Just like teams from the professional sports world, the women's cross country squad had this weekend off, as the Dartmouth Invitational was cancelled in light of last Tuesday's attacks. While the men's team was able to beg its way into the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational at the last minute, coach Kristin Morwick's team welcomed the weekend off.
"It was a real tough week," the coach said. "Mentally and physically, it was probably better not to run this weekend."
As was the trend with most teams, the squad gathered last Tuesday to talk rather than practice. Two runners' brothers work in the World Trade Center, so the first order of business for Morwick was to make sure that no one on the team was missing a family member. Fortunately both men were accounted for, and the women suffered no other personal losses.
"First we wanted to make sure no one was directly affected," Morwick. "Then we just sat around and talked. I let them vent their feelings."
About ten team members wanted to go for a run that day, so Morwick led an extremely light workout. However, training for the week was thrown off kilter because of the events, which meant that the heavy workout was completed on Thursday - later in the week than normal.
"By Thursday, they were ready to not think about things," Morwick said.
Because of a difficult workout so late in the week, though, competing would have been difficult physically as well as emotionally. "I just didn't feel like competing against someone else," she said.
A weekend off should have been the perfect remedy to get the practice schedule back on pace, but this week will also be out of whack, as many runners will miss Tuesday and/or Wednesday practice because of the Jewish New Year. In Morwick's opinion, this additional time off could hurt some runners, but it will also give a chance to other racers who have yet to run this year.
"This will give people the opportunity to open up their season, and they're looking forward to that," Morwick said.
Veteran runners are looking forward to this weekend's meet, the Codfish Bowl, because it is run on a flat, fast-paced, Franklin Park course. It is the same course that the women will compete on later in the season at the New England Championships, a race against all teams in New England, including Division I schools. While running there early in the season will provide the Jumbos with no real tactical advantage at the New England Championships, it will allow them to compare their times from the beginning and the end of the year.
Morwick is not optimistic for strong results this coming weekend, as the team is viewing the race as more of a training session than a serious competition.
"It's early in the season, and we're not the team we're going to be later," Morwick said. "This race will be a gauge, a measuring stick for us to see where we are."
The Jumbos will have a chance to measure their capabilities this weekend against conference rivals, as Amherst, Conn. College, and Bates will be in attendance, among others.
"Amherst and Conn. College were strong last year, and Bates is much improved, but this is still going to be pretty low key," Morwick said. "It should give us a decent idea of the work we have to do."
The coach still cautions against any high expectations for this season, as the team lost graduates Leslie Crofton and Jen Edelmann, two of the top runners last year, and will require some time to bounce back.
"This is a serious rebuilding year," Morwick said.
