Michael Fout:
Indoor Over, Outdoor Emerges
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)
Posted March 27th, 2008 at 1:30 PM by Michael Fout
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Michael Fout, High School
Welcome to the official blog of 2007 Footlocker Cross Country National Champion Michael Fout! Make sure to bookmark the link http://michaelfout.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Thursday for Mike’s latest entries as he completes his senior year of high school running and begins his NCAA career at Florida State!
The indoor season in Indiana is nothing like that in the northeast. Sure, it is a fun season and you can stay sharp and in racing shape, but we do not have huge championship meets. I am personally not a huge fan of indoor, but I ran a few indoor meets this year and it has done just as I mentioned earlier; it has kept me in race shape. The indoor season has allowed me to see how my training is going and that is one thing I love. The indoor races that I ran are Boston Indoor Games, a Hoosier State Relays qualifier at Purdue University, and the Hoosier State Relays at Indiana University.
Being given the opportunity to run the Boston Indoor Games (BIG) on January 26 was truly an honor for me. I loved everything about the meet.
First of all, it was a chance for me to catch back up with some of the guys I raced against at Footlocker Nationals. Also, this race was basically the kick-off to the pros’ seasons. So, I not only got to meet some of the most famous runners in the world, but I also got to race on the same track as them … on the same night!
And also, once again, it allowed me to see how my training was going. I hadn’t done much training prior to that race because FLN was December 8 and I took a two week break after that race. So, going in, I had no clue what the outcome would be. On top of that, I had a 4:21 1600m PR prior to BIG. My number one goal going in…do not get last and have fun. I wound up running 4:14.7 for the full mile which was a nice surprise!
My next race was on March 15 at Purdue University. I ran the 1600m leg of a Distance-Medley Relay (DMR) team we threw together. This race would qualify us for the Hoosier State Relays on March 22. I was excited to race again since it had been a while since I had done so. I was not extremely concerned with running a jaw-dropping time, so I simply trained through this race, just as I would most of my other races. My team ran very well and I ran a 4:18 split for the 1600m. We won by a large margin and were off to IU.
I didn’t like the sound of running a 4:18 split for the 1600m, so I decided that at IU, I would go at least a little bit harder. The DMR at IU was very exciting and I got the baton about 8-9 seconds back of the leader. I just set my sights on the guy up front from Bloomington North High School, and tried to catch him a little more each lap on the 200m banked track. Finally, it was the last lap of the race and I couldn’t have been more than a couple seconds back. My adrenaline was flowing full blast and the crowd was great. I crossed the line feeling I had more in me, and I should have left it all out on the track because we finished in second place by a little over a second. I never want to lose a race by that margin again. I ran a 4:13 split, which, to me, has a better ring than 4:18. I am happy that the indoor track season is over and we can move onto the outdoor season.
With the outdoor season approaching, I have my sights set on some goals that must be met for me to call my season a success, no matter what happens. I am striving to run the state record in the 3200 meter run. Not the state meet record of 8:55.1, but the overall state record of 8:48, which belongs to the great Rudy Chapa. He and I grew up in the same area, so there is an even closer connection. Along with the state record, I would love to repeat as the state champion in the 3200m. The prime situation would be for me to get the state record some time before the state finals, and then be able to double at the state meet and run the 1600m and 3200m. These goals are lofty, I know, but I honestly feel that I can reach them. Happy training to all and thanks again for reading!
- Michael
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The Final Sprint
Good stuff Mike, good luck this season and I hope to see you run April 3!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pmI have a PR of 9:50 for the two mile and was wondering if you had any adivce of any workouts that you would recommend in lowering that time. Thanks for writing the blog
March 27th, 2008 at 2:28 pmhey mike good luck with the records, i look forward to seeing you april 3rd
March 27th, 2008 at 7:21 pmEnjoyed your post! As a spectator, I like indoor better than outdoor.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:27 pmIndoor meets are more closed in, a fan is closer to the action and it’s an opportunity to forget about the cold winter for awhile!
Best of luck this track season!
[…] To comment on this entry and to to send questions and/or feedback to Mike, please please click here. […]
April 10th, 2008 at 2:17 pm