She’s also a triathlete, competing around the country in high-endurance competitions emphasizing running, biking, and swimming. Before the season begins, she prepares herself by going on a week-long juice fast. Juicing, she says, gives her lots of energy and makes her body quick and limber. She does this at the Inn retreat, where she takes three juices a day. Marsha also claims juicing makes her mind sharp and clear. Once a year we also host a group of four women bikers. They do a juice fast every year before their twenty-five-mile bike race. Having done this for many years, they know exactly what they are doing. The first time this group of women arrived at our facility, I didn’t recognize them as being athletic. I thought they looked tired, stressed out, and pale. Four days later when I saw them again, I literally didn’t recognize them. I was shocked by how good these women, who were clearly in their mid-fifties to sixties, looked. Each of them had lost weight, color had returned to their faces, and their personalities were lighter and more fun.
