Balance: The Hardest Workout

I'm on day nine of this road to 70.3 and I'm already learning (or maybe re-learning) so much. I'm seeing that the challenge is not just in going faster and farther or getting stronger. The real challenges seem to be matriculating as much more subtle and elusive beasts.

How do I fit it all in? How do I juggle all the aspects of my life and still maintain my sanity? I'm struggling with this balance thing...and not the kind that a solid commitment some form of yoga can improve. I mean life balance.

You've really got to be on top of every aspect of your life to pull this off. Every aspect.

If I am not on top of my work I might not get in my lunch hour workout, which means I'll have to work out after work (provided I don't have a meeting for some other commitment), which means I'll get home late and not have time to stop a the grocery store or I might get to bed late and not get enough sleep, which means I won't have time to pack something healthy to lug with me to work the next day, which means I'll probably have a bad workout, which along with the lack of sleep will make me crabby, which I am likely to take out on the innocent people around me, which will not make my life any easier since these are the people I count on for support....its a domino effect and one little thing can set it off. Something little, that you didn't even see coming.

I heard somewhere that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So I'm giving things 12 more days to work themselves into place. I can see workout patterns forming. I can feel muscles remembering. But I also see my free time filling and my social life slipping away.

So the question will be....can I do it all? Can train as much as I need to, work as much as I have to, accomplish all the goals I have set for myself in the next six months and still find time for a life?

Can I achieve balance without sacrifice? Or is that part of the process? Time will tell, I guess.