Bright red....

Why after a 5k run in 35 mins I come back VERY pink (polite description) and look very sweaty..
Naturally fair skinned - anyone else the same?? or is it something I'm doing?
Karen

Comments

  • Hi Karen,
    I too go extremly RED, the redness also seems to take some time to fade even after I have finished. I too am naturally fair skinned whether that has anything to do with it or not I don't know. Must admit though get pertty fed up with the comments from other people when I have finished especially Mr Slow. But always feel smug that at least it must be doing me some good when I look that awful when I come back!!
    Don't worry about it.
  • Karen - you're not alone! I too have a beetroot complexion! Although I must admit that when I run slower, it is definitely not quite so bad.

  • me too Miss Tomato Face here. However I read somewhere that sweating a lot is the body saying its working efficiently or something like that :) so sweat away and be proud.
  • I'm a member of the Red-Faced Sweaty Women's Club too!!! Mine also takes a long time to subside and I just pray I don't see anyone I know when I'm out running.. if I do, I just keep my head down..!!!!
    Michelle x
  • Us men get it too - I have a dark complexion and after a 5k run I am also bright red, sweaty and look like I am about to explode. I take the self righteous view that it's a sign to the lazy that I have been exercising
  • I'm in the Red Face Club too, I'm with you Gemini, sweaty and proud.
  • I too have the red face. In fact, I have such naturally pink cheeks that complete strangers make comments like "don't blush luv" and "what a lovely healthy glow" etc - when I'm not exercising at all! (don't get me started on that one, healthy glow? my ar$e!), so I figure I didn't stand a chance on the "delicate glow" thing when running. I agree with the others - I think that at least you can tell I'm working hard!
  • can I join the red faced club...

    I look as if Im about to explode and have to tell people that I feel better than I look,

    yesterday i went out for a run, and my face didnt cool down for about an hour.

    Im going to do the nike 10k but was a bit worried about wandering around london looking like a beetroot..

    will try and be red and proud...



  • Oh me too,

    But it is getting slightly better now. Did a 10k race on sunday and felt like my face was going to explode, but it actually wasn't as red as I thought. I must be improving!!

    But, tell you what - my eyes and tops of my cheekbones were very stingy and red for ages afterwards - think it might have been all the salt from sweating, and slight sunburn.. but now the cheeks have calmed down I look more healthy!! Shall have to remember to slap on some suncream next time.

    I am glad I am not alone with my little red face though... :-0

    Go slow
  • Beetroot of the year award here please! Within about two minutes I look like I've been in a sauna and yes, I'm very fair-skinned. Guess we just have to live with it.
  • A red face and a bright yellow tee-shirt running around Richmond Park.

    How silly are we going to look.

  • Few to think for a moment it was just me - cheers every one!!!!!!!!!!!!1
  • Me too!! I'm a bit disheartened now because I thought it was something that was going to subside after a while as I got fitter, but I guess not. I'm fair skinned, too. My running partner (who's got olive-y skin) always looks likes she's just had a gentle stroll through the park while I look like my face is about to burst into flames. Not fair! Have had to endure many witty remarks from workmen, blokes in vans etc etc.....
  • I must be the sweatiest person in the world - it used to bother me when I was nobbut a nipper, but since my kidneys failed it is the best thing that could happen to me! Now, instead of only being able to dream of drinking cold beer, I can actually have one post training (you cant imagine how that feels).
    Before I joined a gym (A Harpers joint) I was really worried about what people would think - I have anaemia, so I go very 'white' and end up looking like a very sweaty corpse... not a pretty sight. But nobody there has ever said a thing and they are all very supportive. Nowadays I just dont give a damn what people think of my appearance.
    As for people who shout at you when you are out etc, I just file them under "fat ignorant slobs who are going to die young from painful conditions" and then forget them.
    Sweat on!

    RoboKidney
  • This does get better!
    As you become fitter it takes longer for your face to enter 'meltdown mode'.
    When I first started you cold fry an egg on my face after half a mile.
    I find a cold wet towel thrown over the head for 10 minutes helps a lot.
    However,save this 'til u get home or you will get lost or run over.

  • Glad I'm not the only one, RoboKidney! I sweat buckets when I'm running. I always used to run before my wife got home from work, which meant that she never saw me when I'd get home. The first time she did, she panicked and wanted to call a doctor! I had to re-assure her that, no, being bright red and dripping wet is actually fairly normal for me...
  • To go off on a slight tangent,isnt it annoying when you get out of the shower and five minutes later you are sweatier than when you went in.
    I should clarify that I am showering alone :-)
  • I am so glad I thought I was the only one who suffered from red face,excess sweating and the still sweating after the shower.

    I go to the gym after work to avoid looking like I am about to keel over when returning to work but even going home after the gym I get some strange looks on the tube.

  • I have found that gradually turning the shower teperature down helps.It would proberbly be easier just to have a cold shower but im far to soft.
  • Me too, me too! Can I also joint the red-face club?

    Kate - I quite agree, red faces and yellow t-shirts on the 22nd will be a sight to behold. If you're interedted there's a few of us who will try to meet up on the 22nd. I'm going to check the map over the weekend to see if there's some kind of landmark. We're hoping to get round in about 1 hr or so - the more the merrier. Check out the "10 days to go! thread in the Beginners Forum on Monday. Hope to see you on the 22nd!

    Go-Slow - I suffer with the same stingy-face thing. Try a smear of Vaseline (sp?). I use it on my eyelids, cheekbones and the line from the side of the nose to the side of the mouth. I find it really helps. It's good in the winter too, when you can get a sore face from the wind, etc.

    Happy Shambling!
  • Shambler

    Would be good to have some people to run with on the 22nd I was running with my mum but she has pulled out ........keep me informed please !!!!!!
  • Hi everybody,

    can I join please, I'm the same as all of you and I get very red faced during a run. I ran for 50 minutes on the treadmill today and obviously finished sweating like a pig, went and had my shower changed and walked back to work. 30 minutes after finishing my run I'm sitting at my desk still sweating like a pig.................yuk

    When I do my long runs outside I use vaseline right across my eyebrows and I find that the sweat runs down the side of my face and not into my eyes.

    GFB
  • Hey gals and guys, me miss ladybird, no just the red bits not the black spots. I too take ages to cool down. At the moment I'm extremely unfit and tying to get back into the running thing but even when I was very fit (a number of years ago admittedly) I would go scarlet. Is there a medical reason..........!?!?!?
  • I get some strange looks after a hard run.Then i look in a mirror and my face is bright red, my hair is standing at ninety degrees to my head, and i have white streaks down my face where the sweat has evaporated.My kids think its hilarious.

    I did an evening class in biology this year and i would say it is due to the cappillaries under the skin expanding to allow the extra heat to dissapate.Though i don,t know why it tends to be more apparent in fair skinned people such as myself.
  • The sweating in the shower/bath is quite normal - you sweat so that your body can loose excess heat (thru evaporation), if the shower/bath water is hotter than blood temperature sweating will not cool you down, so you carry on sweating after you get out of the shower in order to loose the heat.
    It is surprising just how much fluid you can loose in the bath - I take hot baths and routinely 'loose' 1-1.5 kilos each time. That may sound drastic (it's only H2O - ever noticed how thirsty you are after a hot bath?) but it is a handy trick for a dialysis patient...I mean, that's two whole bottles of Stella!
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