While I largely believe age is more in the head than anything, I also have a realistic view that I’m not as young as I once was and that comes at a cost. Lately, between my landscaping exploits over the course of the past month and twice-a-week martial arts lessons, I’ve basically come to expect to be sore and tired. So when I woke up this morning, imagine the pleasant surprise when I got up and was ache-and-pain free.
It’s almost certainly not a coincidence that this happened during a few days of vacation down at my parents place. I haven’t touched a shovel or paver in almost 3 days now and probably haven’t lifted anything much heavier than a grande cup of coffee. The signs of recovery are noticeable.
It’s also encouraging that it occurred over such a short period of time. As I noted, it’s only been a few days of basic inactivity. While it’s not about to become the new normal, it does serve as a reminder of the importance of taking time to recover from a long period of strenuous activity. In fact, a period of recovery should almost certainly be a part of any exercise regimen. I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.