Life Intervenes (269#)

I've suddenly and happily gotten a lot busier lately, so I've been remiss in keeping you up to date. Here's the ten-minute special:

• Here's something I never thought I'd say: the dieteer ran a road race late last month. On the one hand, it was only 4.2 miles; on the other hand, I've never done anything like that before. It was for a cause I believe in, I was fairly happy I completed the race in under 45 minutes after about two weeks of mild jogging prep, and I'll be back next year looking to vastly improve my time. I'll be signing up for 5Ks to start with, and moving up from there.
  
  Running voluntarily is just one of the things that makes me feel like I'm caught in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I get rid of these accursed manboobs and I think I'll be a terror on the running track.
  
  
• I used to get clothes from family members for holidays, and since nobody seemed to know what size I was, they'd generally get me the largest size a major department store would carry. I've had many very nice XXL polo shirts hanging unused and never worn in my closet for years. I recently busted them out, washed them all, and am wearing them regularly. It feels really, really good to do that; I always hoped I'd get to this point, but I never really thought it'd be possible.
  
  Plus, it's less expensive than buying clothes, and my family has better taste than I do.
  
  
• The dieteer has gotten himself a girlfriend. She's hot, she's smart, she's funny, she's educated, and I'm totally dating above my station. I'm also happy to report that sex minus nearly 200 lbs is everything I'd anticipated.
  
  As an added bonus, she's very fit and active. We're going on hikes, we're going to start running together, and she's got all these good ideas about diet--some of which I might let her convince me about. I don't think that's something I *need* in my life to get where I want to go physically, but I can't imagine it hurting.
  

I was 269# this morning.