This edition of Runner Recipes comes from a runner I know very well... my brother, Brendan Gregg! A bit about my fast younger sibling... he was a XC and track standout at Davis Senior HS, winning the 2006 Stanford Invitational in Cross-Country and medaling at the California State Meet in both XC and track. He went on to become a 2-time All-American at Stanford and helped the XC team to a podium finish at NCAA's in 2008.

Brendan has represented the United States in international competition three times, most recently at the 2014 Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country in Scotland. Brendan now runs for Hansons-Brooks, owns a 10k PR of 28:03, and is currently training for the 2016 Marathon Olympic Trials.

Brendan shares with us one of his favorite post-run meals, Recovery Quesadillas. These quesadillas hit the spot for breakfast, brunch, second breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack, whatever. Read on and enjoy!

RECOVERY QUESADILLAS WITH HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO

PICO DE GALLO:

3-4 large beefsteak tomatoes or 5-7 Romas, roughly diced
1 large red onion, finely diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
1 small lime, juiced
Half bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
Heaping spoonful of minced garlic
Ground cumin to taste
Ground chipotle pepper to taste
Coarse salt to taste

Toss it all in bowl and mix it up. If you want more of a hot salsa, leave some of the jalapeño seeds in, or throw in some Tapatio or Valentina’s sauce.

Quesadillas:

2 Large Flour Tortillas
Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, enough to liberally cover tortilla
Black or pinto beans, enough to cover tortilla
Salsa (see above Pico de Gallo)
Half an avocado, sliced
Sour Cream (optional)

Heat a griddle or medium size frying pan with a little olive oil to medium, add one tortilla and cover with cheese.

When cheese begins to bubble and tortilla starts to brown, cover with beans and smother with salsa. Add more cheese if you want.

Top with the second tortilla. Flip and let the second tortilla get slightly brown and crispy. Remove from griddle, divide into fourths, top with avocado slices and a dollop of sour cream.

That's it - time to dig in! Bring lots of napkins, or maybe just eat with a fork! :)

Thanks Brendan for sharing your healthy Recovery Quesadillas with us!

Last week I had the pleasure of spending time in Pittsburgh and racing the EQT Pittsburgh 10-Miler on October 25th. This was my third time visiting the city and I was eager to return - located on three rivers and nestled in hills, the city is quite scenic (especially with the fall colors on display!). What's more, the P3R team, who put on this race as well as the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and the Liberty Mile, are one of my favorite race teams to work with. They take amazing care of their elite athletes and make you feel like family. Needless to say, it was a no-brainer to come back to Pittsburgh for my third appearance at the 10-Miler.

I arrived in the Steel City a few days ahead of the race to participate in some community engagement events, primarily a visit to a local elementary school that is part of the P3R Kids of Steel program. The program serves over 4,000 youth in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and promotes active, healthy lifestyles for youth - I fully support their mission! I was thrilled to get to meet some of the KOS participants from George Washington Elementary School in Bethel Park, PA. Fellow elite runner Emily Gordon and I talked to the students about what it means to be a professional runner and how we got to where we are today.

Speaking at the assembly at George Washington Elementary

The teachers at GW Elementary have a saying they instill in their students: "Keep NED in your head" -- NED means Never give up, Encourage others, and Do your best. This simple message hit home for me - the advice is so straightforward, but so true! As professional runners who have been doing this for a while, we sometimes forget to go back to the basics. We get caught up in splits, tactics, how many miles we've run, how much we weigh, how we compare to others... and we forget the fundamentals of why we run in the first place. The message of NED really resonated with me, and I adopted it as my race plan for the 10-Miler. Just add "Run joyfully!" to the saying and you've got the whole package :-) Thank you GW Elementary for reminding me of the importance of sticking with it, supporting others, and always giving it my all!

The students made dozens of posters for Emily and me, rooting us on for Sunday's race. The posters were so special and definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Many thanks to my young fans for your encouragement + support!

These posters from the students are AMAZING - brought tears to my eyes!

Kelsey, Ryan, me, Troy, and Michelle from the P3R team

Another highlight of the weekend was getting to spend time with the P3R team. This organization is committed to growing the sport of running, getting people active and promoting healthy lifestyles, and supporting elite American distance runners. P3R has supported me at this race before I'd run any breakout times, and they've helped many emerging elites get to the next level in our running careers. What's more, they believe in the power of elite athletes to make a difference in our communities. I share this vision and was happy to be part of it on race weekend. Thanks, P3R!!!

And finally, the race! Race morning was dark and a little rainy but thankfully not cold. Still, I couldn't seem to get warmed up and ready to go - my body felt sluggish, as if in a fog. A few hard strides served to pump me up, but unfortunately, the physical and mental fog remained throughout the race. After the first mile, I found myself running in 5th place but completely alone, unlike in recent races. Totally solo, I had to dig deep to push myself up Pittsburgh's punishing hills. At mile 8.5, I briefly had company - Esther Atkins (Erb) had come up from the chase pack and caught me. Despite her words of encouragement, I didn't have any gears to go with her. Though I tried to "keep NED in my head" and repeat the cheers of the students I'd met, my glutes tightened up and my last mile was my slowest of the race. A bit disappointed, I crossed the line in a frustrating time, 6th overall and 3rd American.

While the time and place weren't what I wanted, I *did* accomplish my goal of being top 3 Americans and getting an American flag at the finish! Last year I missed out on a flag by 1 second(!), so I was thrilled to have earned one this year!

I capped off the weekend spending time with running friends -- my roommate for the trip Emily Gordon (fellow Californian and marathon stud running for Team USA MN), former USF athlete and dear friend Maor Tiyouri (Israel's national record holder in the 5,000 meters!), one of my Ohio running besties, Heidi Greenwood (Oiselle marathoner and the fastest gal in the Dakotas!), and P3R elite athlete coordinator Ryan Hogan, who made the weekend possible. You can't stay blue for long when you have good friends to keep you smiling!

Now that I'm home from Pittsburgh, I've decided to take a mini break and end my fall racing season early. I'm bummed to skip the 12k National Championships in Alexandria next month, but I know the R&R will be helpful before I start my marathon buildup for the Olympic Trials. February 13, 2016 is approaching fast!

Til then, happy training!
Kaitlin