Tell me about salt tablets

[thom]

It's recently occurred to me I may have very salty sweat. After my long run this weekend (70* and humid) I literally had white grit down the sides of my face. My dogs come to lick on me after a run. (Do they like salt??)

Anyway, I usually alternate water and Gatorade while racing or long runs, and I'll do a gu about every hour. Does this sound like enough? FYI, I went through 32 oz. over about 3 hours; I could have drank more but ran out a few miles from home.

Has anyone had success or noticed a difference w/ salt/sodium tabs? Or maybe a different sports drink?

I could potentially be running a warm marathon in a few weeks and want to get the sodium thing figured out if it might help. This doesn't seem to be nearly as much of an issue for me when temps are low.

[shorewife]

Do you have issues with dehydration (ie - cramping)? Then maybe you need more salt. But gatorade 'should' be enough given you are having no issues. You may want to consider switching to all gatorade instead of water just in case though.

[biomaj5]

Thank you for saying you have salty sweat. I used that term when talking to a coworker and he has mocked me ever since. I always end up with crusty stuff on my face and white marks on my shirts. I have never used salt tabs, but I do alternate gu and sport beans (every 3 miles) when running. During bike rides, I have been putting tailwind into my water (a little more than they recommend) and using hammer gels. If the ride is longer than, say, 30 miles or so, I will add gatorade to my water at a convenience store stop. I haven't yet ridden in temps higher than 90 (that will change this Wednesday-the forecast says 99F); if I run outside, I do it very early in the morning. When racing, I tend to alternate water and gatorade at water stops.

[Raggedeannie]

There are a lot of nuun fans on this board. I don't know the exact science, but I've heard that nuun is similar to gatorade in salt/electrolytes, minus the sugar. I use half a tablet in my handheld if I think it's going to be a sweaty run! I also like to put nuun in my water for hot yoga

[Wines Not Whines]

I'm also a salty sweater. I'm a big fan of margarita Clif shot bloks during the summer. They have extra salt. I get cramps if I sweat too much, but the margarita shot bloks help prevent cramping for me. I imagine salted caramel gu would do the same thing, but it's too sweet for my stomach to handle during long runs (but lots of people love it).

[blndsnbrdr]

I'm crazy salty when I sweat -- you could salt a freaking sandwich just brushing a hand over my face! The cats love me when I get home from a run!

I've used salt tabs and haven't had a negative experience. In that case they are worth it. But look at brands if you go for salt tabs -- some are more concentrated and some have extra stuff [electrolytes or potassium or...] that you may or may not want.

In my experience if I'm drinking a normal [for me] amount of water but still peeing all the time I need salt tabs because the water I'm drinking isn't getting put to use. I haven't had cramping issues yet. #knockonwood

[Brit]

I'm a salty sweater too, so I'm all ears on this post. I also get a salt crusted face and arms. Eww.

[keweenawlove]

I'm glad I'm not the only salty sweater. I've had other runner's comment on how salty my face gets. I have started using salt pills and I think they help fend off cramps. They're nice and light to carry and nice when I just need a little extra salt and my stomach's not ready for me Gu or Shot Bloks.

Also OP, my dog LOVES when I come home from a run. I get a full body lick attach!

[runaways]

I worry more about this in the summer than when it's cooler, but I've never used salt tablets. If I'm running more than about 6 miles, I drink Gatorade cut with water afterwards. If I'm running less, I stick with nuun or something without the extra sugar. For long runs, I tend to be fine with watered down gatorade and gu or sports beans. Occasionally I'll eat some salt if I stop at home to refill my bottle. If you aren't having any negative physical effects, you're probably fine with what you're doing now.

I think it's joenali who likes to just carry a little plastic bag of salt with her, so you could think about doing that too.

[thom]

Thanks for all this feedback.

I'm not getting muscle cramps per se, but I'm getting a queasy stomach and really dead legs. Obviously this could be more of a fitness issue too. It just seems like I'm so much more zapped of energy than I was during cooler long runs.

The salt bag could def be an option. It just sounds gross. I should get some shot blocks too. That way if my stomach can't handle a whole gu I could eat just 1 at a time.

I've heard nuun tastes bad to some people... What say you? Also, I take it nuun is calorie-free? If you use it, do you alternate nuun with Gatorade, or do you just get your calories from eating?

[kams]

I use salt stick tabs in the summer. I'm salty crusty yucky!

[thom]

Jun 2, 2014 11:31:09 GMT -5 kams said:

I use salt stick tabs in the summer. I'm salty crusty yucky!

Is "salt stick" a specific brand name? Sorry, I'm clueless on these things. How often do you take them?

[thom]

Jun 2, 2014 11:14:11 GMT -5 keweenawlove said:

Also OP, my dog LOVES when I come home from a run. I get a full body lick attach!

Good to know my dogs aren't the only crazy ones. My brown dog doesn't care as much, but our American Bulldog is apparently nuts for salt!

[keweenawlove]

Jun 2, 2014 11:28:37 GMT -5 thom said:

Thanks for all this feedback.

The salt bag could def be an option. It just sounds gross. I should get some shot blocks too. That way if my stomach can't handle a whole gu I could eat just 1 at a time.

I've heard nuun tastes bad to some people... What say you? Also, I take it nuun is calorie-free? If you use it, do you alternate nuun with Gatorade, or do you just get your calories from eating?

I thought about the salt bag took but it didn't sound good. I bought these instead. Cheap enough and the bottle's lasted me over a year.

www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SLT101/saltstick-caps-100-count/?cc=&sc=CX14P110&cm_mmc=psearch-_-google-_-na-_-rrs101-SLT101&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Psearch&utm_term=RRS101-SLT101

Nunn's either calorie free or super low cal. I like the taste more than Gatorade. My norm is shot bloks, nunn, and salt pills. Running warehouse does a good deal on single tubes of Nunn so you can try out a few different flavors pretty cheaply.

[joenali]

Straight up table salt in a bag!

[skwcm80]

Another salty sweater. I think I'll be trying some of these suggestions.

[Wines Not Whines]

Jun 2, 2014 11:28:37 GMT -5 thom said:

Thanks for all this feedback.

I'm not getting muscle cramps per se, but I'm getting a queasy stomach and really dead legs. Obviously this could be more of a fitness issue too. It just seems like I'm so much more zapped of energy than I was during cooler long runs.

The salt bag could def be an option. It just sounds gross. I should get some shot blocks too. That way if my stomach can't handle a whole gu I could eat just 1 at a time.

I've heard nuun tastes bad to some people... What say you? Also, I take it nuun is calorie-free? If you use it, do you alternate nuun with Gatorade, or do you just get your calories from eating?

I don't mind nuun, but I don't love it. I have to use half of the recommended serving size, or else it tastes too strong for me. My husband hated it. It's slightly fizzy, so it's different from standard sports drinks.

[trigal]

I've used endurolytes and have found success.

I have also used the higher-sodium gels and Gatorade.

[Raggedeannie]

I got 2 4-packs of nuun to try out different flavors and am still working on those several months later - it's great to figure out your favorites or to rotate for variety. I guess like anything you just get used to it. I accidentally grabbed a cup of gatorade during my half which was no bueno since I hadn't trained on it! Stomach cramps and sticky!

[kams]

Jun 2, 2014 11:36:18 GMT -5 thom said:

Jun 2, 2014 11:31:09 GMT -5 kams said:

I use salt stick tabs in the summer. I'm salty crusty yucky!

Is "salt stick" a specific brand name? Sorry, I'm clueless on these things. How often do you take them?

Sorry, yes! Both salt stick and endurolytes are little electrolyte pills. I only use them when it is really hot. I take 1 the night before, and then (I've only used it during triathlons because that's the only time I'm going longer than 2 hrs in serious heat), every 45 mins to an hour once I'm on the bike (and continue in the run).