I had fantasies of finishing my first half-marathon in less than two hours and being greeted by Paul down on one knee, but I wasn't disappointed at my 2:06 time and the proud grin on my boyfriend's (still-not-fiance's) face as I finished, because I was having a heck of a lot of fun.

I eased off the pace. Got my breathing back under control. And the epiphany struck: I don't need to run at any particular pace or register any particular time. All I need to do is run at the speed of fun.

Even as we are reduced to bib numbers and the singlet of our running club, and even as each race is an individual race with our own mind and body, there is something very social that happens once we get spread out across the course.

I am living the "high life" in several aspects of my life. I am coming off two weeks of successful racing. I train to race. When you race well, and win, it feels good. You feel validated, you feel -- well, you feel high.

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Got a weight loss success story of your own? Tell us about it at success.stories@huffingtonpost.com and you could be featured on the site! Name: Ki...