The Cleanse: Postmortem

As the cleanse ended on the fourth evening I felt a longing to continue the journey beyond the outer banks of fringe. Going in I had already decided the fourth day would be my exit point. Mentally I set the max at four days because the weekend had in store a grueling 17 mile round trip hike to the peak of Mt. Charleston. What I discovered at the end blew me away -- I could’ve done six more days with ease. But as noted in Drifting the sea in a cup 'o salt things looked sketchy from the beginning.

The first day freaked me out. I am not eating for 96 hours?!?! That inner monologue on a loop caused me to guzzle lemon cayenne water faster than a dehydrated rain forest. Flames in the shipping and receiving docks heightened the angst too. By the second day the anxiety of not eating dissipated slightly, as did the fire trail through my system. I figured if my favorite biblical leading man, the Great I AM, could do forty days and forty nights, then 1/10 of that time is doable. Here’s to you brother.  

36 hours in I swam my first work out, which people on Facebook and in reality felt would be the point my wagon’s wheels flew off. However, I made it through. As a matter of fact, I crushed it! For the swimmers in the audience, the main set of 10 x 300 freestyles culminated with a 3:08 pull. (The first 100, sub 1:00.) Our time in the water ran out before my endurance ran out. The tank had more fuel to give, and my energy level could have pushed me through another hour. The cleanse had brought about a revitalization in the water… No… A renaissance. I feel 20 years younger. So magic cayenne infused water, keep on keeping on. By the next swim work out on the fourth day I went for it all. I would push myself to the crash point. Go ugly early on I.M. day. (Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, for the non-swimmers.) The first set out of the shoot -- a 400 I.M. swim for time. I had not swam that distance in a race or in a practice since Bill Clinton enjoyed intern privileges. In honor of Slick Willy I felt the best way to crash and burn, pass out, and then earn an insurance sponsored ride in the wee onngg wee onngg wagon had to come at the hands of the four-headed beast. But guess what? Cruuussshed it. I pushed our top I.M. swimmer for the entire 400. So much so, he finished and the first thing out of his mouth was, “Where did that come from Jarvis?” I knew where it came from. THE CLEANSE!

Four days ain’t enough. The outer banks of fringe is the apex to pass through, not the edge. Physical, mental, emotional, and a myriad of other relating to adjectives were expanded upon, not contracted. There is more to be gained. Before Thanksgiving I will complete a full 10 day master cleanse. My six hours of nightly sleep, 5:30 a.m. swim work outs, full work days, evening cardio, and family time will benefit greatly. Until then…