Running fuel

Brad expressed an interest recently in eating healthier while he trains for track season, so I jumped on that with both feet. I found this relatively new cookbook called Run Fast Eat Slow by U.S. Olympic marathoner Shalane Flanagan and her college cross-county teammate Elyse Kopecky (Tar Heels, ugh). The philosophy looks sound and sustainable to me: enjoying and celebrating "real food," including nutrient-dense whole foods and high-quality meat like grass-fed beef, without getting "bogged down in calorie counts, carbo- or protein-loading or restrictive diets."

Two days later, the book was in my hot little hands. Brad and I sat down this morning and in just a few minutes had found about a dozen recipes we were both eager to try—and we only made it through a third of the book. We tried the Teff Pumpkin Pancakes, which were a significant upgrade over Ryan Hall's Molten Lava Cocoa Teff Pancakes. Skinny little Brad had 11 of the pancakes all by his lonesome, and Mom wasn't too far behind.

I also made the "Race Day Oatmeal," which has been Flanagan's "go-to breakfast before all of her hard workouts and races" for years. It works for her when she's travelling to a race because she can make it in 5 minutes using boiling water from the electric tea kettle they have in most hotel rooms. Everyone (except Cassie—bananas, you know) tried a spoonful of my oatmeal and loved it. The bananas get soft and creamy in the microwave, and they add a lot of sweetness without any of the brown sugar used in most commercial instant oatmeal. This is definitely a handy recipe to know, and travel with, even if you're not running an Olympic marathon.

Banana Oatmeal

Adapted from Run Fast Eat Slow (2016) by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky (also available at Women's Running)

Time: ~8 minutes

50 grams (~½ cup) quick oats
1 banana, sliced
A pinch of salt
175 grams (¾ cup) water
Up to ¼ cup (60 grams) dairy or nondairy milk, as needed
Chopped walnuts or pecans or sliced almonds, or almond butter
Dried cranberries or raisins or fresh berries
Ground cinnamon
Honey

Stir the oats, banana, salt, and water together in a small, microwave-safe bowl. Zap on high power until thickened to your liking. This takes about 2 to 2½ minutes in our ancient 700-watt microwave; it will cook faster in a newer, higher-powered microwave. Using a fork, mash the banana lightly against the sides of the bowl. Stir in enough milk to get the consistency you like, then the nuts or almond butter and the raisins or berries. Top with a little sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. Serves 1.