By Chris Hunkeler under CC BY-SA 2.0

The past two weeks have been rough.

We had a huge event at work and I had other events to go to — so much that with Halloween, HQ and I didn’t make to ballet at all. Then I was having another rough time this week (and felt sick at the beginning of it) that I didn’t think we’d get our workouts in any workouts at all — currently we’re trying to balance ballet, running, and cross-training (mostly pilates, but some cardio, too).

I hadn’t been doing much running, but after we went running when the streets were open thanks to the Pope being here, HQ and I decided that we were trying to go running a bit more. We’ve done a fair amount of running in the past, but ever since I ended up with stress fractures, we never really got into it. A great community, Run215, has also helped motivate me as well to keep going and we’re registered for the Rothman 8K later this month. After a 5 mile run last weekend, I feel more ready than we have for a race in the past.

But — the struggle has been balancing everything, especially with running and ballet feeling like they take up so much time by themselves. Trying to fit everything in has been tough, but usually my system is to schedule my workouts ahead of time, so I know what I’ve got in the upcoming week (work, events, fun) and how I can fit in workouts around that, with a balance of running, ballet, and cross-training.

But sometimes it fails — like when you’ve had a really rough day at work, daylight saving change has messed with your head, and end up quitting .66 miles into your workout. When that happens, I find the best thing to remember is your body needs rest and time to recover. Sometimes taking a break is just what you need.

So my question for you is, how do you achieve balance with all your workout goals? How do you know when it’s time to take a break? I’ll do a follow up post later this week with responses!