I do usually once a week...I have a pretty busy schedule...I've done 7 day weeks, but the workout I'm missing would probably be something long and low or recovery intensity.

I still see plenty of gains without working out every day...I think, depending on how long you've been training, this off-day will be good for you...and you probably need more if you've been going a few months without ever taking a day off

i always schedule one day off after several workouts usually one every 4th, 5th, or 6th day depending on my schedule. i will also modify that according to how i feel. this doesn't include the days off i might take because of weather or regualr life things that pop up. if that's the case, i might add a little extra to the workout to make up for it, but will NOT make up the whole workout I missed.

In that case...I probably skip out on a scheduled workout like 1x per month. I rearrange my workouts constantly though as things come up...and I'm a slacker sometimes. I'm not a pro LIKE SOME PEOPLE, so I don't feel too bad about missing here or there...other commitments, or just relaxing and enjoying life and the fiancee, or meeting college friends and playing college for a night sometimes breaks my schedule

According to my trifuel calendar, I didn't work out for 8 days of May, and 7 days in April. Most likely 5 per month of those were planned rest days. It appears that my unplanned days off come in groups.
April: 2 days off in week 1, then 3, 1, 1, 0. In May it was 1 day off in week 1, then 1, 0, 3, 3.

With the exception of the "free" Hammer Gel that comes in a race's goodie bag, triathlons don't put food on the table, so I'm not worried about it.

[in my best psychologist voice] What I'm hearing is... your mind was looking for a reason to take the day off and you used these obstacles as your reason.

But seriously, whatever the reason, you took a day off... no big deal. Fix the flat, get your running shoes and get back to the plan.

For me in 'theory' I'd like to put in 2 workouts a day, however in practice I'm lucky if I can get more than 3 2adays in a week and I always take friday's off to prepare for the long weekend where work/school/life's demands give you more time. Last winter my fiance and I skipped mondays wednesdays and fridays, did a full tempo swim bike run on saturday and long hilly 60-80mile bike on sunday and we both did pretty well at IMC (our first at that distance).

I want to work hard enough to place in my age group, but no harder.

When I am IM training, every Monday is my day off and massage day. Right now I am training for a HIM and instead of taking the whole day off I at least do 90 min of hot yoga. However, if I am really just tired and don't feel like training I will take the whole day off, and like others have said, it is when the body dictates.

I always take Sunday off, as I only do a 6 day/week training plan. Other than that, I usually miss 1 or 2 days per week. I don't know what it is, but I guess I'm just not disciplined enough.

I was actually going to start a thread about if people REALLY follow their training plans and never miss a workout, because I always feel guilty when I do. But based on this thread, I'm guessing it would just make me feel more guilty.

I disagree with this statement. I don't do active recovery workouts often, but they really come into play for me after really high intensity work like a race, or when I was in college... a rowing regatta.

my active recovery workouts are generally like riding a recumbent bike while reading a book for 30-45 minutes, or just lightly pulling on a erg for 30 minutes(rowing machine), or a low intensity swim. I think something where my HR probably only gets to like 60% at most and that is low/no intensity on the joints is viable active recovery. You're really not working anything, but it makes the soreness and muscle fatigue go away much faster than just sitting around that day (for me). I consider active recovery to basically be like stretching in motion

On average I think I take a day off about three or four times a week.

I really don't understand how you folks do it. Physically I would love to train six days a week, but practically it doesn't seem possible. I've even kept a log of everything I do in an effort to improve time management, and there just isn't anything else to take off my plate. Is it because triathlon isn't as high on my priority list as it is for you? Or perhaps my three wives and thirteen kids are holding me back?

i took saturday off as an unexpected day off. then, Sunday, I dropped a vacuum cleaner on my ankle and ended up with only a swim workout (instead of an a.m. swim + afternoon brick). And Monday is my weekly rest day.

so, i just let it go and i'm back on my normal schedule, albeit with a still slightly inflated ankle...

I've found that scheduling Friday as my day off does wonders for my mental state. It's nice to walk out the door on Friday afternoon and know "thats it".. espeically when you hate your job (I usually train after work each day). Other than that, like some of the others have said, I just take the off days when I really "need" them or duty calls, and when that happens and its not on Friday I just shift the schedule that week.

I have one day a week as the planned day off, but realistically, life intervenes and I usually end up with 2 days off a week. Certainly I miss those days, but I think the loss of a day or so doesn't have a massive impact on how I'm doing. When I miss two in a row though, I do hate the next day back.