giving blood is great, congrats!

i notice effects in my racing times and speedwork for several weeks. sometimes i'm back to normal in 4 weeks, sometimes 6 weeks. however, if you take it easy for a few days afterwards, and if you're not doing speedwork or racing in the next few weeks, you may not notice much.

if you've ever run at altitude, the effect will be very similar. you'll just have to go slower; your heart rate will be higher, and your breathing may be labored.

and on the other hand, you'll be helping to save lives. the choice is clear.

i donate platelets now, instead of whole blood. i don't notice any effect on my running from platelet donation. (edited to add: i'm 8 weeks out from my goal race, and i'll be donating platelets next monday. after my goal race i'll donate some whole blood again.)

if you can, i'd suggest that you run your 5 miler monday before you donate, then take tuesday off completely, then take the 6 and 8 milers nice and easy.

http://This message has been edited by mcsolar99 (edited Nov-15-2007).

I gave blood during the first mesocycle of my marathon training and paid a price. I was lethargic for days and my long run during the recovery week was one of the hardest things I have done. It took me nearly 2 weeks to return to normal. I will not be giving blood again until after my marathon.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by JB:

I guess what I'm asking is...how much does giving blood actually effect you and how long does it take to recover back to normal?
<HR>

I remember track and xc coaches would absolutely forbid their runners from giving blood during the season. I've heard you will be affected for 2 months and can be back to top competitive form after 3 months.

Interesting....

I was a regular giver of blood with no issues. After I started distance running (for a while) I got denied because i tested Positive for the Hepititis B Core Antigen. I quickly went to my Doctor who did a full battery of tests and concluded that I was fine, there were no issues. I got approval to try again...SAME THING. It was decided that because of my distance running, my blood levels were issuing a false positive for the Hep B Core Antigen test. Of course, it's too hard to screen, so i've just become "deffered". It's very frustrating since I had it on my calendar every 8 weeks to go and donate and really LOVED doing it!

Has this ever happened to anyone else?



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Rich Lavene
Look! It's Ritchie! eh, nobody cares![/URL" target="_blank">

I've given blood more times than I can count and haven't noticed any change in energy or performance after maybe the first 72 hours or so... but that's with the caveat that I don't train very hard and have never donated close to a race before.

If your weight is plenty above the minimum to donate it won't have as much of an effect as it would to someone smaller, because you'd be giving a smaller portion of your total blood volume. Another thing you might want to consider is how the stock is of your current type at any given time.

I think you should stop for a few minutes and lay down before giving blood. Just my $.02 .