Can sleep help you run better?

If you missed Tuesday's Run Clinic with Coach Melanie you'll want to catch the replay.

This week she tackled something that doesn't get nearly enough attention in the running world: sleep.

Not just "get more of it" advice.... real, practical information about why your sleep directly impacts your pace, your recovery, and your injury risk.

A few things that might surprise you:

You don't get stronger during your workout. You get stronger after, during recovery. And sleep is where the real magic happens.

Two nights before your race matters more than the night before. (Saturday race? Thursday night is your priority.)

Poor sleep doesn't just make you tired - it slows your reaction time, throws off your coordination, and makes easy runs feel hard.

Coach Melanie also walked through a quick recovery scorecard: rating your sleep duration, sleep quality, bedtime consistency, morning energy, and post-run recovery on a scale of 1–5. Worth doing on your own this week.

Her challenge for all of us: pick ONE habit to implement this week. Go to bed 20 minutes earlier. Put the phone away 30 minutes before bed. Keep a consistent wake-up time. Even small changes add up.

Drop in the comments what's YOUR sleep average looking like, and which habit are you committing to?

No judgment, just accountability. 💬

See you next week for the next clinic — happy trails! 🏃‍♀️

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Can sleep help you run better?