Friday, May 24, 2013

Why does my sweat stink?

Before running took over my life I was a proper southern lady.  I never spit, farted in public, or wore see-through tank tops.  I avoided sweating in public via the liberal use of fans and anti-perspirant.  I did attend Hot Yoga classes for a bit, but perspiring was socially acceptable in that situation and my sweat did. not. stink!

Then I started running.

I remember the first time I smelled my "run sweat".  My husband and I were in the mini-van, driving back home from a run, and I said "Whew!  You stink!"
He said, "I thought that was you."
I responded that my sweat doesn't stink like that.
When we arrived home, I stepped out of the car, and right into my own smell.
No!
That cross between cat urine and Windex could NOT be me!  I'm a delicate southern flower.
Well, apparently, a stink weed "flower"!

The more I sweat the worse the smell is.  Now that summer is upon us, I reek so badly that I refuse to get within 5 feet of another human.  Gone are the days when I popped in the drug store for a gallon of milk on the way home from a run.  I make my sweet-smelling husband do that. <- (there is something so wrong with that statement!)

The smell is so bad that it lingered - even after a wash.  So I recently changed the way I wash my clothes.  I now pre-wash, do a double rinse, and use  "Sport Wash".  So far my workout clothes - at least initially - smell nice and fresh!

In an effort to stop this smelly scourge, I consulted Dr. Internet.  This is what I learned:

Stinky sweat can be caused by:

High Protein Diet, (nope - love my carbs too much)

Too Much Stress, (nada - I am blessed with a pretty stress-free life)

Red Meat, (almost never eat it)

Bacteria Living On Your Skin, (then my sweat would always stink - not just when I run)

Not Enough Carbohydrate  (ummm, I could and sometimes do live on carbohydrates!)

So, I guess no one really knows.  Maybe it's just a by-product of my awesomeness!  Yeah!  I'm going with that!

Anybody have any suggestions or solutions?  Help!


7 comments:

  1. I stink more when i drink too much coffee or eat too much garlic. It just pours out of me! I guess all you can do is just slap some deodorant on and keep washing the clothes :)

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    1. yep! And now that I've decided it's just a product of my awesomeness, I don't mind so much :)

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  2. 1. I LOVE your blog name. Brilliant! (And I love the red hair, obviously) :)
    2. The smell can also sometimes be caused by being dehydrated, so maybe up the H2O intake and see what happens?

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    1. I'll do that! Sometimes I really have to stop and make myself drink.
      I had to use this blog name because my first pick - "Caution: Redhead Running" was already taken lol!

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  3. LOL! I'm so glad I'm not the only sweat stinking runner out there!!! I'll have to try the Sport Wash for sure!

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    1. It is pricey - but I only use it for my running clothes. I don't know if that caused the change or the Borax. Borax is a lot cheaper :)

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  4. I was formerly a competitive marathoner and after years could no longer recover. I would bet that my diet really interfered with recovery and performance. The more we train the bigger the role of recovery and diet.
    Now as a master aged guy I'd like to learn more!

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