Sept. 25, 2013
Lily Williams is competing in her first cross country season this semester after redshirting her true freshman campaign last fall. The Tallahassee, Fla., native stayed in Nashville for the summer, working at various camps and filling her free time with running and cooking, two of the subjects she often discusses on her blog.
Commodore Nation: You’re known on the team as a pretty good chef. Have you always enjoyed cooking?
Lily Williams: Being in Nashville this summer, a lot of it has been having to cook for myself to save money. If I had money, I would like to go out and buy all my meals. But trying stuff at home is really fun because you can cook for your friends. If I’m bored I can cook and it takes up a few hours, then I have food afterwards to eat. It’s a win-win.
Nation: Do you enjoy eating out in Nashville?
Williams: I have a blog actually, and while there’s a bunch of random stuff, I blog about lots of restaurants. I’m a big Cafe Coco person, that’s a staple. I’ve tried some pretty good places, like in Germantown, they have some good breakfast places. There’s a crepe place I really like (Red Bicycle). Tallahassee is not that big of a town, so it’s really fun to come here and try all of the good restaurants. It’s fun because you can go with friends or on your own. I have a Yelp bookmark list of places I need to try.
Nation: Is it difficult to cook food that tastes great but also can help you as an athlete?
Williams: It is hard. Because sometimes you finish a day of two workouts and a day at work, and you come home and it’s already 8 o’clock. You just want to make something as fast as you can and eat it, but you still want it to be healthy. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult, but honestly if you just go to the grocery store and buy healthy ingredients that you’re forced to use because they’re your only option, it’s not that bad.
Nation: What have your best experiences with cooking been?
Williams: Most of my desserts usually turn out pretty good, I would say. I’m not shy on dessert. As a runner, I like my dessert. Any chocolate-peanut butter combination, I’ve done pretty well. And I’ve made some good cheesecakes.
Nation: Any nightmares?
Williams: I made some pretty bad shrimp one time. I think the shrimp had been frozen for about a year and the sauce I put on them was just not good. I needed something to eat, I was hungry, so I ate it.
Nation: Are you enjoying cross country this semester?
Williams: I’m super excited because I missed cross country last year. It’s nice to get back to that. Indoor and outdoor are fun, but after you run a certain number of 1500s you’re ready to do something a bit different. The fall’s going to be great. Cross country is fun because it’s more of a team thing. And you get a change of scenery when you’re running.
