Overdoing it?

When it comes to fitness and exercise, how much is too much? 

I’ve always made sure to incorporate one rest day into my week, to recover from the workouts of the past 6 days- but is one rest day enough for me?

This week, I must admit I crashed from exhaustion. On Tuesday, I came straight home from work, got into my pyjamas and was asleep before 7pm. Wednesday followed exactly the same, and by Thursday I was still exhausted and in bed before 9pm. I missed my planned workouts, but I felt so physically drained of energy that I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, let alone head out for a run. By Friday, I felt much better, but I was a little shocked at how badly I had needed three days rest. 

My Mum has been concerned about my health for a while, and had a chat with me yesterday to find out what is going on. She feels that both me and Glen are overdoing it and not taking enough time to rest and relax. It’s easy to brush this off as my Mum over-worrying, but I do feel she has got a point- I have had several colds, plus both me and Glen suffer with IBS, and he has had several stomach upsets. We are both so busy- with work, training, travel, trying to fit in a social life, commuting, housework. I know this is common amongst people our age- but perhaps it is starting to take it’s toll on our health? 

April is set to be a manic month- I’ve got three trips abroad planned (and Glen has four coming up). I’m off to Germany for a fitness convention with work this week whilst Glen is working in Rome, we are flying to New York the following Friday to celebrate my 30th Birthday, then at the end of the month we are over in Ireland for a family party. Glen is also squeezing in a work trip to Dublin, in between Rome and New York!
I’ve got a packed itinerary for New York including running, spinning, sight-seeing, shopping, eating- and I’m excited about it all! 
As well as the travel, I’ve got my first Aquathlon, a 5 mile race, training for my next half-marathon, triathlon training, plus a busy Easter weekend! 

May is looking to be similarly busy with two 10ks, a half-marathon, a weekend away, a duathlon training day, and potentially putting our flat on the market. I was also considering a 30 day Bikram yoga challenge, starting to see a Personal Trainer again and buying a bike to start cycling! 

I love to travel, I love to keep fit and I love to have a packed diary- but I rarely take to time to just sit and read a book, or chill out and relax. My Mum feels I should take a month off from exercise to completely recharge my batteries- to be honest, there is no way I could do this or even want to do it! I’ve got a half-marathon to train for! 

But I do feel like something has to give- I’m tired and I constantly feel run-down.

Five years ago I was obese, sedentary, drank alcohol quite frequently and lived on junk food. Now I’m a fitness freak, maintaining a 5 stone weight-loss and loving life- but is my health really any better for it? 

I would love to get some opinions on this, as I know a lot of bloggers are marathon training as well as wedding planning, travelling, working and having a life! Do you feel like you are going to burn out? Does it effect your health? Or is it just me?