Recovery declines with age, but some do really well at any particular age, and others don't. So be honest with yourself about that, if you don't feel like you are recovering in due time. Never, repeat never, go to bed without the hot bath or shower. You will wake up in a knot and this won't end for hours. Hydration, as mentioned in an earlier post, is crucial, and the older you are, the more important it is. If you have to haul around a canteen or water bottle, do it. In addition to guarding your back, take arthritis symptoms seriously. This effects nearly everyone, but some more and more quickly than others. Have your doc monitor that. I had a friend who took a job as a driver with UPS after teaching for years, charging around town in a big brown truck. He hurt so badly, he'd crawl up the stairs to his townhouse on all fours. He was a farm boy growing up, so he got his physical mojo back. Later, he rose through the ranks and became their international agent and spent years traveling the world, and last I heard, he was some sort of V.P. near Manhattan. So for him, the pain paid.
