“The amount of dedication needed to excel at rowing is very tough, with little to no fanfare,” Ellison said. “I am much more conscious of what I eat, and weekends are now also dedicated to training. “ While Luck is still recovering from her injury, she hopes it will not change her life as dramatically as Ellison’s. She is hoping to return to a normal exercise schedule, she is not ready to be propelled into a completely new lifestyle as Ellison was when he went into rowing. “I’m hoping that my injury won’t impact my future athletic career, other than making me more aware of my body, and improving my habits around physical activity, like stretching and warming up,” Luck said. “I also know that it will help me be a stronger athlete mentally, while recovering from this injury.” Ellison said he has not stopped pushing himself since his recovery and now has many goals for the upcoming months. Many of his goals he knows he would not be able to achieved had it not been for his injury. “My goals in rowing have been the same, make the Olympic team and go for a medal,” Ellison said. “My goals for 2015 are to hit the qualifying erg time of 5:52 and win a medal at the Crash B indoor world champs. I would then look for a camp invite. I will continue to put in around 26-31 hours of training per week, all while working a job. My other goal is to continue enjoying rowing!” Erg scores and camp invites are a big deal in the world of rowing, according to Ellison. Erg scores measure the strength of a rower for different set distances such as 2k and 5k, just as a runner would have a time for a marathon pace and a one mile pace. Camp invites are invitations to train at the top facilities in the country with the best coaches and athletes. While recovering, Luck has set goals for herself which have given her a mentality of focusing on the future instead of the past. When she looks at the future it makes up for work she puts in today. “In a year, I don’t want to have to worry about this,” Luck said. “I would like to be able to complete every workout, and be a part of the team again.”
TAKEN BY: Kenza McKerrihan
Photo Caption: Luck with her team mates, who have pushed her to get stronger while recovering.
TAKEN BY: Kenza McKerrihan
Luck doing a pull-up . When she first got injured putting weight on her hip was extremely painfull, but she kept fit and strong by working out her arms.
TAKEN BY: Kenza McKerrihan
Luck doing leg lifts. This exercise is low impact, it does not put any pressure on her hip, but allows her to rehabilitate it.
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