That smell/taste of a good run

Dear Rwers,
This is a slightly strange request.
And please say so if no-one understands what I am going on about.

After a hard run - usually of over 4 or 5 miles at least when I finish I get a taste in my mouth or a smell in my nose - I think it might be a combination of the two. It is not nasty although it is kind of metallic and my wife claims she can smell it on me (and she says it is not nasty!). I, of course, associate it with running well and hard (for me) and putting the effort in SO it is associated with achievement and relative success. Am I imagining it or is it (as my brother says - an enzyme which is released). I wondered about "Fat-burning" or VO2 max stress or even some kind of Ketosis (a la the Atkins diet). I don't suppose out there there is a running microbiologist who might be able to help and has experienced this themselves.
I hope I am not alone, or it is a sign my body is about to collapse. I get this taste/smell a lot. It is not a recent thing. I like it.

Weird but perfumed in Sheffield.

Comments

  • Yep... It's your body breaking down protein in your body... Not the end of the world...
  • I want it breaking down fat not protein. I am not worried but I was hoping it was a sign of great slimming success. (not on the scales yet though !)
  • Scotty4Scotty4 ✭✭✭
    I wish I liked it but find that I self-consciously keep a distance from my club mates after a long run, and then the kit's bunged in a very hot wash which doesn't always do the trick.

    Unperfumed from Kent ;-)
  • In that case, run at a lower intensity...?
  • I'd always assumed the slightly metallic taste in my throat after an uber-hard interval session was blood.
  • still waiting for a molecular-level explanation. Perhaps the RWmagazine should get the boffins on it. It is definitely NOT sweat nor pheronomes (or at least no women throw themselves on me whilst I'm running). Its a kind of burning/smoky smell taste which is why I always expect to weigh so much less after the run (but don't). Perhaps it's water evaporating. Eau de Yorkshire. Distilled from the seven rivers and hills of sunny Sheffield. Fragrance of flat cap and whippet. (just joking).
  • kinda like acetone?
  • Understood it was the amino acids being released through your pores in sweat (ammonia) as during running you become dehydrated and the body is unable to flush them through to the bladder.

    On the other hand that may be complete garbage
  • ketotic breath smells sickly sweet not metallic and it's unlikley to be that unless you are ketotic to start with - a lot of the ketones are excreted in sweat you'd notice the smell without exercise.....

    there are a number of bacterial conditions that can lead to all sorts of brath smells - some of them metallic smelling........these could be related to poodr dental hygiene (food still around teeth) or some internal problem......with hard exercise you are taking in more oxygen which may be allowing more rapid breakdown of whatever by the bacteria.......

    metallic tastes often relate to sulphr containing compounds produced as a result of bacterial breakdown........mercaptans etc......

    you could be advised talking to a dentist.........Crashie?? where are you???
  • Right here, fb...

    Can't add a lot to what fb has very succinctly said...

    I'd be thinking slight dehydration plus mouth-breathing plus gingivitis (plus a spot of post nasal drip...you can always throw a bit of snot into the equation) leading to a metallic taste and smell.

    Try the old staples of brushing twice a day for two minutes a time, especially where the teeth and gums meet, flossing with a PTFE tape, rinsing with a chlorhexidine mouthwash after brushing (at night); stay hydrated and see if it goes away...

    I would always recommend a dentist/hygienist visit too, but then I would say that, wouldn't I? :o)
  • my bill is in the post Crashie.......

    ;O))
  • I'm glad I'm not alone! After a hard race I can usually taste metal/blood which i always believed was because I'd stirred up the bottom of my lungs and rasped my throat with all the hard breathing....
    After my long runs (1 1/2 hours or more at slowish pace) I can smell the acetone smell. I understand it to be the body burning protein which apparently means I've run out of glycogen on my long run and started burning muscles (help!!). I drink about 1/2 litre of sport drink on the way round. Strangely enough, despite running faster and longer on a marathon, I've never been aware of the acetone smell at the end.
    Do we have a micro-biologist to give advice?
  • acetone smell will be produced as a result of fat burning, NOT protein.......you may also be confusing the smell of acetone with ammonia which is commonly found in sweat after exercise........

    converting protein to glucose (gluconeogenesis) is generally a very slow reaction and is usually only seen in cases of severe malnutrition to any great extent......

    converting fat to glucose is a much more efficient mechanism.......and is used in preference to suing protein when glycogen has become depleted......
  • Really? I thought that was from ketosis... Shows how much I bloody know!
  • ketosis is the result of fat burning ya numpty....acetone is a ketone........
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