Eating healthy while traveling is a challenge for all athletes. I’m especially picky before a major competition like Nationals because I want to be healthy and not get food poisoning.
Luckily, there were many restaurants to choose from during nationals. I was happy with every restaurant I went to and many of them were interesting beyond the food.
I usually like to do pasta the night before a big competition but we couldn’t find an Italian restaurant that we liked. The night before Qualifying at nationals, my dad and I went to Chipotle by the King of Prussia Mall. Chipotle is a mexican grill that is also a chain around the world. It’s healthy and safe, so you can’t really go wrong. There was nothing really special about it, but it did help me get through qualifiers.
For lunch after Qualifiers, we decided to go to Lou’s, a local old-fashioned sandwich shop in Norristown, PA. It was a very interesting place, because the place looked like it was from the 1970’s. The staff and customers were really friendly to us “non-regulars”. It was a great experience with great food. I ordered the turkey zep, which Lou’s is known for. Lou’s holds the title of being the creator of the zep, which is very similar to a sub sandwich. Not only did the food taste good but it was also healthy.
Later that night, we found a nice Mediterranean restaurant called Aroma. The atmosphere was nice and the food was inexpensive and delicious. I ordered the lamb gyro with a side of hummus. The hummus was probably the best hummus I have ever had and the lamb gyro was also very tasty. It was a somewhat light, but very healthy meal to prepare me for Semifinals and Finals the next day.
After Semifinals, I made it to Finals and got fifth place! I was very proud of my achievement after working hard for the whole year, so we decided to celebrate it by going to Delasandro’s Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. It was a very large meal for $10, but I managed to eat most of it. This place, like Lou’s, was also old-fashioned. It was incredibly crowded with locals and tourists. We squeezed into two seats and enjoyed our “steaks”. It was an unhealthy splurge, but I enjoyed my meal.
Finally, even though the “steak” at Delasandro’s was huge, I was still hungry on the way home. When our flight stopped in Nashville, I had to get another sandwich at Quiznos. That’s climbing! It makes you hungry.
