Go Faster Food!

I've mentioned it before, but Twitter is such an awesome tool for meeting people from all over the world that you'd otherwise never have the opportunity to get to know. One such person is Kate Percy. Kate lives in the UK in Bristol with her husband, Mark, and their three children, Helena, James and Will. Like many, Kate decided to get into running because her spouse was a "sports fanatic" and always training for this marathon and that. She found that she really loved running and set a goal of running the New York City Marathon. After successfully completing NYC, she was hooked and has since completed marathons all over the world including Amsterdam, Berlin, and London. She's also reached the goal that many runners strive for—achieving a qualifying time for Boston.

Even though she was thoroughly enjoying her running, Kate found it a constant challenge to fuel her body adequately. Being an avid runner as well as a cook, Kate decided to explore recipes that would increase her stamina and achieve her personal best. The result of her exploration is a collection of over 100 delicious, nutritionally-balanced, energy-boosting recipes compiled in her new book, Go Faster Food (Vermilion, 2009).

During her exploration, Kate not only discovered that certain foods are better than others for helping with endurance and aiding in recovery, she also discovered that how much and when you eat are important factors.

Go Faster Food is packed with user-friendly information that's a must have for any endurance athlete. This is not one of those books you'll read and think, "that's cool" and then never pick it up again. I foresee this book becoming a dog-eared, coffee-stained, tattered staple of many a runner's library.

The book is organized into two main sections—"Nutrition and Training" and "Go Faster Recipes." The first section is broken into six chapters each focusing on a different topic such as carbohydrates, what to eat and when, and hydration. The layout of each chapter is very user-friendly and will make using the book as an ongoing reference very easy. The get-it-at-a glance call-out boxes for tips, lists, and examples make finding key information in each chapter quick and simple.

The second portion of the book provides over 100 recipes endorsed by a nutritionist to help amateur and elite athletes improve their endurance and fitness. Each recipe provides a general overview of the dish's health benefits as well as a detailed breakdown of energy (kcal), carb, salt, fat, protein and fiber content. The recipes are divided into 9 categories:

• Breakfast

• Soups and Light Meals

• Pasta

• Rice

• Polenta and Gnocchi

• Couscous

• Lentils and Pulses

• Desserts, Cakes and Energy Bars

• Drinks and Smoothies

Each recipe is marked with one or more of three different icons so you can quickly tell if the recipe is a "healthy meal for your general training diet" "good for endurance" or "good for recovery."

Some of my favorites include "Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Maple Syrup Almonds" and "Date, Apricot and Walnut Flapjacks" and my all-time favorite "Walnut and White Chocolate Chip Brownies."

The only drawback for "us Americans" is that you'll need to do some metric-to-standard measurement conversions, but using a site like World-Wide-Metric will make those conversions a snap!

Kate ends the book with some helpful menu-plan suggestions as well as a shopping list that will make stocking your pantry a breeze with food categories such as dried foods and grains, canned-goods, frozen foods, herbs & spices, and vegetables.

I'm not sure if Go Faster Foods is available in US bookstores yet, but you definitely can order it from Amazon. Be sure to check out Kate's blog and website for more great recipes and nutrition information for endurance athletes.