If this is addiction, I don't want any 12-step

I'm no fun to be around when I can't exercise and I'm not feeling well. So rather than continue feeling miserable, or fasting again to try to have my blood drawn again, I decided to do a full-on hard-core workout this morning. And now I feel awesome!

I still have the lump on my forehead, and the back of my neck still hurts slightly, and I'm sneezing as I always do after a long swim, but my heart and mind feel joyful.

(Oh, the title of the post: John keeps telling me I'm addicted to exercise. Okay. I'll accept that. Just don't try to fix it. It's a better addiction than food, and I am also capable of taking a rest day or two in order to exercise better.)

Here's what I did: I woke up without an alarm to ensure that my body was fully rested. I went back to getting my coffee first-thing - I think changing my routine at this point is stupid, and I don't know why I did it. I went to Idylwood to swim (there were a zillion people there again, which was nice) and did three laps - just over a mile. Then I chatted for a few minutes (I wasn't working on fast transitions), and then took off for a 23 mile ride around the lake. I'm not psyched about the lake route, because I've done it a zillion times, but I just hate the Sammamish River Trail (so boring) so I figured the lake would be better. I went comfortably hard for the first half, then for the second half, the east side of the lake, there was this guy who stopped at a light I was stopped at. He was probably 6 feet tall, 175 lbs - looked very strong. Big guy, but not fat. He was a commuter, probably, based on the fact he was carrying a bag, but he had a nice bike and was dressed to ride (real shoes, bike clothes).

He started out behind me, and I just wanted to go fast...I guess I wanted to make it hard for him to pass. I kept it around 20-22 mph. There's one little hill on the route, and he got ahead of me before the hill and beat me up it, but I got in the aero bars and sailed past him on the downhill (which surprised me, based on our weight difference). He passed me back and picked up the speed - now we're going 24-25 mph on a slight incline - and I don't want him to think that I am only keeping up because I'm drafting, so I hang back about 5 bike lengths. And I stay there, and I stay there when the hill gets steeper, and I get a little closer on the flats (there's really no downhill on this part of the route), and I catch up all the way at a light, and then at the end we're going 24-25 still and flying past cars that are standing still in traffic. At the last light I catch him again, and then our routes split off. It was about 10 miles of hard riding - at one point my heart rate was 182, and I think it was hanging out in the high 160s on the flats and slight grades to the high 170s when it got steeper. On the flats, though, I felt like I could push harder - if it were a race, I could have overtaken him.

So after not riding hard for quite a while, this was great - I guess I still have it. :-)

I didn't run because it was just getting too late. I felt like I could, though.

So I'm happy! Yay!

Today's data:

Food:
Pre-workout: 1 Vitatop, 100 cals
Breakfast: Alternative bagel, ham, cheese: 215 cals
Lunch: Yogurt, granola, fruit: 400 cals
total so far: 715 cals I should eat a snack

Exercise:
Swim 1 mile
Bike 23 miles
Calories burned: 1200