Michigan Workout! Am I

Your mile splits mean nothing, especially if you used GPS on the track which is not reliable. Your workout splits are what matters.

The first 1600 was pretty accurate because I was able to look down at my watch at the time it registered. I didn't bother to get the other workout splits, but I ran them hard. The recoveries were at 8-8:30 pace and the tempos were at low 6s, until the end, where I started to really feel it in my quads a calves.

What?

Why wouldn’t you just hit the lap button?

This is a little confusing without splits for the reps. So you did 10k @ 6-flat with a good bit slower for the recoveries and a good bit faster.

Hard to say much more. Generally you start off around 5k pace for the 1600 & the paces get faster & faster for the 1200-800-400, while keeping the tempos around marathon effort. If that's about right for you then maybe this says 17:00ish shape for 5k.

That’s not the Michigan workout

michiganrunner55 wrote:

That’s not the Michigan workout

This. At best, it is a workout that is inspired by the Michigan workout, but not really that close to the actual workout itself.

And without the faster splits, it is about as predictive as saying "I ran a 4 mile tempo in 25 minutes. This includes putting on my shoes, going outside, stopping at some traffic lights, finishing up, and coming back inside and getting a drink of water."

On a side note, did I interpret correctly that the last .2 miles includes the finish of your 1200, and that was run at 5:46 pace? That indicates you were pretty tired by the end... and that sort of pace is the opposite of how the Michigan workout is supposed to finish (all you got 400 meters).

But on the positive side, you may be in decent shape based on your expectations, depending on what your prior fitness was.

The Michigan:

Ah yes, how to miss a putback layup and no less than three good looks from beyond the arc. Do two sets of five twice a day

michiganrunner55 wrote:

That’s not the Michigan workout

Like I said, I did a variation of it. The workout varies depending on what source you look at.

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The quest for sub 4

12 years ago 07/21/2008 6:07pm CDT re: Tobias Funke

According to Chris Lear's Sub 4 book about Alan Webb, the michigan is actually:

Mile

1.5 mile tempo

400

1.5 mile tempo

800

1.5 mile tempo

1200

That is if you wanna do it exactly the way they do it at U Of M.

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Big tiimmeee

12 years ago 07/21/2008 7:40pm CDT re: Ralstonz

The workout is often changed each time it is performed.

1. Early on in season, the tempo portion is around 2000m, while later in the season, the tempo portion will be 1200-1600 meters.

2. The first Item is almost always a 1600, between 4:20 or 4:45 depending on the athlete and time of season.

3. Again, depending on the athlete, the tempo portion is run at 5:15-5:35 pace.

4. 200 meters is taken as \'rest\'; run at ~7 min pace directly after the track intervals, and about 100 meters \'rest\' after the tempo parts (before the trackwork). However, stopping altogether is prohibited.

4. Finally, the 400 is typically the 2nd or 3rd interval- Its usually more torturous to make the last interval an 8 or 12 instead, but hey, maybe you want to end the workout with a kick rather than a strength building interval.

5. Cooling down after may be substituted with puking in a trashcan.

6. Performing in face-melting heat is usually more entertaining for the coach.

hope this helps! Good luck!

My first two tempos were too quick -- at 5:45ish pace. Alan Webb, as a freshman, did his first mile in 4:19 (36 slower than his 3:53 in high school), so I did the same thing, going 33 seconds slower than my PR.

What variation do you use?

What is the 'official' Michigan workout?

Ready to Race Fast? wrote:

I didn't bother to get the other workout splits, but I ran them hard.

Then this whole thread is pointless. We can't analyze your workout for you if you didn't record your workout splits.