Pass The Salt

The more I run, the more I crave salt.

It has been so intense at times that I have taken the salt shaker and generously sprinkled table salt onto my bacon and pickle sandiwch, apres run. On the flip side, though, sometimes when I get done running, I'm coated in tiny crystals of what I can only assume is salt - and I'm guessing I just lose a lot of salt on a regular basis, thanks to running.

As I write this, I just got done with a small bag of baked Cheetos, with added salt.

I've heard too that it might be a potassium deficiency, since sodium and potassium work together in the body. Whatever, I eat a lot of bananas, which are supposed to be rich in potassium. I've never had the insane craving for a potassium-rich food, either, just a fiendish craving for salt - table salt, sea salt, salty foods, salt on salty foods, you name it.

Of course salt makes anyone retain water, but I don't know that hanging on to extra water is a bad thing in a Houston runner.  My salt habit doesn't seem to have any bad effects -- my blood pressure is about 110/70 and has been since I can remember;my resting heart rate is in the low 60s. 

Salt cravings are pretty well-documented among distance runners, cyclists too. Some running experts recommend eating small amounts of table salt during exercise. I know I recommended salt to my husband a few years ago when he was suffering from muscle cramps after a long mountain bike race. Within a few hours, his cramps subsided.

So until the marathon is over, pass the salt please.