canklecat

Ah, I missed that in the OP's earlier post.

Yup, that's very likely a factor in attaining the desired fitness. That COVID long haul thing is a mess. A friend got it late last year. Took months to recover. He's 50something years old but one of the strongest guys locally with many KOMs and a zillion top tens. He averages 20 mph on our roller coaster terrain just cruising -- I've never been able to keep up with him at his preferred pace for longer than 20 minutes or so at a stretch. But for months he was struggling to average 16 mph -- my typical speed on the same routes. And his Zwift sessions dropped from almost daily to once a week at most.

He seems to be back to normal, but it took several months. He's an exceptional example because he was extremely fitness conscious, very careful about his diet, etc., and he and his family were cautious throughout the pandemic. But due to his job it was impossible to avoid potentially infected people.

I have long haul symptoms from hepatitis (caught it from patients in the 1970s-'80s when I was a dialysis nurse) and never fully recovered. Then, later, thyroid cancer and a screwed up metabolism, possibly related to that earlier bout with hepatitis. I have some good days, but it's impossible to predict. So I no longer use training plans. I have some goals but mostly I decide as I'm walking/rolling out the door what to do for that day's ride or run. Sometimes it takes me up to an hour just to warm up. If I feel better, I push harder. If not, I go easy and wait for a better day to push harder. And I take more rest days and sleep a lot more.