This morning, I am struggling with the battle between good pain and bad pain. Good pain is the pain you feel after an intense workout or perhaps a grueling physical challenge. Bad pain is felt after an injury. I am experiencing both right now; the good pain all over my body and the bad pain in my left Achille’s tendon.

I am extremely motivated to get started with my strengthening and conditioning. I want to get back to my running, and I’m actually excited to start a new ruck regimen of one long ruck and a shorter ruck each week (two total). I’m excited about adding more fruit into my diet to give me some carbs to burn while on those longer jaunts. I’m even looking forward to pushing through the muscle pain to get the work done. But, there’s one big problem; that Achille’s heel.

It hurts, and not just a little. Sure, I can walk on it, but I do have a limp. When I let it rest, I almost forget it’s hurt, but then when I stand up, the moment I put any weight on it, it’s painful. And not in a good way.

The only way back from a tendon injury is time, and that’s something I don’t feel like I have. I will likely start working some arms, chest, back, and core over the next week or two while I let my heel heal (ha!). I will also definitely be working on pull ups and starting my kettlebell routine.

It’s important to recognize the difference between good pain and bad and to know when to push it and when to let your body rest and heal. I’m doing my best to listen, but also doing my damnedest to push past the good pain and get the work done.