Agape

Here we are at the end of week 11 and I'm slightly injured, so I've had to take some time to rest. I guess it had to happen at some point in time and I will count myself lucky that it took almost 3 months for it to happen (I'm a very clumsy person. I honestly thought I would've hurt myself 4 or 5 times by now). While shin splints are super common, they're a pain to get! I don't really like feeling as though my leg is going to break in half when I run. But it happens. I still have one good leg and two good arms to still work out during training today. So long as J doesn't make me run, I'll be fine :) The shin splints are just bad timing. My first ever 5k is in just a couple days. This 5k is an "Urban Scavenger Hunt" in downtown Cleveland, so K and I will be given 12 clues, we will have to figure them out, get to the destinations as fast as possible, take a picture or perform an act as requested by the clues, and plan the quickest route to get to all the destinations and back. First place wins $300 and the top 25 teams go to Las Vegas for the National Championship with a $25,000 prize. K and I have pretty decent knowledge of Cleveland, her history and landmarks (and we've been studying). And I feel as though I can navigate downtown pretty well (you know, living downtown and all...I should know how to get around, right?). So, I think we may have a pretty good chance. Even with the shin splints, I will go as fast as possible. I may not be as fast as I've been lately (or as fast as other people racing), but I will do my best. I can't let K (and myself) down, after all. I'm still pretty excited for the race. It'll be fun no matter how well we do. And this will be the first thing I can cross off my goal sheet, so that also feels like quite an accomplishment.

For the week, I am down 1.6 pounds. This brings the 11 week total to 33.4 pounds lost so far. I had to take an extra rest day on Tuesday, due to the injury, and yesterday I took a "therapeutic" yoga class (I don't even want to talk about that class...if you could even call it yoga). So today I should be back on track with training and working out. Food and calories have been staying on track still. I signed up with a CSA (food co-op) called Fresh Fork Market that starts today. I'm pretty excited about it. I try to support local businesses as much as possible, and this is just another way to do it. You sign up for a season (the summer season is 21 weeks, I believe), and every week you get a bag of farm fresh and all local food. They have numerous pick-up locations for convenience. Every week, the food will be different and I get an email telling me what will be in the bag. This week, there's a whole chicken, some kale, specially made whole wheat Ohio City Pasta, broccoli, beans...the list goes on and on (They also have vegetarian and vegan options available). This has become another variable that I now have to add into my weekly menu planning. It was interesting to plan for this coming week. I like the added surprise, though. Rather than looking up recipes to do for the week, I've had to create my own in order to use all of the different ingredients given. So if these recipes work out, I may post some of them on here to share with all of you. We'll see.

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I feel as though it's a little fitting that Agape love has been at the forefront of my my mind the past few days. I was reading something by Paulo Coelho and I feel as though I should share it. It's a little long, but I think it's totally worth the read:

"Agape is total love, the love that devours those that experience it. Whoever knows and experiences Agape sees that nothing else in this world is of any importance, only loving. This is the love that Jesus felt for humanity, and it was so great that it shook the stars and changed the course of man's history.

"During the millennia of the history of civilization, many people have been smitten by this Love that Devours. They had so much to give - and the world demaded so little - that they were obliged to seek out the deserts and isolated places because love was so great that it transfigured them.

"When we love and believe in something from the bottom of our soul, we feel stronger than the world and we are imbued with a serenity that comes from the certainty that nothing can conquer our faith. This strange force makes us always make the right decisions at the right time, and we are surprised at our own capacity when we fulfill our objective.

"Enthusiasm usually manifests itself in all its power in the early years of our life. We have a strong tie with the divinity and we give ourselves with such zeal to our toys that dolls take on a life of their own and little tin soldiers manage to march. When Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven belonged to the children, he was referring to Agape in the form of Enthusiasm. The children reached him without paying any attention to his miracles, his wisdom, the Pharisees and the apostles. They came happily, driven by Enthusiasm."

"May you never lose your enthusiasm at any moment for the rest of your life; it's your greatest strength, intent on the final victory. You cannot let it slip through your fingers just because as time passes we have to face some small and necessary defeats."

When I read that I thought, I want that feeling of Agape. I want to feel a love so strong that nothing can stop it, where I give everything I have to fulfill it, where I believe something from the bottom of my being. I want to have that child-like mind where enthusiasm abounds and cannot be tamed. A few defeats would then mean nothing. Those defeats would be pebbles in an ocean of zeal and passion.
But then I realized, I think I'm starting to feel that again. That Agape love. That Love that Devours. That enthusiasm that cannot be tamed. I may have lost it for a little while, but it's starting to come back. Life is beginning to have meaning again. I have objectives to fulfill again. Enthusiasm is starting to take over. When I get caught in a downpour, I no longer run for shelter and try to stay "safe" and dry; I twirl down the street, jump in puddles, and enjoy the rain that falls on my face.

And so my wish for all of you is this: May you never lose your enthusiasm at any moment for the rest of your life.

Agape.