juice, fast!

since the marathon a month ago, i haven't been feeling 100%. i was sick for a week straight (sore throat, headache), and since then i've had a general, but desultory, sense of fatigue and malaise. i've gotta admit, my food and drink choices over the last several weeks haven't been laudatory, and i haven't actually run since crossing the finish line at the iwo jima memorial four weeks ago. so i decided something has to change - it's not going to change by itself, either. the earth will not spontaneously begin to move under my feet. i would have to change something. so this is a start.

i am going on a 14-day detox program, to clear my body of any residual toxins and negative energy, and just to see what happens. yesterday evening i started a 36-hour juice fast. i'll be drinking fruit and vegetable juices over this period, in addition to a concoction of vitamins, minerals, and fiber for cleansing, and a lot of water. tomorrow afternoon i'll start on a diet of raw foods - basically fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains, kept under 115 degrees. heat kills enzymes and other nutrients found naturally in raw foods, so raw foods are easier for the digestive system to handle.

i don't know how long i'll keep the raw food diet up. i'll give it a good go, and see how i feel. the slower my transition back to my regular diet, the easier it will be to gauge the effect of particular foods on my body, so i'll try adding new foods (cooked foods, dairy, meat) slowly and in small quantities.

my last, and really only, fasting experience was in kenya, when i limited my dietary intake to hot lemon water for two days. it wasn't very pleasant, and afterward i probably undid all of the benefits of fasting by gorging on deep-fried samosas. they say that the worse you feel, the more purging your body is doing, so if that's the case then right now (about 16 hours into it) my body hasn't lifted a finger towards cleaning house. i feel kind of high and happy. though i could damn sure go for a mike's burger.