Good you're back! A fellow beginning biker I know also landed shingles this winter... so she's been careful not to push hard - but doing some exercise helps keep the systems kicking in.
Remember, 0.5 miles is more than 0.0 miles. Just do it!! Right now half a mile takes you past a dozen people at least on BJ
(I'm all frothing because I'm down at 800 something in the ranking now, after my high-falutin' ascent!! but my commute home should take me up a couple hundred...)