Feeling old

I think I might be getting old. Unlikely I know, but sometimes I think I am seeing some signs.

I keep getting told that exercise gets harder after 40, the body doesn't recover as well, things that were easy in your 20s take longer to get over etc. I'm not 40 yet so have been ignoring all this advice, but I have to say I might be seeing some early indications.

I am currently riddled with niggles. I have a bit of tendinitis in my left elbow from paddling, I somehow managed to strain my back when I was running on Tuesday and my bad right shoulder where I tore my AC ligament a few years ago is feeling a bit funny. All up I am sore and sorry.

The frustrating thing about all these niggles is they aren't going away. They really are niggles and so they haven't stopped me training, they aren't that bad, but cumulatively they really are annoying. In my previous experience these are all niggles that sort themselves out in time and don't really require time off, however, they are taking their good sweet time this time around. Hence my pondering about getting old.

More recently I have been wondering if I should be stopping to give them all a rest, but I don't think I am quite there yet, give it a bit more time. But I can't help but wonder if this slower recovery time is what everybody has been telling me about.

I really do think these current niggles will sort themselves out pretty soon, however, going forward I am starting to think of the reality of exercising as I get a bit older. I think the main consideration is giving myself sufficient recovery time, which is probably the main change I will need to be making if I want to keep exercising as I currently do. I know plenty of people who are older than me and who train harder than me, but I suspect they are a bit more mindful of how they treat their bodies.  I suspect you can't just beat yourself up like you did when you were younger and expect to bounce back the next day.

I guess it is an area I will be learning more about in the future. Unfortunately it could be something I have to learn about sooner than I thought.