It's been roughly 3 months since I was diagnosed with sky-high blood pressure and renal artery stenosis. I also spent a night in the ICU after a false alarm for a stroke. (I was on a super strong blood pressure med for the night and it required continuous supervision.)
Since then, I started taking walks. At first it was a quarter of a mile, then gradually pushed up to 5-6 miles, every day. Sometimes even up to 8-10 miles if time allowed.
Jogging started slow, as I could only handle about 1/8 mile at a time. [Insert knee strain injury here]. I worked up to 1/4 mile run + 1/4 mile walk for as many reps as I could handle for my daily routine.
Rucking once or twice a week was added and am almost at 40lbs of weight. (It hurts, but has taught me pain management.)
Sprints once a week for 10 seconds for about 5-8 reps somehow worked itself in to the routine. (Dunno where that came from.)
Finally this evening, I ran a full continuous mile and celebrated with a round of sprints after that.
I am 46 and hadn't ran a full mile in over 20 years. 3 months ago I thought I was going to die walking up a hill. Walking one solid mile was a huge milestone for me not so long ago.
I guess the point of this post is just a checkpoint and a reminder to myself that things are actually getting better and there are more milestones to reach.
Cheers.
Rucking is just running or walking with a weighted vest to simulate a heavy backpack. I believe the name is derived from a military style "rucksack".
It absolutely destroys my upper body (mostly my upper back area) during my normal walk. Keeping correct posture and gait with a bit of weight takes a bit more effort and works muscles that are typically not engaged in regular walking exercises.
But thanks for the warning about pain. We evolved pain for a reason, so it's best not to be ignored.