Well it has been a great break over the festive season and I am back and ready for the New Year and the challenges the year will bring. I have done a couple of races over this time and have enjoyed some good results. The main focus over this period has been for me to look back over my last year and then to set new goals and targets for the coming year. :-)

If I look back, I think 2011 was the year where I set the groundwork for success in 2012. I won nearly every local race I entered. The highlight was of course my 5th place at the World Marathon Championships in Singapore. This was the best result ever by a South African junior female and I was very proud. However, in my approach to life, winning is everything and anything less than that is a disappointment. I know this sounds extreme, but that is what drives me. In the words of the great American football coach, Vince Lombardi: "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit."

When I looked back at my World Champs race, I identified that although I had the tactics and the fitness, my speed off the start was not what it needed to be. I have decided to include much more sprint work this year and my goals reflect this.

I raced three races over this time with my new K2 partner for this year. The Midmar Dam Nite race was a 22km flatwater race with mainly K2's entered. We combined well and won the ladies race as well as placing 5th overall. We then raced in the Cafe Barber Kingfisher race in Durban. The race was 20km with two long portages. I must say my fitness was hard pressed on the portage and we placed second ladies boat and first U18. Lastly, we raced in the Midmar Mini Marathon. This is a 32km flatwater race with 10km portages. Last year I won the race in my K1, but I must say K2 has its own challenges. We placed second overall in the race and it looks like we are combining nicely for the future.

I also have been doing a bit of surfski paddling. I really enjoy surfski, although spotting the odd shark basking in the waves can be a bit of a freak out!  =-O The best paddle was a 30km downwind paddle from Durban to Amanzintoti. This was my first really long paddle in the ocean and we caught some great runs on the swells. Paddling in the sea is definitely a skill as if you can catch the swells properly, you can easily sit at 20km/h without any effort. All went well until I paddled into Toti. The waves were massive and I ended up literally being washed out of my socks :-D

Last week I was invited by the Canoeing South Africa High Performance Director to attend a testing camp at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town. It was a great experience and I got some very interesting data. My VO2 max was really high and my strength is looking excellent. My gym tests were even better than the top U18 boy hahaha :-P   Canoeing South Africa have decided to put money into those athletes that they believe will achieve this year, so it was a big honour to be invited. I met Tim Brabants (UK Olympic Champion) and other canoe athletes who are currently training in South Africa and I picked up a lot from their approach to training.

So what's up next? Well the focus is building my base training to ensure that I can last a long season from March through to September. The next challenge will be the KZN Sprint series in March which then builds up to the SA Schools series. I also need to keep my studies up for my final school Matric exams. My school results last year were awesome and I have gained entry to university where I plan to study law - not that the world needs any more lawyers ;-)

I will keep you updated next month and thank you for your support last year. This is going to be a brilliant year - the year that Emma conquers the world!!!!

Luv,

Ems