I am a runner, and this past year has been a struggle for many reasons and my issues don’t compare to what so many have suffered through and are continuing to suffer through. When the world changed back in March, I was already going through a second course of antibiotics to treat a sinus infection caused by an oral surgeon who dug a little too deep removing a wisdom tooth right around the time Ohio went on lockdown. That wound up leading to another tooth removal and an infection that moved through my ear canal which caused a blockage and vertigo. During all of this I continued to run because it was the only thing keeping me sane and I looked at running with vertigo as an extra challenge. Ultimately in May my ENT had to remove the blockage and put a tube in my ear and I haven’t had vertigo since. Back to my everyday trail running which is typically 6-7 miles usually about an hour a day 5 days a week. I purchased a new pair of trail shoes in mid-August and after 3 or 4 days I started experiencing some soreness in my left shin, but I usually get that when I am breaking in new shoes. About a week later I woke up and could barely walk so I called my sports doc and got in right away and he took an x-ray that showed a stress fracture and said no running for a minimum of 5 weeks which immediately messed with my head because my running over the last 5-6 years helped me lose over 50lbs and is part of my daily routine. September was basically Hell and my own fault for feeling sorry for myself.
Spending time on social media during my downtime I was constantly seeing ads for every exercise gadget or diet program you can think of and I find most ads in my feed beyond annoying and wind up blocking 99% of them but one caught my eye, and I didn’t block it. Over a couple of days, I would watch videos about the Stealth, and it looked like something I could do without putting stress on my shin, so I purchased it and on 10/5/20. I realized I wasn’t nearly as in shape as I thought I was, and I was immediately hooked! I started off slowly because I needed to see how my shin would react by using Stealth on my toes, but I figured out rather quickly that it put no strain on it whatsoever and I believe Stealth has helped me strengthen it. I decided that endurance was the way I wanted to go and over the first month I just challenged myself to getting in 10 minutes a day over 3 or 4 sessions and continue to build up to getting 10 minutes in one session and by mid-November I was doing 20-30 minutes sessions and hit an hour in one session by 11/24 and have been doing 30-40 minute sessions a day since.
The Stealth is the best piece of exercise equipment I have ever purchased because not only is it a hardcore workout, it is actually fun because of the games and sometimes I am so focused on the game I forget I am actually working out! I did start running again and set myself back an additional month because I ignored my doctor’s return to run orders in mid-October, but my Stealth kept me going. I am back to running but starting off slowly this time, but I can definitely feel a difference in my running posture because my core is so much stronger, and I look forward to being 100% and Stealth will always be a part of my daily routine going forward! To anyone just starting out go at your own pace, don’t get discouraged we have a great platform and support group and If you put in the work you will get results!
-Jon Koenig