For those who may be interested:

I began running, somewhat sporadically, after I retired (at 66 y/o) in July 2022. On day one, I was barely able to jog once around the track, before I had to stop and walk.

In March 2023, I recorded one of my first 0.25 mile "sprints", achieving a 6:13/min pace for a 0.25. However, I averaged 182 bpm heart rate and my Garmin indicated a VO2 Max of 36.

After my October 2023 diagnosis, my running became more intentional, averaging ~9 miles/week. I always rest at least one day between sessions. In December 2023, I recorded the same pace 0.25 sprint with an average HR of 164 bmp and my Garmin indicated a VO2 Max of 42.

This morning (September 2025) I recorded the same paced 0.25 sprint with an average HR of 141 bpm and my Garmin indicates a VO2 max of 49.5.

I began "Zone 2" 5k's (with occasional Zone 2 10k's) in March 2025. This change has significantly improved my endurance and lowered my HR's. In fact, my resting heart rate is now ~50 bpm.

For those who don't know, "Zone 2" running is where you maintain ~70% of your maximum HR during the entire run. For me, that's maintaining a pace where my HR is between 125 - 135 bpm the entire time.

Bottom Line: My experience, with exercise medicine, is that it is a slow, incremental approach to improved fitness and vitality. Measurable results begin to be observed within months; but the full improvement impact is still ongoing after years...I've yet to hit my "top limit" after 3 years.

Hope this has been helpful to whomever is interested in anecdotal exercise medicine stories....