Saturday, November 14, 2009

This was a busy day. Considering this is the last weekend before I have four 25+ hour consecutive weekends of tennis officiating, I did some things to prepare for that busy time period (like laundry). Mixed into the day would be the UMTR fest and a CD Release Party. One was great, and one was disappointing.

The UMTR fest was fun. Great food, great people, and great weather. It was a nice festivity with some surprises. It was not a surprise that Helen Lavin won several awards. Just check out her year, and it would make any runner envy her success and get inspired. The best part, for me, was the recognition of Wayne Nelson. He won an award, I am trying to remember the real title, but I will call it the Steward of the Year award. (Update - Steve Quick informs me it was The Larry Pederson's Founder's Award/ UMTR Trail Person of the Year -- Also, I forgot to mention my friend Steve got to award himself an award for the second year in a row... Always have an interesting event or thing to say.) The award goes to a person who, without thought, gives much time and effort to better the UMTR efforts and more. Like many awards, he got a one-of-a-kind award at the UMTR Awards Night. I love these awards as they make them, unlike an award with nice professional print or manufacturing. An award made from the heart using whatever we can find around the place... This type of award has a story... it is unique! For those who know Wayne, you know he will never boast about his great accomplishments. For those who don't, he is a person we can all learn from and who very much deserves the award.

Daryl Saari won the first Gnarly Bandit award. He finished five 100s this year, as well as many other races. Between races, you would see him at an aid station. He and his wife are great supporters on all sides of the sport. I worked at an aid station with them once, and it was a top-quality station because of them... I bet they are just as great to run with... (if I were only fast enough).

There were so many deserving people who were recognized, and it was a nice year-end celebration. If you did not make it this year or last year, I suggest it for the future. The UMTR does a great job! If you are not a member, why not? $20 is a minor fee for all they do.

After the UMTR fest, I went to Bunkers for a CD release party for Pamela McNeil. I had high expectations as her first three CDs improved each time, with Nightingale being one of my favorite CDs (Right up there with my Springsteen). I really looked forward to the new CD. I was disappointed. Rather than the solid lyrics and music combination I learned to love, it was more of a home grow in my living room with a keyboard while sulking in bed and writing lyrics CD. I compared it to the Movie Music and Lyrics, only this CD lost Drew Barrymore and something needed to be added. The night was a good use as she did many old tunes with her fabulous voice. If there are any old rockers like me, her husband is Dugan McNeill (Do you recall Chameleon from the 1980s....) Chameleon was one of the first unsigned original bands to produce and manufacture their own albums. They even outsold the Rolling Stones one week, a feat written up in "Rolling Stone" magazine. He plays bass. He can make any concert enjoyable; to me, he is definitely in a class by himself, working on the stage and being a top base player in the world! The CD was much less in quality and craftsmanship than I expected...

At the award fest, some foods and conversations required additional thought. One such was homemade energy bars and juicing. I searched the web for an hour this morning and came across one recipe that I will try. (I'm not sure it is all that great, but it sounds good to me!)

Big Sur Power Bar Recipe

If you can't find the crisp brown rice cereal, no worries - just use regular rice cereal for ex: Rice Crispies - just stay clear of "puffed" rice cereal, it will throw the recipe off. Feel free to substitute other types of nuts, seeds, or whatever little goodies you can dream up.

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or regular butter)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup (unsweetened) shredded coconut
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups unsweetened crisp brown rice cereal
1 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 tablespoons ground espresso beans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.

Toast the pecans, almonds, and coconut on a rimmed baking sheet for about 7 minutes or until the coconut is deeply golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut, and cereal together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the rice syrup, sugar, salt, espresso, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Picture used without permission from www.eatingoutloud.com

If I cannot run a race early next year, I may be a domestic and try some ideas to test out on the runners at an aid station... Best test group in the world.

Carry on...