Post race eats and my namesake burger

Today I am linking up with Patty, Erika, and April for (a Wednesday edition of) Tuesdays on the Run.

This week's topic: Post race food!

In a flashback to high school English class, I will start by sharing a quote:

"The human being is a bag into which to put food." - George Orwell

This sums up my philosophy on eating in general.

When it comes to post-race food, however, things are a little different for me. My standard go-to foods post race are pretty bland: a banana, water, maybe some sports drink, and any kind of sports bar. This is because I frequently don't have much of an appetite after a tough race.

That aside, here are some of the less-standard offerings that I've enjoyed when I DID have the appetite:

• Rock N Roll Chicago gave out fruit smoothies and chocolate milk. 
• Esprit de She had coconut water. 
• ZOOMA Chicago gave out sandwiches
• RunDisney has little food boxes with hummus, crackers, cheese, and other little food samples.
• The Chicago Spring Half Marathon had a full breakfast spread with eggs, pancakes, potatoes, etc.
• The Illinois Half Marathon, 13.1 Chicago, and PAWS Run For Their Lives all had pizza!!! I am an equal opportunity pizza eater; however, 13.1 Chicago gets an even bigger thumbs up from me for having Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza.

Deep dish pizza... say no more!

Offerings that looked good but that I did not partake in:

• The Wisconsin Half Marathon serves brats
• The F^3 Half Marathon gave out hot chocolate

Comparatively, here are the typical post-race offerings that I always forgo:

• Pretzels
• Cookies, bagels, or any kind of baked goods
• Apples
• Granola bars
• Beer or wine (yes, I hear your collective gasps of horror. I acknowledge that I am an alien and a lucifer. I've been kicked out of the runner's union about a zillion times because of this.)

Moving on now from the foods immediately post-race to an hour or two afterwards. When it comes to my first MEAL after a race, my appetite is usually back with a vengeance and I usually crave something savory. Here are my favorite post-race meals:

1. Veggie omelette with cheese, plus some type of carb (e.g. pancakes, toast, potatoes). 
2. A turkey burger or a chicken burger.

It probably goes without saying that deep dish pizza used to be on the list (I wrote a whole post about it here). However, for caloric purposes, I am trying to cut back on how much deep dish I consume. (Here is my second acknowledgement of the day regarding my alien-ness and lucifer-nous.)

Going back to the topic of burgers. I've seen several instances where burgers were named after certain people. Here are some examples. Totally random, but I started thinking what I would want my namesake burger to be if given the opportunity to create one. 

Ooooh, the plot thickens!

After giving this way too much thought, here is what I came up with:

Turkey burger on a whole-wheat bun with sauteed spinach and mushrooms, avocado, roasted red peppers, and provolone. Served with a side of fruit and a pickle.

YOUR TURN! Tell me what your namesake burger design would be!?!?!?