back to starting close to zero when I start getting active again. At least that's not unfamiliar to me....

That said, from everything I've read about COVID lately (which has been a lot), I know that I need to not push it. 

Here's a very interesting piece on what people with COVID might expect as the convalesce from their illness - and why SARS-COV-2 infections are not like your run-of-the-mill illnesses.

As one doctor quoted said:

“It’s something that could kill somebody who’s in their 70s. it’s the same thing in your body. It’s not nothing.”

Mark B wrote:I survived! And Alita did, too!

Bot wow. So. Much. Mucus. (Popping Mucinex and downing a lot of water were my hobbies.)

I'm confident we had the omicron BA5 subvariant. My symptoms ticked all the boxes. It put me down for several days, and it took several more to feel well enough to work remotely. I didn't test negative until two weeks after my first positive test, which was surprising, weirdly impressive -- and annoying. 

It really impacted my cardiac fitness. Just walking to the mailbox or going up the stairs would jack my heart rate. That seems to have resolved, thank goodness, but now I'll be back to starting close to zero when I start getting active again. At least that's not unfamiliar to me....

That said, from everything I've read about COVID lately (which has been a lot), I know that I need to not push it. 

Here's a very interesting piece on what people with COVID might expect as the convalesce from their illness - and why SARS-COV-2 infections are not like your run-of-the-mill illnesses.

As one doctor quoted said:

“It’s something that could kill somebody who’s in their 70s. it’s the same thing in your body. It’s not nothing.”

Glad to hear you both survived!  

We lucked out when we both got COVID over Christmas.  Marty recovered very quickly.  My symptoms and fatigue lasted a few days but was nothing compared to your symptoms...nor did it last as long as the article describes.

I ended up with a cold prior to my half a couple weeks ago and was still a bit sick on race day but nothing overly serious.  I didn't actually bother to take a test as I caught it from someone who tested negative several times so I'm pretty sure it wasn't COVID.  

I just hope I can stay healthy through this last 6 weeks of training and start CIM healthy!

Take it slow and easy and enjoy activity as you're able.

So what are the typical physiological signs on having long covid?

Glad you're not feeling worse, now

There are a variety of long cove symptoms, but the biggest seem to be cognitive dysfunction, also known as a brain, fog, fatigue, headaches, depression, etc.

One thing that I don’t know is long Covid or just a symptom of recuperating, is that it does very strange things with your heart rate. For example, when I was out yesterday, doing my birthday shoes, run, my heart rate was jacked beyond the level you would expect for just being really out of shape. When I was sick, just walking to the mailbox, got me almost into he had aerobic heart rate. sort of a good reminder that this is actually a fairly serious or potentially very serious illness.

I am generally feeling better, though, not exactly 100%.

So here is some proof of my birthday shoes run yesterday. I was going to do about 5.9 minutes when I realized I was feeling pretty good and decided to just make it .59 miles. I am a little sore in a couple of spots this morning, but not terribly so. Here’s hoping that this is the start of something good.

Mark B wrote:


So here is some proof of my birthday shoes run yesterday. I was going to do about 5.9 minutes when I realized I was feeling pretty good and decided to just make it .59 miles. I am a little sore in a couple of spots this morning, but not terribly so. Here’s hoping that this is the start of something good.

Happy Birthday!  Great to see you back outside and active.  

Interesting to hear that your HR is still higher on occasion that you would expect.  I realized long ago that there are many things that affect my HR...stress, lack of recovery etc.  COVID takes those things to a whole new level.  

Take care of yourself.

Hi! I'm not dead. But this blog is. 

Please stay tuned for my new blog "The Bumbling Bee" in which all will be revealed.