A sweaty mess or just radiant?

I could write about how lovely and radiant the sunrises and sunsets we see on the run are.

I could write about how radiant running makes me feel.

But no, I’m going to write about how running makes me look radiant. I’m not talking about glowing, either: I’m talking sweat!

Radiant: shining or glowing brightly

You know the old saying? I don’t sweat, I glow. Well, I sweat. I sweat a lot. I am not glowing; I am definitely radiant with sweat — even after a winter’s run!

There does seem to be some science that fitter people do sweat more (see this article from Runner’s World). There also seems to be some science that sweating is good for you (see this article).

Then there’s always the question of whether or not you’re sweating more than a “normal” runner — I found this thread on that very subject on a forum on coolrunnning.com.

And then I came across this interesting article that shows you how to sweat more! Well, most of the time I do hydrate very well. Interestingly, my mother, who doesn’t sweat, doesn’t drink much either. How she even functions is beyond me. I get very crabby when I’m dehydrated (and tired, too).

But sleep? I dunno about that one. The last couple of months there hasn’t been a single week that I didn’t have my sleep disrupted by one thing or another at the very least one night a week (and often more). Yet I continue to be radiant with sweat.

Then there is the other side of the radiant spectrum: people who don’t sweat enough during exercise — not something I can fathom, but hey, you’re out there, I know, and I’ll bet you’re wondering if you’re doing something wrong or not working out hard enough if you’re not radiant with sweat.

It could be as simple as you have fewer sweat glands, according to this article. Or did you know that women tend to sweat less than men and less as they get older (outside of hot flashes, apparently), according to this article?

Now that is interesting. I remember long ago, when we lived in TX, we had gone to a memorial service. It was late summer, I believe. We were sitting in the car for a while; I don’t remember why; and the sweat was just rolling down my face while Mr. Judy was quite comfortable.

On the other hand, I’ve had some mild hot flashes, but not many and not that often. Which actually, I believe, is due to exercise and a good diet (for the most part), but who knows, because my mom never had hot flashes at all and she didn’t exercise much and her diet wasn’t that great either.

And finally, did you know that there’s actually an optimal temperature for working out indoors? According to this article, it’s between 68-72F. Who knew?

One thing I know for sure
As corny as it sounds, Solange is absolutely right: beauty comes from within, whether we’re sweaty, glowing, or radiant, as long as we are happy and comfortable with who we are, we are beautiful.

My beauty ethos? Well, I’d love to tell you it’s something like ‘less is more,’ but honestly, it all starts with happiness. If only someone could bottle that up – when I’m happy, I’m at my most radiant and glowing. It does me better than any product ever could. And I stand by how cheesy and cliched that sounds.
–Solange Knowles

Tell me in the comments:

How do you work on your mental game?

Are you stronger physically or mentally?

Was there a time when your brain/heart got you through when your body wanted to quit?