Runners ready for fresh air, outdoor invite

Women kick off season Friday

Out with the in, and in with the out.

That's the mindset of the Michigan women's track and field team. The Wolverines concluded the indoor portion of their season at the NCAA Indoor Finals in Indianapolis March 5 and 6, and after a two-week siesta, the team will now begin the outdoor season at the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee this weekend.

As the first meet of the outdoor season, the Florida State Invitational will give Michigan a chance to work out some kinks from their extended layoff.

The meet will also be an opportunity for the team to get reacclimated with running in natural conditions after spending the winter months training and competing exclusively on indoor surfaces.

"We're not looking for anything special this weekend," Michigan coach James Henry said. "We had a chance to get rested during the break. We want to get some folks started in their events and see where they are at this point."

Henry said the Wolverines needed to work on getting focused now that their successful indoor season, highlighted by a second consecutive Big Ten championship, is behind them.

"We have to put the Big Ten indoor title on the shelf and take our party hats off," Henry said. "The hangover from a good party is often the toughest thing for coaches, so this meet will be about getting refocused."

The complete list of team that will attend the invitational has not yet been released. While Henry wasn't certain of whom the opposition would be, he did have some idea of what kind of teams he expected to see in Tallahassee.

"My assumption is that there will be a number of northern schools who are coming down for a spring break, similar to us," Henry said. "The Florida schools, such as Florida State and Florida International, are solid programs and will probably also be there."

Unlike the climate-controlled world that is the indoor season, the outdoor season requires the athletes to adjust on the fly to constantly changing weather conditions. But the coach did not feel that this would pose a major problem for his team.

"These girls have been doing this their whole life, so the change from indoors to outdoors really isn't that hard for them," Henry said. "For them, getting motivated again after a solid indoor season and a two-week layoff is the most difficult thing."

The trip to Tallahassee will be a welcome respite for the team after a long, cold winter in Ann Arbor and throughout the Midwest.

The team will enjoy the trip for more than just the warm Florida breeze, though.

"The indoor season is nice because we're all close together inside the track building, so it's easier for the team to cheer as a group for their teammates," Henry said. "But I think our team prefers the outdoor season. Outdoors is more natural. You get the fresh air, and you're more free without the constraints of a building."

The Florida State Invitational runs all day Friday and Saturday.

03-18-99