I don't sweat

Seriously. I don't. I just got back from an hour run, decent effort in 25C (77F)... 31C(88F) with the humidity. I had a little misting by my hairline, a tad on my chest and the back of my hands looked like they had a few 'sparkles'... moisture too small to determine if they were beads of sweat or not. My face was also bright red like a tomato. And maybe this is too much info but I can taste the salt as it rinses off me in the shower so technically I am sweating, but I am never drenched and it is never enough to cool me down.

Any thoughts on what this could mean for me during longer races down the road or even for my running ability in general?

This is a great question, because the same thing happens to me! I was just telling my husband the other day that I was not sweating...I was simultaneously concerned and irritated, as I correlate hard work with sweat. Aside from irritation, it's a bit disconcerting knowing that sweating is the body's way of cooling itself. Are we not cooling off as good as we should be, and if so, does that affect our efficiency in running?

It will be interesting to see what the responses are. Glad to know I'm not alone!

Well it could mean you might be able to avoid cramping late in a marathon due to the fact that you aren't losing a lot of sodium and other electrolytes. I sweat a lot and on warmer days during races I sometimes have cramping issues. I know Chris sweats even more then I do and he has had really bad cramping issues in the marathon. And just found out that the his cramping issue was do to losing a lot of sodium.
Other then that I'm not sure so hopefully others will come in who are better educated at this then I am and share their thoughts.

I don't sweat a lot either but I do sweat more now than I did when I was just starting out. My chest sweats and the back of my neck. I would just chalk it up as lucky in some cases. My friend Anita works out like a mad woman all of the time and she sweats something crazy. We went out dancing one night and she left early purely because she was soaking wet. It was so gross!


With that, I can't handle the heat like her either. I drink a lot of water to try and cool my core but it never helps. Funny though, the fastest way I have found to cool my core after a run is a popsicle. A few moments in and I start POORING sweat. That's the only time I sweat like that. Weird right?

So now I'm curious. Do we stop half way and just have a popsicle? hahahaha

You guys can have some of mine. I sweat enough for the whole board. And that's without exercising.

Evaluating the replies...I'm wondering if it's a woman thing vs. man thing? It seems as though the men report sweating a copious amount and the women report not sweating enough. Hmmm..

That's what I was thinking but a female marathoner friend of mine is a crazy sweater, but maybe she is the odd ball.

Chas, I too can't handle the heat like my sweaty running friend can. I am teased regularly about my rather small window of ideal running temps. Although 6-8months of the year is winter where I live so it's no wonder I am not used to the heat.

Schuey, I never thought about not sweating potentially helping me in a marathon. Maybe I'll have to worry less about losing electrolytes. Thanks for pointing that out.

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Evaluating the replies...I'm wondering if it's a woman thing vs. man thing? It seems as though the men report sweating a copious amount and the women report not sweating enough. Hmmm..

I never even thought about it, but you piqued my curiousity and I googled this:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/men/sweating-odor/men-sweat-more-than-women.htm

interesting - sounds like women don't sweat as much, but do it a lot more efficiently. Seemingly, it would help you just the way Schuey suggested... That guy is some genious

Stephanie O wrote:That's what I was thinking but a female marathoner friend of mine is a crazy sweater, but maybe she is the odd ball.

Chas, I too can't handle the heat like my sweaty running friend can. I am teased regularly about my rather small window of ideal running temps. Although 6-8months of the year is winter where I live so it's no wonder I am not used to the heat.

Schuey, I never thought about not sweating potentially helping me in a marathon. Maybe I'll have to worry less about losing electrolytes. Thanks for pointing that out.

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Evaluating the replies...I'm wondering if it's a woman thing vs. man thing? It seems as though the men report sweating a copious amount and the women report not sweating enough. Hmmm..

The risk of overheating is probably greater for you than for your sweaty friend, so you'd do well to aim for cool-weather marathons to maximize your chance of success and minimize your risk of problems. How's Antarctica sound?

John Kilpatrick wrote:I never even thought about it, but you piqued my curiousity and I googled this:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/men/sweating-odor/men-sweat-more-than-women.htm

interesting - sounds like women don't sweat as much, but do it a lot more efficiently. Seemingly, it would help you just the way Schuey suggested... That guy is some genious

AWESOME find, John! Thank you! I swear, I just had this conversation with Martin on one of our runs the other night. I just figured something was wrong with me.

Wish I shared the same problem with you, Stephanie. I, like Chris, sweat buckets and often will change my singlet (and even shorts) during a long run bathroom break (I run in a park where we come by the bathrooms and water every hour). I have been known to sweat so much during a tennis match that I leave a puddle if I'm the net player I have two friends that I train with a lot in Atlanta, and one of them is like me, and the other is like you - of course, we just say it is because she is the southerner and it is well known that southern women don't sweat, they glisten. Any way, I think what Schuey and others have said is right on the money. My friend and who sweat a lot are constantly concerned about de-hydration and electrolyte loss in the summer.

Now I have heard that sweating a lot is good for you as it releases toxins, but I'm not so sure that isn't the truth.

Mark B wrote:The risk of overheating is probably greater for you than for your sweaty friend, so you'd do well to aim for cool-weather marathons to maximize your chance of success and minimize your risk of problems. How's Antarctica sound?

Makes sense Mark. Overheating is definitely my worry by not sweating. Looks like it'll be fall races for me then.

John Kilpatrick wrote:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/men/sweating-odor/men-sweat-more-than-women.htm

interesting - sounds like women don't sweat as much, but do it a lot more efficiently. Seemingly, it would help you just the way Schuey suggested... That guy is some genious

Thanks for the link John! Very interesting! It did cross my mind during my warm run yesterday if my sweat just evaporated quicker than others. Interesting that this article mentioned that very concept.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:Wish I shared the same problem with you, Stephanie.

Hahaha we're so funny. Makes me think of how women with curly hair want straight hair and women with straight hair want curly hair. LOL!

I noticed after years of distance running, I tend to sweat more and easier. One example is when I eat moderate spicy food, the sweat just pours down my face, which was not the case before. I tend to think, of cause with no scientific proof, that my body has evolved to react quicker and more efficiently as an AC to cool down my body and this is a good thing and good trait as a distance runner.

I agree with Mark that the dehydration risk is much less a problem than over heating. Cramping is our nature defense. Experience helps to mitigate the risk. As to race, we just need to find a cool one.

I wish I knew the answer. While I am running I do not sweat that much, but the minute that I stop, it is like the sprinklers have been turned on. It's weird and I can't explain it. Like Martin said, maybe it's a good sign that you won't cramp as much at the end of a race.

I think I sweat a rather significant amount. I usually plan to consume 20 oz of liquid for every 5 miles I plan to run. I don't have cramping problems or suffer too severely in the heat. If it is hot and humid I will be completely drenched by the 5 mile mark. Now one of my training buddies sweats copious amounts of sweat and we say that the heat is his kryptonite. You would think that he would do really well in the heat but he sweats so much that it is impossible for him to replace the fluids, so he says. Anyway, It becomes a chronic problem in the summer time such that he struggles to escape his dehydrated state. It is an ever ongoing battle and as a result he relies heavily on Endurolyte tablets and sometimes does less than he would otherwise do in order to stay healthy.

So, we all have our unique struggles with heat and sweat and have to learn our limits in different situations. I think that you should do well if you can keep from overheating. This may include carrying bottled water to pour on yourself to help the cooling process instead of running the water through your system.

I sweat a lot. My female cycling partner sweats more than me on the bike. Just adding data to the cloud.

Mrs. Schuey wrote:Evaluating the replies...I'm wondering if it's a woman thing vs. man thing? It seems as though the men report sweating a copious amount and the women report not sweating enough. Hmmm..

I think that gender doesn't really matter all that much. On a related note, there was a kid tonight at the gym that was sweating like he had facets in his hair. It was litterally running and all he was doing was lifting weights in an air conditioned gym.