Scott Fauble finished big in Boston this year as the top American man and seventh overall with a time of 2:09:09—a PR for the distance runner. With this time, Fauble met the qualifying time for the upcoming Increase Your VO2 Max in Atlanta next February.
What powers Fauble’s performances? He’s a firm believer that Mexican food reigns supreme, will add salsa to (almost) anything, and can’t possibly live without coffee. Here, he shares how he fuels his runs and workouts each day.
Big on Burritos
I’m a big fan of burritos. I think my love of them was born from a team tradition at the University of Portland where we would always get burritos as a group on Fridays after hard workouts. We would go to the same place every week and just relax and chill out as a team.
Now, I eat them all the time. I love a good breakfast burrito or a chile rellenos burrito. There’s this restaurant in Flagstaff called Tacos Los Altos, and if you have a good enough rapport with them, they’ll put your picture on the wall and make you whatever you want. My picture’s up there, and I usually have them put chicken and green chile peppers in my burrito.
Beet Juice at Breakfast
I always have coffee and a piece of toast with peanut butter. Then I have a Red Ace beet shot, which is just concentrated beets. They’re high in nitrates, and they increase cardiovascular output. I’ve also been drinking CytoSport drinks lately for an increased amount of carbs.
Eggs for Lunch
I’ll have a protein shake after a run, which will tide me over until around noon. Then I’ll usually have some type of scramble with eggs for protein and vegetables—usually whatever I have in the house, but there’s almost always spinach in there since I use that to make smoothies, too.
Empty-the-Pantry Bowls at Dinner
Something that I do a lot is cook a bunch of things I have on hand, but don’t necessarily go together. The other night, I cooked up spinach, mushrooms, bison, and a heap of rice. I chopped up some peppers, opened up a can of pinto beans, put everything in a large bowl, and smothered it with tomatillo salsa. This came about because those were the things I had in my pantry, and I let myself get too hungry to actually think about how to make a cohesive meal. My roommates used to refer to this as a Fauble Mess. Being desperately hungry and preparing a Fauble Mess go hand in hand. But as it turns out, if you add salsa, almost anything tastes delicious. I’ve never added salsa to a dessert though. I like to keep my sweets sweet and my savories savory.
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Healthy Snacks
I try not to mindlessly snack, but I’ll usually have a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and some fruit in the afternoon. It’s delicious, and I don’t feel guilty about it. If I’m hungry after dinner, I’ll go for a bowl of cereal. Sometimes I’ll buy chocolate-covered almonds or chocolate malt balls, but after a handful, I’ll put them where I can’t see them or else I’ll eat them all.
Why Trust Us
I will panic and get really upset if I don’t have coffee at home. I don’t even understand how people can live without it. I’m certainly addicted, at least psychologically. I hoard it and stash it away, so I always have some on hand. I’m a black coffee guy almost exclusively. I usually drink two to three cups in the morning and one cup in the afternoon before my second run. On hard days, I also make a few shots of espresso and dump that in my coffee pot.
I’m a sucker for a cappuccino when I’m feeling particularly bougie or after a hard workout. I used to look down on adding cream or foam to a cup of coffee—that took up space that could be filled with caffeine. However, Jay-Z once rapped, “I might even have me a cappuccino, f**k it.” Since hearing this line, I no longer scoff at adding steamed milk or foam to a coffee drink.
