If you're a marathon runner, Michigan isn't just a state.

It's a dragon to be slayed.

If you've never heard of it, ignorance is bliss.

The Michigan is a brutal alternating-pace workout invented by a Michigan track coach in the 1970s, originally built off a Prefontaine session at Oregon, and decades later it's still the workout distance runners bring up like a war story. Marathon pace, then faster, then faster still, then back down, with no rest between any of it.

The whole point is to make your legs argue with your brain over and over until you can't tell which one is winning.

A few years ago, deep into marathon training, I ran the Michigan and by the numbers, I executed it almost perfectly that day.

Splits right on target, numbers exactly on point.

But it wasn't actually perfect.

I'd stopped, just briefly, four separate times. My shoelace didn't really need retying. A water stop I didn't really need. A pause to "regroup" after a fast segment I'd actually nailed. None of it showed up as a missed split.

It was just me doing everything to make the numbers "right."

I was treating every pace change like a threat instead of a game of curiousity. I was white-knuckling the hard parts for the sake of "perfection."

The reality is that I was working way too hard for the effort intended. And instead of slowing down a touch to make it where it should have been effort-wise, I took extra rest with my watch on pause.

What I eventually learned is the Michigan is just another workout. Yes, it's a good one to do well, but running too hard or changing the spirit of a workout with extra rest just so it looks like you did it right, is missing the point.

So I didn't quite slay the dragon that day. But I lived to tell the tale.

If you're just starting marathon training right now, the Michigan might just be a beast in your future.

Here's how to build your own version of it, and why week 9 is exactly the right time to try it.

the beast button

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from the team

"A year ago, I would have spent this entire run complaining about the heat. This year I just smiled the whole way."

That's what Matt posted in the team after a run that, on paper, wasn't anything special. Slow pace, hot morning, nothing to brag about.

But Matt hasn't always been able to say something like that about a run.

He came to the PR Team as someone who lived for distance. Multiple marathons a year, pacing groups, the whole identity built around his passion.

Then an injury took running off the table entirely, and he wanted out. If he couldn't run, what was the point of staying on a running team?

But he let me build him a plan anyway. Cross training, strength work, nothing that looked like the sport he loved.

Matt wasn't thrilled about it at first.

But he kept showing up. Not because the bike rides replaced running, but he still felt a part of something special.

Somewhere in those months, he learned to love his rides. He also realized the structure and the people were what helped the most, not just the miles.

Matt is healthy enough to run again. He's slowly building back with a brand new appreciation for his team and every single mile.

No matter how hot.

join us

*team names changed for privacy

planted practice

Each week, I'd like to challenge you to one small action that I'm calling your Planted Practice.

You don't change the way you think by reading something cool in a newsletter. You change with small, daily work, just like training your body.

Each Planted Practice is deceptively simple, but might just be more powerful than you think.

This week's challenge: be your own running bestie

Sometime during your run, talk to yourself the way you'd talk to your best running friend, out loud.

Studies show that when you talk to yourself like a friend out loud, your brain processes it the same way it would a real friend. Saying "great job," or "you are so amazing," or "looking good out there!" really can completely uplift your spirits just like a real compliment.

And what you practice becomes stronger.

*share how it went on social and tag me!

#plantedpractice

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podcast

We all expect the heat to make us uncomfortable. We expect to sweat more and slow down.

What catches runners off guard is how quickly a few slower splits can make them question months of good training.

You’ll learn:

• Why summer changes the way you should read your watch.
• How to adjust your training without second-guessing your fitness.
• What runners should pay attention to when the weather refuses to cooperate.

listen here

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inspo

"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."

—Jack Dixon

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

P.S. If you missed it last week, grab the Readiness Reset, a FREE seven minute audio training. Use it before hard workouts, long runs, and race day to stay calm and focused.

Thank you for being a part of the Planted Runner community!

My mission is to help runners just like you reach goals they never dreamed possible through science-backed training and plant-based nutrition.

Since 2016, I've helped thousands of every day runners become fitter, faster, and stronger with truly customized training and coaching.

I also love to share what I have learned from my own journey starting as a non-runner to a 2:58 marathoner at age 42, as well what I have learned coaching runners, completely FREE. I do that every week in this newsletter and on the Planted Runner Podcast.

I'm so glad you're here and my inbox is always open. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback!

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