Not exactly what you were asking, since I've been off the exercise wagon for almost a year, but I did just recently recover from Covid. Fully vaccinated, boosted in November, age 47. It's been three weeks since I first tested positive, and a little over a week since I tested negative again. Was sick for a week and then had a lingering sinus drip cough (not chest congestion).
I've been surprised by some heat and exercise intolerance in the last week. I took my first walk for an errand and was shocked at my heart rate on the minor hills (158). Then I was doing some yard work over the weekend in the sun in hot weather (80s), and my heart rate was SO disproportionately high at some points! In the mid-170s!! It was still in the high 150s after I came inside and sat down and checked my pulse with an oximeter to verify my Garmin watch.
All I was doing was weeding, leaning under bushes to use choppers on errant seedings, chopping things to put in yard bags, or using a little hand pruning saw. I had to take breaks, sit in the shade, get a hat. I was sweating and beet red in the face. I was also super exhausted afterwards. It was super strange. Just a few weeks before I had worked WAY harder digging out some massive root systems, and had nowhere near this sort of reaction, so I'm assuming it's a post-Covid thing.
As others have said, I think the key is to take it slowly, really listen to your body, and accept that you may have to ramp things up MUCH more gradually than you anticipated. Everyone's experience seems to be individual, so it's hard to know what yours will be ahead of time. For instance, my husband hasn't noticed anything except for some extra tiredness in the weeks since.
An encouraging note is that for most people who have some lingering effects, they go away over time. The key seems to be patience and moderation.
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-Nicole
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