Pumpkin all the things! PALEO PUMPKIN WAFFLE RECIPE!

Even in the throes of a Whole30 I treat myself to a waffle on Sunday mornings.  Go ahead, judge me. :D

To help offset all the pumpkin angst I've been having (those Pumpkin Spice Oreos, Pumpkin Pie Dunkin'Donut) I made a simple pumpkin waffle.  I googled and all the recipes seemed to be just too many.  Too many waffles, too many ingredients. Not simple enough.

So here is mine:

Paleo Pumpkin Waffle

1/4 C coconut flour
1/4 C pumpkin, canned or roasted/mashed.  Roasted/mashed would be more exciting.
1/2t baking powder
1/2t pumpkin pie spice
1/8t salt
1T arrowroot powder
1T ground chia/flax blend*
1 egg
1t lemon juice (optional)
1/2 C coconut milk

Mix, cook in waffle iron. Is difficult to lift out, be careful!  Eat.  Makes one.  I think it's a winnah!

*I bought this stuff at Walmart?!  I suppose one could make their own as well.

Vermonters in the Olympics.

Sochi, 2014.  Vermont represents.  Per capita Vermont produced more Olympic athletes than any other state, with one out of every 48,000 participating.  Second place New Hampshire had one out of every 147,000 residents.

I'm kinda not surprised we Vermonters outrank Florida in the winter Olympics.

But wait...

London, 2012.  Per capita, Vermont ranks third in producing Olympians with one out of every 313,216 residents.  Not very far behind first place Wyoming with their one out of 284,079.

For a small mostly rural state, I think that's pretty impressive. Is it a coincidence or a distinct byproduct of the lifestyle and sense of community we have here?  I prefer to think the latter.

Then I throw a wrench into this...  I can't find the current data, but as far as per capita ownership for horses, VT ranks very high.  At one point I think VT did have the most horses per capita.

Sooo...does VT produce more equestrian Olympians than any other state?  Denny Emerson and Mara DePuy are the only natives that come to mind.  I can think of a couple of people who are trying their best to get there, and I most certainly hope that they do!

Is the community and culture the same for equestrianism as it is for other sports here in Vermont or is there somehow a disconnect?  

The Kingdom Curve

Many years ago my mother thought I might enjoy having a running companion.

So she suggested that I should contact a woman working in her office who "ran cross-country", thinking it a good match because I didn't like to run on roads.  Through various circles I did know Sue and thought her to be a super nice person.  I didn't end up contacting her because I was being obsessive about my training schedule for Mt. Washington and felt that "cross-country" (running through golf courses, right?) was something I should do after the race.

A few weeks later, I'm eating lunch while reading a running article in Outside magazine, and all of a sudden there's a picture of Sue.  A picture of Sue kissing a really big, hard, rock.  Which is what is expected of one once they complete the Hardrock 100 Ultramarathon.  She had actually won.  She's won it more than once as a matter of fact.

So I show the picture to my mother, and say "cross-country"?  "Did you know that this is what she really does?" She did not.  Apparently Sue didn't really talk about it around the office.

To me, this is Kingdom.  We have a lot of people who live here who do some very incredible things, but don't really talk about it much.  I've never felt that it comes from people being so egotistical that they feel others would be jealous about their accomplishments and therefore spare those others the humiliation of not being as worthy.  I feel it comes partially from people just doing what makes them happy every day and aren't seeking outside validation. The bigger part of it is that it's a small enough community everyone usually already knows anyway and one would be considered a bore to bring it back up.  Best to avoid that.

I think that people moving to the Kingdom have a hard time seeing this.  In more populated areas, one needs to advertise themselves more to get ahead in life.  An introduction to a Kingdomer?  You'll discuss road conditions, weather, maybe that there are now less hermit thrushes than in years past due to haying practices.  An introduction to someone from outside the Kindom and they will, either subtly or not so subtly, include their resume and life achievements in short order.  Highlighted will be letters that stand either before or after their name.

A Kingdomer perceives the Outsider as being a braggart and is put off.
The Outsider perceives the Kingdomer as being someone who has accomplished nothing and is put off.

Each in their own element is served well.  Each outside of their own element is not served well, and there is a learning curve.

The Outsider in the Kingdom learns that they need to stop ADVERTISING to fit in.  To chill, pay their taxes, work hard and stop trying to impress everyone.  To expect that their hard work will be noticed but not noted.  To also learn to respect that there is often more under the surface of Kingdomers than they realize, because Kingdomers are quiet.

The Kingdomer in the Outside, needs to learn how to effectively advertise themselves or they'll be passed on by.  They need to stop being offended by people whose custom it is to provide a life resume in conversation.

The Kingdom Curve.  It's painful to watch people go through it.  The Kingdom certainly spits out those who fail here and sucks back in those who fail there.

Loco loci.

So what are the chances I'm going to keep my right fingers closed during my ride tomorrow?  It's one of my bad habits.  Slim to none?  None at all?  Should I just leave the horses alone and sit inside sipping coconut rum instead?  (Wait a minute, now I wish I hadn't thought of that last one.)

Over the years and over many lessons, I've noticed one clear thing.  Some position corrections stick quickly, others linger for YEARS despite conscious practice.  Plus, I've noticed what seems to be a clear cause and effect as to what sticks and what doesn't.

Worst case scenario is that  make a correction and I feel that nothing changes in the horse. Either I've blocked out the horse totally by focusing too hard on what that change feels like to me internally, or nothing really did change in how the horse goes. No reward, no punishment, no improvement, a correction that just floats in a sea of nothingness.  The correction is not going to stick.

What could be somewhat better, is that I make the correction and I "feel" that things get worse.  A punishment.  Not so good would be pain in my body (rode my @ss off, AGAIN.) or too much the feeling of discomfort that can come with a physical change.  Better though, it could also mean that technically speaking I'm headed in the right direction, but that something else also needs to change.  As in, I close those fingers, use an appropriate rein length, and all of a sudden I can actually feel how heavy the horse is in that rein, rather than having abandoned the rein altogether.  BUT, as a temporary quick fix, instead of addressing the hindquarters of the horse, my brain lets my fingers open and the rein slides.  Until I can diligently focus and process the various things that need fixing, my fingers are consistently going to slip and slide right off that rein as their own personal evasion.

Best case scenario, there are the corrections that I make where I am able to feel a positive change in the horse.  Reward!  These corrections are the most likely to stick, and almost become less of a personal correction and more of a tool. It still takes time to practice this and let it sink into subconscious competence, but the process is a lot faster.  Horse nose push/shoulders back to soften.

Given the worst case scenario of no feel, for a long time I've felt that other than practice, it's very important to open up one's peripheral feel to include what's going on in the horse when making those position corrections.  To make that mental link of "Horse nose push/shouders to soften, rather than "I need to remind myself every other stride to put my shoulders back."  I think it sounds simple, but the reality of it for me is that I can easily turn that intense focus on and block that horse right out. (yes, this does relate to http://terragarcia.blogspot.com/2014/01/ride-like-pro.html)

What got me even more excited was that while doing some reading about skill learning and automaticity, I found a study that I feel backs up my experiences in the saddle.

http://www.castonline.ilstu.edu/smith/257/pdf/ws%2009%20paper.pdf

"In these studies, the effectiveness of directing the learners attention to their body movements (internal focus of attention) was compared to that of learners directed to focus their attention on the effects of their movements on the apparatus or implement- that is the environment (external focus of attention)  Even though the actual differences in the loci which attention was directed were sometimes very small, an external attentional focus consistently resulted in learning benefits (as measured by performance in retention), relative to an internal attentional focus."

So there you go.  Some food for thought.

Happy riding.

.