Balance has become a buzz word in the past few years, with everyone going on about "life-work balance" "training balance" and so on. It's easy to get caught up with the fads and the buzz words, but harder to understand what it all means. What part of our identity should we be focused on? The professional aspect, personal aspect or athletic aspect? There's no easy answer to any of those questions, but if you find yourself wondering if you are missing things in any aspect of your life, then the balance is off. If professional quality at work is suffering because of fatigue from training, then the training plan needs to be re-assessed. The same goes if you find yourself missing important family obligations for that last few miles or extra swim session. At the same time, if work responsibilities are impinging upon time with family... That's a harder one to address, but just as important. It's a personal give and take to find the balance for a fullfillin