Greetings Khaleesi, archaeologist here! :) I am currently on the field! bad news is that I got my knees injured because I'm a reckless stubborn prick sometimes...good news is that I can do all the paperwork (do you know how much paperwork is required for an excavation? TOO MUCH! xD) so I have not been sent home and can enjoy my work and learn new skills at the museum here :) But uh, I guess the lesson to be learned is that sometimes we should just accept our physical limits and not deny them?
I am so pleased you have been able to go do your excavation! But perhaps the lesson is rather to push your limits (for how else can you grow stronger), but to be respectful of them, and kind to yourself? Pushing limits and denying them, as you put it, are two different things, and you do not need to deny them to push them! And if you simply accept them and do not push them, how will you grow stronger? It is amazing, sometimes, what we are capable of! But, as you have found, to push too far at once bears risks!
But I am glad you are learning and enjoying your work, that you were able to go on the dig, and that you still have a positive attitude (or so it seems) about all of this! Continue to enjoy it!