Understandably, you’re feeling anxious and nervous that you might not be able to hit the planned splits. Many of us aren’t comfortable with failing and there’s a real possibility this session won’t go well.

Or, at least, that’s one way to approach the session.

What if I were to tell you how you respond to the session is partly determined before you even lace up your racing flats?

That, in fact, how you simply view the session determines what type of hormonal response you’ll get from the session.

Nothing kills an exercise high quite like injury — especially when it’s an injury you could have prevented. Here, at Be Well, we want you all to be as healthy as can be. So, to learn about common workout mistakes that can cause injury (and how to avoid that mess), we went to the professionals, asking Philly fitness trainers and running coaches what the top injury-inducing mistakes they see their clients making are. Because no one wants to be benched after just getting into the groove. Follow this wisdom and you’ll be movin’ and groovin’ through your workouts — safely.

Want a faster 'easy run' pace? Marathon pace? 5K pace? Science and practical experience tells us that by increasing your maximal sprint speed ALL other speeds become faster, too. Due to your ability to recruit more muscle fibers and generate more stiffness at impact, running starts to cost less energy, so you become more efficient. So, if you've been doing some speedwork and feel ready to level up, here are three great sprinting cues you can use today!

When analyzing a runner's training log one thing that usually jumps out at me is what's missing. I look for gaps.One gap that is very common is speed. And with good reason – it requires knowledge to do it correctly and it's easy to get hurt!

Full disclosure: I have NEVER been asked this. It's probably because people know the answer and don't want to hear it. But where do you draw the line?

“The loaded carry does more to expand athletic qualities than any other single thing I’ve attempted in my career as a coach and an athlete.”

Today I'd like to highlight one of the most effective exercises one can do to improve their performance, the deadlift. This “basic” lift NEVER goes out of style and it strengthens the entire backside of the body, which is essential if you want to run stronger and faster.

By far, one of the biggest differences between well-trained runners and wannabes is the competency at a variety of paces. Just like your favorite road bike has lots of different gears to optimize your effort and pace, so should you as a runner.

Today I'd like to share one of my favorite workouts, the 30/30 Tempo Run. It's a versatile, fun fitness building session that you should use nearly year-round. I love that it provides an awesome aerobic boost while addressing leg speed in one session - how time efficient!

Today I'd like to share a race strategy with you that will make high school cross country coaches everywhere cringe: letting people pass you on the uphill.

You go to check your pace on the watch you paid $200-400 for and you sort of expect it to give you accurate information. Well, temper your expectations. There are several reasons as to why the GPS will be “off” in both pace and distance, yet I don't think they're worthless. Here's how to sort things out...

Strides are a “need to do, not a nice to do” as coach Vern Gambetta likes to say. Yet, in my experience, people aren't doing them and they're such an easy and convenient way to develop speed.

What does an effective speed workout for distance runners look like? What ingredients should you include so that you reap the most benefit for the time you're spending?

One of my go-to bulletproofing exercises is the deadlift. With so many benefits from posture to hip mobility to force production (makes ya faster) to total body strength, it's a no-brainer if you're gonna spend any time in the weight room. But, before lifting anything, she had to demonstrate the “hip hinge” movement pattern.

Rest. It's what the doctor ordered, right? You're hurt and the glaringly obvious solution is to rest. What doc is trying to say is that you should take a rest from the activity that is causing the injury. If running is hurting you, then stop running and let it heal. This does NOT (necessarily) mean stop training.

That feeling of “holy crap I'm in a race and I'm already sucking wind and I'm not even at the 1 mile mark yet” used to be pretty familiar to me. Let's fix that, OK?

Think about your current method (if you can call it that) of warming up. Perhaps you bend over and strrrrrretch to tie those shoes and then off you go? I think we can do better. This week I want to share a very simple warm up that carries with it several benefits like better muscle activation, range of motion, and potential injury prevention.

While talking with each of them I could sense their frustration, but luckily for them I've learned that taking a good client history is key to a good intervention. And in each case it was a simple fix that resolved their issue. In fact, you'll probably roll your eyes as you read the solution. (Well, this one isn't THAT obvious, but I bet many of you can relate.) Not Getting Any Faster? Here's Why.