New year, new blog

Normally Christmas for the Lawrence sisters means a nostalgic but irritating ten hour drive north to our parents’ farm in Old Bonalbo where we grew up. While I was growing up this drive was made frequently by the whole family; five of us packed into the car between Old Bon and Sydney for weekends, holidays and sometimes a bit of time off school spent training at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.

At home for a week over Christmas we would do chin ups on the clothesline and paddle in small circles on our dam. Dad would always try and convince us that fixing the fences on the farm was the best cross training possible, and that we should do that too.

This year has been a break from tradition, as we decided to welcome a new member of the family into the world in Sydney. My oldest sister Jacqui and her husband Torsten, both Beijing Olympians, have just had a tiny, beautiful baby girl, for whom the drive north would not have been very appealing. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas with our Aunty, Uncle and family near Sydney, swimming at the beach, in the pool, and eating (healthy) Christmas delights.

Staying in Sydney for Christmas has worked out well for training, letting me spend less time travelling and more time on the whitewater. Summer always brings a horde of international paddlers to Penrith for training who are keen to avoid the icy conditions in Europe. It’s always interesting to watch how other nations train differently; some are more focused on technique, others on strength and fitness. Of course everybody’s training also depends on how much time there is before their selection races. For us Australians it’s now 40 days until our first Olympic selection race, and the excitement is definitely mounting! If anyone is interested in coming to watch, the races will be held on the 10th-12th of February (Australian Open) and the 24th-26th of February (Oceania Championships). More info will be on the Australian Canoeing event website later, http://www.slalom.canoe.org.au/.

I hope you all have a fantastic start to 2012. For me the New Year will start with a 10am flight on the first to Tasmania, where the nationals will be held. I’ll update you next year on how the racing goes!