I Run On Oatmeal

Oatmeal’s visual presentation leaves something to be desired.

When you envision your perfect breakfast spread, doubtless you're imagining fried eggs with sunny yellow centers, glistening seductively on the plate. Flanking them are buttery wedges of toast or English muffins, kept company by crispy bacon strips. Nearby is a panoply of colorful exotic fruits and a tall glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, beading perspiration

Pale, beige and gloppy, oatmeal’s got everything I need for a power breakfast—well,  an orange doesn’t hurt sometimes.

I find that oatmeal complements my running lifestyle better than any other choice of breakfast. Rich in whole grains and fiber, oatmeal is also carbohydrate-rich, a fact that means it is a great way to fuel up for a long run or replenish afterwards.

Other breakfasts, such as eggs or cereal are bound to cause cramping or other gastrointestinal upset if you follow your breakfast with a run. This is because stuff that is fatty or rich in protein requires extra energy to digest — energy that you could’ve used while you were running.

Then there’s Wheaties, which already had the temerity the call itself “The Breakfast of Champions” and now peddles “Fuel.” This pretentious cereal comes with brand name price, and dramatically lighted portraits of sports idols on its sides. Fuel is sold on the basis of athletic performance, but probably the last thing that you want before a run is anything with milk—a wonderful source of cramps and vomiting.

Though oatmeal is a pretty safe breakfast choice before a workout, it tends to make a fast trip through the digestive system, especially when paired with a hot beverage. This is why it’s usually best to wait an hour or two to go for a run after a serving. It is often a good way to remove any uncertainty about any backed up deliveries before a long run I call this the “oatmeal gambit,” because should it fail to work, there will likely be an unplanned pit-stop mid-run.

In addition to the fact that it is a good source of whole grain and fiber, oatmeal’s low price and ease of preparation make it a winner with me. Just like other staple carbs that you can buy in bulk, oatmeal is extremely cheap.

Health- and price-wise, the best way to get oatmeal is in the old cylindrical box. A two-dollar investment of the store brand stuff equals more than a week of healthy and wholesome breakfasts. Once you start dealing in instant oatmeal packs, the price goes up and the final product’s bound to be less healthy.

My extensive research into oatmeal has also yielded the following discovery: Oatmeal that advertises the fact that it takes one minute to cook really only requires that you dump boiling water over the dry oats. Mix it all together in your bowl and it's ready. Cooking it in a pot or in the microwave requires balancing the right proportions of water to oats ahead of time and I’ve never been good at math. Cutting out the stovetop pot also reduces cleanup.

For extra protein and flavor, there’s nothing like a healthy dollop of peanut butter stirred into the mix. If I really want to get fancy, I’ll add some raisins or dried cranberries.

Maple syrup makes a fine sweetener, but I’ll admit that most days I just dump in a small mound of white sugar. After miles of running, I figure that I’ve burned enough calories to indulge my sweet tooth. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that even after I’ve dumped in a gluttonous ration of sugar, the final product is not as sweet as most oatmeal packets. That stuff is loaded!