Giving Blood and Running

So no sense making it into a long story.  The bottom line, if you're giving blood, wait a couple days before you run or at least give yourself a break for not being up to your usual.

Yeah, never dawned on me, but quite obvious now.  My friend and I decided on Friday afternoon that we would do something totally different for me, and go to the gym for a workout on Friday night.  Totally different because number one, I don't work out normally in the evenings, and number two, NEVER on a Friday night.

Never dawned on us that we should think about it since the blood donation that morning.

The workout was just not easy at all.  The normal energy level was just not there, not at all.  Could it be from giving blood in the morning.  Maybe, or maybe it's just because it's a Friday night and it's been a busy week.  Still did the time on the treadmill, moved to the elliptical, and finished up.

This morning, we went for our long run.  Although it was definitely a better run, still didn't quite feel right.  And also, even though it was pretty cold out, drank more water than normal during the run.  Fighting off a bug?  Not sure.  Again, that bell went off, could it be from giving blood?

When we got home, decided to do a little research and found the following information:

Donating Blood and Running


1. Blood volumes. You typically donate a pint of blood (450 g) and it takes your body 2 to 3 days to recover the volume. It takes about 2 months to recover the lost red blood cells.


2. Drop in performance. When you have less blood, your body can carry less oxygen. Expect to lose about 10% of your typical performance ability. This will be most noticeable to long distance runners. Note some experts say it can take up to 3 months to regain total aerobic capacity. Yikes!


3. Recovering from donation. To get back in top-notch running form, be sure to drink extra fluids immediately after the donation and the next day. Also, make sure you are eating things with protein and iron in them to help replenish. The experts say think of a blood donation as a day of rest.


4. It’s not all bad. While you may have an initial reduction in performance, there is at least one theory that says donating may have the benefit of actually increasing the amount of red blood cell count when your body recovers. This would happen because your body might overshooting the target level. Just a theory though.

Aha!  So now it all makes sense after reading the above.  And my opinion?  So what if your running performance suffers for a little while after giving blood.  DONATE BLOOD....YOU COULD BE SAVING A LIFE!!!!