The recent heat wave in Syracuse couldn’t have come at a better time for the Orange track and field team. With the outdoor season closing in, SU has been able to train on soft surfaces for the past week.

A rarity in Syracuse, where snow fell last March.

‘A lot of the trails and grass spots we normally can’t run in the winter,’ distance runner Sean Keefe said. ‘Some of the workout spots that we can normally only get to in the fall, we’ve been able to get to a lot. I think we should see a lot of benefits.’

SU’s indoor season ended March 10 with Jarret Eaton’s victory in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The team will kick off the outdoor season April 7, when it sends athletes to the Stanford Invitational, the Auburn Invitational and the Cornell Spring Invitational. SU’s top distance runners will travel to Stanford, while the sprinters will compete at the Auburn meet.

Keefe said the month-long break in competition gives runners time to intensify their workouts and push themselves in preparation for the outdoor season. The warm weather, reaching the 70s, has allowed SU to do even more this season.

Runners and jumpers were confined to indoor facilities last year in March. Keefe said the team has enjoyed more flexibility with the spring workouts due to the weather.

And that ability to get out and train should benefit the Orange during the season.

‘This is the best it’s been here since I’ve been here,’ Keefe said. ‘My freshman year I think it snowed in May when we were doing a track workout, so this has been awesome.’

Head coach Chris Fox reiterated the importance of the break to the athletes. He said most athletes will try to recuperate mentally while increasing the toughness of their workouts. The outdoor season is a grind, Fox said, and each athlete needs to be prepared for the long months ahead of them.

‘We get one really good block of training,’ Fox said. ‘Everyone gets a refreshed brain, and they’re all ready to go again. We have a hard push for all of us from April 5 into June.’

Fox said the warm weather has not only benefited the team in training, but also in reducing injuries.

Any time the weather is cold, athletes are at an increased risk to pull a muscle or sustain other injuries. On top of that, Fox said, multiple athletes in the last few years have been hurt simply from slipping and falling on snow or ice.

But with the comparatively mild and short winter this year, the team has not had to worry about additional injuries.

Fox said spring meets like the ones at Stanford and Auburn are typically havens for athletes. The team sends the sprinters to Auburn annually, as the warm weather lends itself to faster times and a smaller chance of injury.

Fox said his athletes are usually chomping at the bit to get to these meets, where they can enjoy a reprieve from the harsh Syracuse weather. This year, though, they may want to savor Syracuse just a little longer.

‘It’s warmer here now than it is in Palo Alto,’ Fox said. ‘We’re definitely not as excited to go to Stanford for the weather.’

jspramuk@syr.edu

Published on March 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jacob: jspramuk@syr.edu