Hello runner friends! Now let's get started by talking about the weather. It's finally fall!!!! More importantly though, it's no longer summer! Boy, it's been a hot one! I was so glad to say "sayonara" to the summer season yesterday and "salutations!" to the fall season.
This seasonal shift aligns with cooler nighttime temperatures that mimic the body's natural pre-sleep cooling process, making it simpler to fall asleep and experience deeper rest. Additionally, as daylight hours shorten, the distinct contrast between daylight and night acts as a powerful environmental cue, providing an excellent opportunity to establish a consistent sleep-wake schedule that synchronizes your internal clock with the natural rhythm of the sun.
As runners, we spend a lot of time thinking about our training. We plan our long runs, speed work, hill sessions, recovery runs, strength training, hydration, and nutrition. But there is another part of training that is just as important—especially as our mileage begins to climb: sleep.
As a longtime runner and running coach, I have learned that recovery isn't something we do instead of training. Recovery is a non-negotiable part of training. And one of the most powerful recovery tools available to every runner is a good night's sleep.
This becomes increasingly important as we move deeper into training for the Bass Pro Marathon and Half Marathon and the Dogwood Canyon Trail Runs. Those weekend long runs are getting longer. Weekly mileage is increasing. Our legs are spending more time on the road and trails, and we're asking our bodies to handle workloads that may be significantly greater than they were just a few weeks ago.
That increased workload requires increased recovery.
You Don't Get Stronger During the Run
It may sound strange, but the training run itself isn't when your body becomes stronger. Training provides the stimulus that tells your body it needs to adapt.
Every long run places stress on your muscles, tendons, joints, bones, cardiovascular system, and nervous system. That stress is intentional. Given adequate recovery, your body responds by repairing itself and adapting so it can better handle that workload the next time.
This is the deal… training breaks you down. Recovery builds you back up.
Sleep is one of the primary times when that rebuilding takes place. During quality sleep, the body carries out important repair and restoration processes. Sleep supports muscle recovery, immune function, hormone regulation, energy restoration, and the body's overall response to training stress.
That's why sleep is so important!
More Miles Require More Recovery
When you're running three or four miles at a time, you may be able to get away with cutting corners on recovery occasionally. But as those runs become 8, 10, 12, 15, or 20 miles, the equation changes.
The greater the training load, the greater the recovery demand.
One mistake runners sometimes make is adding more training while continuing to sleep the same amount—or even sleeping less because they're getting up earlier to fit those longer runs into an already busy schedule.
Eventually, the body notices.
You may begin waking up tired. Your legs constantly feel heavy. Your normal running pace suddenly requires more effort. Motivation starts disappearing. Little aches and pains don't seem to go away. You become irritable or mentally exhausted.
Sometimes our first thought is, I need to train harder.
The better answer may be (and usually is): I need to recover better.
Sleep Can Help Protect You From Injury
Running injuries usually aren't caused by one single workout. Often, problems develop when the accumulated stress of training becomes greater than the body's ability to recover from it.
Think of recovery as the space between workouts where your body gets an opportunity to repair the damage created by training. If you continually shorten that recovery window, fatigue begins to accumulate.
A tired runner may also experience changes in coordination, reaction time, concentration, and running mechanics. When fatigue combines with increasing mileage, those small changes can matter.
Sleep alone cannot guarantee that you'll remain injury-free, but consistently getting adequate sleep gives your body a much better opportunity to repair itself between workouts.
And remember: rest is much easier to schedule than an injury. And it’s way more enjoyable than an injury!
But Get This… Your Brain Needs Recovery Too
Distance running isn't only physically demanding. It is mentally demanding.
Anyone who has trained for a marathon or long trail race understands that there comes a point when the challenge isn't simply convincing your legs to keep moving. You have to convince your brain too.
Long-distance training requires patience, discipline, decision-making, emotional control, and motivation. Sleep supports all of those things.
When you're consistently exhausted, something you normally love can begin feeling like another obligation on your schedule. One skipped run becomes several. Motivation drops. Eventually, a runner who was excited about race day may begin wondering why they signed up in the first place.
That is where burnout can enter the picture.
Sometimes burnout isn't a lack of passion for running. It is simply a body and mind that have been asked to give more than they've been allowed to restore.
Make Sleep Part of Your Training Plan
Most adults should aim for at least seven to eight (preferably 8) hours of sleep, although individual needs vary and runners carrying a heavy training load may find they function and recover better with more.
Just as importantly, pay attention to what your body is telling you. If your training volume is increasing and you're constantly exhausted, don't automatically assume you need another workout. Look at your recovery. Look at your nutrition. Look at your hydration. And definitely look at your sleep.
Create a consistent bedtime when possible. Limit things that unnecessarily keep you awake late at night. Give yourself time to wind down. And if tomorrow morning includes an important long run, treat tonight's sleep as part of that workout.
So as those miles continue to climb on the road toward the Bass Pro Fitness Series finish line, don't feel guilty about going to bed a little earlier. In fact, you should celebrate it! You aren't being lazy. You aren't wasting training time.
Because sometimes one of the best things a runner can do to improve tomorrow's training is to get a good night's sleep tonight.
And there you have it friends. Sleep is important for so many reasons. And this is a great time of year to "fall" into bed early and to make a habit of getting sufficient shut eye so you'll make gains as you continue training. Those gains will ensure that you'll be ready to step up to the start line in November.
Happy Running!
