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salt (Read 384 times)
ayola
black cat
 posted: 10/7/2006 at 5:38 PM
OK folks I'm a new runner,
After my long run today I came home and my face was covered in salty residue.
This has never happened before - and I'm pretty sure I wasn't dehydrated.
Was it the coffee I snuck at mile 6 or the martini last night? Cold air (it was about 38º)

A
2009 Goals
10K < 60:00, HM< 2:15:00
Bar Harbor, ME HM September
Philadelphia, PA HM November
jlynnbob
...for Bernie
 posted: 10/7/2006 at 5:50 PM
No, it was just salt! Simple, really, you sweat, the liquid evaporates and leaves the trace elements on you skin (mostly salt). You can be perfectly hydrated and still experience this, sometimes even if you don't really feel like you are sweating! That only means that the sweat is evaporating as it forms.

Oh, and welcome!

Lynn B
"I was now a baby-burping, farting, too cold, too hot, not hungry-stripped to my core, a simple, frail consciousness." - R Claridge during '08 Leadville 100
vicentefrijole
posted: 10/8/2006 at 1:58 PM
Yeah, I get that often too... Now that you mention it, I think I may experience it more in cold weather? Perhaps because the cold air is also very dry so the sweat evaporates quickly.
jlynnbob
...for Bernie
 posted: 10/8/2006 at 2:48 PM
Quote from vicentefrijole on 10/8/2006 at 1:58 PM:
Yeah, I get that often too... Now that you mention it, I think I may experience it more in cold weather? Perhaps because the cold air is also very dry so the sweat evaporates quickly.


Maybe, but I have always thought that in cooler weather I tend to sweat and then stop sweating so much and that's when I notice the salt. In warmer weather, I keep sweating and it keeps the skin wet so I don't notice the film as much...
"I was now a baby-burping, farting, too cold, too hot, not hungry-stripped to my core, a simple, frail consciousness." - R Claridge during '08 Leadville 100
sistinas
posted: 10/8/2006 at 5:09 PM
It happens all the time in Phoenix - summer (100+ degrees) or winter (what spring is like for the rest of the country)!
JakeKnight
posted: 10/9/2006 at 10:28 PM
I know what you mean - I get it, too. I actually asked about it here and I think they thought I was nuts.

It's not the usual sweat salt, right? It's like you're suddenly crunchy, like the stuff on the edge of a Margarita glass?

I tend to only get it on really long runs. But suddenly at mile 18-20, all of a sudden you could fill a shaker off of me.

Doesn't seem to change with the weather, either. Ran a marathon in 20 degree weather and I looked like a salty snowman at the end.
E-mail: JakeKnight2002@aol.com
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Wingz
posted: 10/9/2006 at 11:12 PM
Big grin I still think you're bananas. Wink And I still think your "margarita" is just a whole bunch of dried sweat. But hey, it's your salty experience, not mine. I get crusty too! Smile
Trent
ʎǝʞuoɯ ʎʞunɟ
 posted: 10/10/2006 at 2:08 AM
modified: 10/10/2006 at 2:08 AM
Simple.

You sweat. Sweat contains salt and water. Water evaporates, leaving salt. Sometimes it is humid out and the sweat does not evaporate as well (which keeps you from getting any benefit from evaporative cooling, which is why you stay warmer when it is humid). Sometimes it is dry out and the sweat evaporates very well, leaving noticable salt.

It's the humidity, not the heat Big grin
noʎ ɥʇıʍ ǝq ʎǝʞuoɯ ǝɥʇ ʎɐɯ
JakeKnight
posted: 10/10/2006 at 3:33 PM
Quote from Trent on 10/10/2006 at 2:08 AM:
Simple.

You sweat. Sweat contains salt and water. Water evaporates, leaving salt. Sometimes it is humid out and the sweat does not evaporate as well (which keeps you from getting any benefit from evaporative cooling, which is why you stay warmer when it is humid). Sometimes it is dry out and the sweat evaporates very well, leaving noticable salt.

It's the humidity, not the heat Big grin


Hmm. Humidity. Never considered varying humidity. Methinks you might be onto something there. Remind me to check the relative humidity next time I get all crusty ...
E-mail: JakeKnight2002@aol.com
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