Changes keep coming

So sometime in the evening after Sunday's run I noticed I had developed a huge blister on the side of my foot. That's what I get for not using some anti-chafe gel, I suppose. In order to give my feet time to rest I've been hitting the elyptical this week instead. Unfortunately, that's extremely sweaty work, and given that I already sweat at a very high rate while indoors anyway, this can lead to much awkwardness. Today I was drenched so bad I actually couldn't maintain a grip on the handlebars, they were slicked down with sweat that badly. I ended up having to just kind of lean on the machine for the last ten minutes or so. This was in itself a problem however, because of my headband. I recently picked up a Halo brand band, which is supposed to funnel moisture away from your eyes. What they don't tell you is that it only works when you hold your head level (which most of us do while running, which is what it's designed for), but leaning over, like when riding a bike, causes all the sweat to just drip down your nose instead. So I had to keep throwing my head back every time I felt a cascade start. It was very distracting, did not help me concentrate on the workout at all. I may have to try something different tomorrow.

Also lately I've been reading more snippets from Brazier's book, which gets real intense real fast. While I find myself intrigued and entranced by his diet regime, I don't think it's something I could ever entirely follow, not in it's base form. It is such an austere, focused diet that I have to question what it is that Brazier thinks people are trying to get out of food. Certainly not taste. That does seem to fit with the theme of it all though, given that the diet's focus is on maximizing energy output rather than being concerned with more humanistic aspects.

Allow me to ellaborate for the unfamiliar (or those too busy to read at length from Brazier's blog). The Thrive diet is an extremely focused Raw Foods Vegan Diet. No Corn, no Gluten, no Soy. The remaining sphere's of consumption can be called limited at best, Draconian at worst. The core of it lies with eating leafy greens in order to "cleanse" the digestive tract, followed by a modest selection of fruits, faux grains, and nuts to complement dietary requirements. I could imagine a professional athlete following this diet quite rigorously, as well as a few orders of Buddhist monks. However, the layman require's an additional, simpler element to their daily fair: taste. As one cannot live on bread alone, one cannot also consist for long on a diet of Kale, Spinach, and Hemp before one goes completely mad.

While I will certainly be adapting some dietary changes based on what I've been reading (and already have instituted many of them, for much the better on my training I might add), to believe as the author does that this is a diet that could ever be applied to "the common man" is utterly laughable. For one thing, most people don't have the time or monetary resources that such a diet would place upon them. Also, while I am sure that the thought of a Raw diet holds much credence down where it is warm year round, such as California, here in the cold north I would decry you to find a common worker who is willing to come home on a frosty day to a dinner of cold lettuce. In short, the diet is much like asking a man in a wheelchair to run a marathon: better to get him to learn how to walk again first, then worry about the more lofty goals. Until the entire world can be fed comfortably, such a diet is only obtainable by a lucky few in the bourgoise class, and only those that have something that they place more important than the taste of their food. Much of what upper society eats may be empty of any nutritional value, but I'm guessing most will continue to choose the pie over carrot, even when they know what it means in the end.

Alright, this rant has waxed on long enough. For the record, I really do like what Brazier is attempting to achieve through his work, it's that he appears to have bit off a bit more than he can chew here.