I caught Covid in August of 2022. I was able to finish second in a 5k in September 2022. By early November 2022, I could not run the whole 5k but had to walk a substantial portion of it. So, I would say that I developed long Covid during that period. After that 5k attempt in November, I was diagnosed with COPD. My family members reacted with extreme skepticism as I am a dedicated runner, never smoked, and had no other known risk factors for COPD. I entered a cardio-pulmonary rehab program and developed Post Exertional Malaise on a weekly basis. This program, where the therapists were not familiar with pacing, worsened my condition. In the meantime, the doctor who had diagnosed me with COPD, began to agree that long Covid might be a better explanation for my symptoms. Since Mayo Clinic started a long Covid clinic, I enrolled in it, and they helped me manage my symptoms better. I tried to find a sustainable pace, but getting up to preach on Sundays was worsening my symptoms. When I discovered that, I retired.
I suspect that my congregation was smaller than yours and placed less demands on me. With the lower workload, I had an increased capacity to focus and was able to concentrate on my sermons. Whenever the demands of my work became excessive, like a lengthy Synod meeting, I could no longer retain three sentences worth of ideas.
I understand that people who caught Covid earlier frequently have more severe symptoms than people who caught a later variant. In my case, I lost my wife to ALS the year before I caught Covid, I had a severe case of mononucleosis when I was a sophomore in college, and I did not know about pacing until it was too late. I suspect that if any of those things had not happened, I would not have long Covid or the symptoms would have been less severe.